Owners Dave and Chris Preston to buy building, make improvements
BY Jason Emerson
editor
Dave and Chris Preston have owned and operated Emma’s Café on Main on Albany Street for more than 15 years, during which time they have built it into a village staple with numerous regular customers and vast word-of-mouth popularity. Currently, the Prestons have entered a new phase of improving their business — they are in the midst of purchasing the entire three-story building at 47 Albany St. and will renovate and remodel the entire interior. The first floor café will be upgraded and restyled, and the top two floors will become the Prestons’ home.
“We’ve wanted for years to make upgrades [to the restaurant space], and now we have the opportunity to do it, once it is ours,” Dave said.
“We want to bring back the history of the space,” said Chris.
Some of the café renovations have already occurred in Emma’s, including the major one of removing the paneling on the dining room wall and the exposure of the brick wall underneath. “That took 10 hours to do, but it was definitely worth it,” Chris said.
Also completed has been a new paint job with a new grey color, new light fixtures, new photographs decorating the walls (taken by Chris’s daughter Ashlynn, 16), a new back door that was hung at an old diner, and a new ceiling. The wooden booths, dining counter and kitchen area will all stay the same.
The second and third floors of the building, which are owned and occupied by Teitsch-Kent-Fay Architects, will be renovated from the current business configuration into a two bedroom, 1.5 bath residential space for the Prestons.
Teitsch-Kent-Fay Architects are selling the building, but will remain in business at a new location, Chris said.
“We’ve been wanting to buy the building for years, and we’re just thrilled that we finally can,” she said.
The renovations have received positive feedback from Emma’s customers so far, Dave said. “They love everything and everyone wants to know what’s next,” he said. “We’ve even been getting a lot of new customers who want to see the changes.”
The Prestons currently are applying for a special use permit to change the two upstairs floors of the building from business to residential use. A public hearing on the application is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, June 13, at the village planning board’s next regular meeting.
Before that happens, however, Emma’s will be closed for business from May 17 to 24 while the ceiling upgrades occurs. Once that is done, the restaurant will reopen with its completed new look. The menu will stay the same, but one other potential change to the business is possible longer weekend hours of operation, Chris said.
There is no grand re-opening event or party scheduled for May 25, the Prestons just plan to open the doors and get to work, Chris said. They are, however, thinking of holding an open house during the Christmas holidays to thank their customers and show them the building renovations on all three floors, she said.
Emma’s Café on Main offers breakfast and lunch and opens at 6:30 a.m. every day of the week except Mondays. For more information, call 655-9765.
