CLARKSVILLE —Clarksville’s popular and highly rated Jake Moon Restaurant and Café is being converted into an upscale pizzeria and deli under new owner Chris Smith, an Albany County legislator who owns the also-popular Maple on the Lake in East Berne. 

“We’re going to renovate it in the next month-and-a-half and open in early spring as an upscale, Boar’s Head, real New York City bread, real hard rolls — like a deli,” Smith told The Enterprise this week. 

Jake Moon was founded by Chef Daniel Smith, of Woodland Valley, who moved to Clarksville in 2007 and carried culinary experience that included formal training at the La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine, in Paris, according to the Jake Moon website. 

Inside the restaurant was a down-home ambience that blended an intrinsic simplicity with artistic flair — from the rustic art deco font of its logo, designed by Milton Glaser, to the vibrant paintings on the wall to the music that would sometimes be performed live for diners, who ate from a menu that was a similar amalgamation of comfort, charm, and spirit. 

It closed on Oct. 10, 2021, with Smith posting in a final message on the restaurant’s Facebook page, “And so it was … Good night Jake Moon.”

Maple on the Lake

While speaking with The Enterprise this week, Chris Smith also touched on the status of Maple on the Lake which, should anyone think to seek it out, can be seen listed for sale for $2.5 million as a “highly confidential” listing through Pyramid Brokerage — but not because Smith is actively seeking a buyer. 

“Everything’s for sale for the right price,” Smith said when asked about a rumor that the property was being sold to a New Jersey developer. “When the market was booming, we put a crazy number on it, but we don’t expect it to sell.”

The property, at 141 Warners Lake Rd. in East Berne, has a full-market value of $712,963, according to Albany County assessment rolls.