Business Profile: Augie’s Prime Cut Restaurant and Bar, Lake Mohegan
Three years ago, locals no longer had to travel to Manhattan to go to a great steak house with a metro –feel. Augie’s Prime Cut Restaurant & Bar opened up on the corner of Route 6 and Lexington Avenue in Lake Mohegan and life has never been the same.
Despite opening up at the lowest point of the recession, Augie’s became a popular destination from the start.
“I think there was really a need for it in the community,” said Audrey Hochroth, who owns the restaurant with her husband Sal Barone. “There was no other place around that did prime rib, steaks and seafood.”
Opening the eatery was Barone’s idea. He had owned a steak house in Scottsdale, Ariz. for 13 years before marrying Hochroth. When the recession dried up the commercial development industry, Barone, who is a project manager decided to take the plunge and open another restaurant.
“My husband said that if he was to own another restaurant, that moment was the time,” said Hochroth, who is a registered nurse. Together the two embarked on the adventure of opening an aged steak house. Hochroth has spent the past three years handling the day-to-day operations of the business. Barone still works as a project manager, but spends his nights and weekends at Augie’s’.
“I am actually grateful to my husband. By opening up the restaurant he gave me a second career,” said Hochroth.
The food is incredible at Augie’s and the menu has something for everyone. But according to Hochroth, people also enjoying coming there because of the ambiance, the impressive wine list and the service.
“You can come here in jeans or all done up and feel like you fit in,” she said. “You can order a hamburger, prime rib or a tasty seafood dish.”
Augie’s, which is named after Hochroth’s nickname that she first got after her little sister could not properly say Audrey, has been so busy on Friday and Saturday nights that patrons have had to be turned away.
To remedy that as well as to offer a separate room that can be used for private functions, Augie’s Loft has been opened upstairs from the main dining room. The 18-table room can be used for private affairs, charity functions or for the overflow of customers on a Friday and Saturday night.
“Now we do not have to turn people away,” Hochroch said. “They can eat in the loft and get the same great menu and service.” She said that people have actually been requesting to have dinner in the loft.
Hochroth and Barone are known for coming up with promotions to keep people interested in the happenings of the restaurant. For the past two years they have giving away a jeep on New Year’s Eve
“I think this year we will try something else,” Hochroth said. Augie’s does host Sunday morning brunch every week that includes unlimited champagne.
In addition, the duo has been supportive of a number of local charities and is interested in doing more. “If a non-profit wants to hold a function in the loft, we would be happy to give it a portion of the proceeds,” she said.
The charity that is close to Hochroth and her husband’s heart is Autism Speaks. Hochroth has a 20-year-old autistic daughter and is also supportive of other parents who are going through similar struggles. Last year they raised $45,000 at a golf outing for the non-profit. This year they are hoping to beat that.
While working on the restaurant and planning the golf outing, Hochroth and Barone are looking to expand their endeavors in a line of products. The product line, which has been names Fat Sal’s, will start with steak sauce, just like what is used in the restaurant. Then they anticipate a jar of hot peppers coming next.
“People have asked us about the sauce that is used on our steaks, so we said why not,” Hochroth said. The bottles will be on the tables of the restaurant for everyone to see.
Augie’s Prime Cut is located at 3436 Lexington Avenue in Lake Mohegan. To make a reservation call 914-743-1357 or go online to www.augiesprimecut.com.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
