New Restaurant to Replace Mt. Kisco Bistro; Borders Site May Follow
A new year will bring a new business into Mount Kisco to fill a recent Main Street vacancy, along with optimism that the village’s most visible empty storefront will follow suit.
A new restaurant is moving into the space at 222 Main St. that formerly housed the French American Bistro, while village officials are keeping their fingers crossed that another business will soon occupy the former home of the nearby Borders bookstore.
Mayor Michael Cindrich said last week there is a business considering taking over the roughly 20,000 square feet in the former Borders location, though he declined to provide more details.
The building, located at Main and Green streets, has been vacant for nearly a year and a half after the book chain went bankrupt.
Cindrich said he recently spoke with a representative of the Wilton, Conn.-based Mount Kisco Associates, the landlord of the building that housed Borders. He said “they are actively pursuing” a tenant for the building.
Mount Kisco Associates representatives could not be reached for comment last week.
Though the former Borders space remains unoccupied, The Rose Room is taking over the spot that until about a month ago had been the home of French American Bistro, or sometimes referred to as F.A.B.
Somers resident Michael Lubic and his mother, Lisa Lubic of Mahopac, who own Traditions 118, an Italian restaurant in Granite Springs, are in the process of renovating the interior and transforming it into the new establishment.
“We’ve had Traditions for eight years,” Michael Lubic said. “This is our second (restaurant).”
Lubic declined to speculate on why F.A.B. went out of business. It opened in 2009.
“The opportunity came up,” he said of his decision to open a restaurant on Main Street. “I signed a new lease.”
Lubic said he and his mother hope to open The Rose Room early next month. They are currently working at the site to transform the spot into space that has “a completely new feel and atmosphere,” he said.
The roughly 100-seat Rose Room will serve American food “with a touch of Italian,” Lubic said. The restaurant is being named in honor of Lubic’s grandmother.
Although some businesses have recently closed in the village, the losses have been offset by new stores that have recently arrived in Mount Kisco, Cindrich said. He said many small stores are finding it difficult to survive because they are in competition with online sales, which often saves the consumer money because there is no sales tax charged.
Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce President Phil Bronzi said while some businesses have recently left Mount Kisco, the trend is looking brighter for the village.
“We have more businesses coming into town” than are leaving, Bronzi said.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/