Milestone is closing it’s doors next week, the restaurant at the crook of the Thruway overpass and Route 9W. Despite the ownership’s best efforts, it serves as the end to another chapter to the struggling store front.
Twenty years ago we wrote about the closing of a restaurant at the same location, then called Stone Ends. In between, it received a few facelifts and gone by different names. First there was Bella Bistro, before taking on the name Milestone once the Mastrantuono family took ownership.
Fact of the matter is that stretch of 9W has held few prospects for business owners, unless that business involves pumping gas for the throngs of motorists that drive to and from work on that stretch of road.
It’s unfortunate, when considering the history attached to the unique building with the stone facade.
Liberace, the flamboyant pianist was said to have stroked the ivory keys of the piano there many years ago. Area Master Chef Dale Miller was owner and chef de cuisine of the Stone Ends before moving on the Jack’s Oyster House and beyond.
Nevertheless, the thoroughfare that is the corridor joined by both routes 9W and 32 is not a friendly one to business owners who cater to patrons of the culinary arts or entertainment. It’s neither in downtown Albany, where people can park and walk to a number of competing establishments, each with their own unique flare. Nor is it in the middle of Delmar, where a short walk or drive from home takes you to a more quaint setting for intimate entertainment. It’s the stretch of road most residents speed through while their mind is on auto-pilot, decompressing from work stress before coming home, or plotting out plans for Netflix and a glass of wine.
The renovations to the neighboring hotel lent to some promise to future restaurant business. It seemed a perfect pairing to have hotel patrons stay and be able to eat a nice, Italian dinner next door. If we were speaking of Colonie’s Wolf Road, this would be the business model that would give Milestone a fighting chance to succeed. But, this is not Wolf Road.
The request for a zoning variance to allow for a dog kennel concedes to all these factors, and with the hotel next door, it wasn’t likely the town would allow for it. The old investment mantra, “Location. Location. Location,” certainly rings true here more than any place else in town. Despite the hundreds of cars that drive by each day, no one is paying attention. At least, not enough to keep a successful restaurant there.
