The village hasn’t looked so good in years. Four businesses in the center of our mile-wide burg are undergoing renovations that’ll make the old town sparkle like new.
Limp Lizard
The former Mother’s Restaurant at 201 First Street is being transformed into a new Limp Lizard Bar & Grill. Mother’s, long operated here by Terri Root and her son, Jack, closed earlier this year.
The new Lizard lounge, a joint endeavor by Chuck Orlando, Mike Rotella and Scott Schimpff, could open here in late-November. Its new, no-nonsense matte-brown siding has already supplanted Mother’s merrier red paint scheme.
Orlando owns of the other two Limp Lizards – a restaurant and bar in Westhill across from Western Lights Plaza and a smaller bistro in North Syracuse.
Rotella – whose father, Bob, lives in Liverpool – was one of the founders of the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in downtown Syracuse. Schimpff had run Mother’s briefly this summer after buying it from the Roots, but closed it after a few weeks of so-so business.
‘The Cornerstone’
The old Manly Building at 401-403 First St. has also undergone a major restoration care of JGB Properties which turned it into an apartment building that will house a Freedom of Espresso shop on its ground floor. Check it out at jgbproperties.com/401.
JGB and the village of Liverpool, who partnered on the Restore NY grant which helped fund the renovation of the 157-year-old brick building, are jointly hosting a reception at 9 a.m. Oct. 28, to thank those whose support made the project a success.
Since the structure stands at the corner of First and Tulip streets (right across the street from The Cobblestone), the invitation proclaims they’re renaming it “The Cornerstone.”
Pizza Villa
The village’s venerable pizzeria, Joe and Val Scordo’s Pizza Villa, is undergoing a massive exterior facelift that extends across the building to include Kieffer’s Cigar Store.
The towering new design for the building on the corner of Oswego and Tulip streets features faux Ionic columns that exude both class and European charm. The shop remains open while the work is completed, so phone in your take-out orders to 451-4200.
Heid’s tower
Liverpool’s landmark hot dog stand, Heid’s, is having its art deco tower revamped. Upstate’s wicked weather and simple aging have led to recent deterioration, so owner John Parker called in a contractor to shore it up.
Turns out the trapezoidal tower is fabricated from parts of a deco display at the 1939 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows.
For Heid’s info, visit heidsofliverpool.com.
Meat mania
Twice a year Nichols Supermarket hosts a three-day Meat Bonanza, and the autumn event is this week, Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 6, 7 and 8. Nichols meat department manager Jerry Miles and his assistants, Dick Potts and A Fabrizi, have plenty of inexpensive specials ready for customers. There’s fresh beef, fresh chicken, USDA Choice domestic lamb and veal all cut and hand-trimmed right at the First Street grocery.
Call ahead for “Butcher Block” selections, 453-MEAT; nicholsliverpool.com.
I recommend the new Cajun-style Nicholini sausage, a real deal at $1.87 per pound. Trust me: it’s not too hot for your Yankee palates. Serve it with red beans and rice.
