Business Profile: Mohansic Grill and Lounge, Yorktown
The Mohansic Grill and Lounge opened up with the 2013 golf season for Westchester County courses on March 15, but beginning this year it will be open year-round for the first time.
To prepare for last week’s opening, the restaurant and bar overlooking the putting green on the golf course underwent a significant renovation.
Larry Savino and his wife, Anne, have co-owned the Mohansic Grill since 2012. The couple, who reside in Putnam Valley, previously owned two eateries in New York City for 15 years.
Savino said last week he has played golf at the Mohansic course for 15 years and manages the pro shop on weekends. For the five years prior to his obtaining the restaurant, the eatery was “dying,” Savino said. “I figured it was time for a change.”
“It’s an interesting business,” Savino said. “It can be a fun business. It also can be a lot of work.”
Savino knows about work. The restaurant is open every day from sunrise to sunset, with plans to open after dark. “It’s a long day,” he said.
One change is the Savino’s plan to open the restaurant all year. Previously, the establishment was not open in January and February and early March when the golf course was closed. One way the couple is attempting to attract customers all year is the regular scheduling of music concerts. “A lot of the local neighbors like the idea of having a year-round restaurant,” Savino said.
Savino is working with the county to obtain lights for the area on the roads and parking lot around the restaurant. “The problem in the past is that it has only been a day (business),” which closed when the course did at sunset, he said.
Despite his workload, Savino plays 18 holes of golf once a week and plays a few holes at other times when he can. “It’s a difficult game. It’s one of those games you either love it or hate it,” he said.
The seasonal menu features many locally-harvested foods from local farms. “Everything we cook we do fresh,” Savino said. “We try not to use any canned products. That’s one of our primary interests, serving not only good food but healthy food.” Savino said he and his wife work with their two cooks on recopies. Positive newspaper reviews published last year attracted new customers.
The Savinos also operate a snack shop on the course and a concession cart that is sent out to the golfers typically on busy weekends.
The restaurant is being managed this year by Putnam Valley resident Michael Count, whose aunt and uncle owned a restaurant in Washington D.C. “My family had no money for summer camp so I went down to the restaurant for the summer,” Count recalled. “I was tiny in a tuxedo walking into the dining room.”
When he was 19, Count became manger of the Thyme restaurant in Yorktown.
Count said he worked with the Savnios to renovate the restaurant. “We did a lot of work,” Count said. “We spent probably about two weeks just planning on what we were trying to do here.”
Count said walls were knocked down in the kitchen, the menus were redone, new staff was hired and new wines, other types of alcohol and food preparation equipment were purchased. “We really want to reach out to the public, to those foodies who want to come in, not just the gofers.” he said.
Mohansic Grill and Lounge is located 1500 Baldwin Road in Yorktown. For more information visit www.mohansicgrill.com or call 914-962-9300.
