By Bill Sherman

ALTAMONT – Village residents may have a new place to eat by next spring if Timothy Coughtry and his family have their way. Coughtry and his daughter, Danielle Anderson, have requested a special-use permit from the village to operate a restaurant and bar on 1.88 acres of land behind the post office in Altamont.

In their application to the village, Coughtry and Anderson stated the establishment would have up to 98 seats and 84 parking spaces, although it would likely start off smaller, Coughtry said. He said the unnamed restaurant will be family focused.

Coughtry said initially he and Anderson will focus on pizza, burgers, chicken, seafood and steak dinners. They will include a daily special, which will change every day.
The restaurant will have a small bar if "someone wanted to stop by after work for a drink or two," he said. However, they would not operate the bar as a late-night establishment. The restaurant will be the focus.

Coughtry told The Enterprise on Wednesday, "Altamont is starving for a place like this." He also said they would like to blend into the old style of Altamont. The building they will remodel is one of the oldest buildings in the village, Coughtry said; he believes the building formerly was used as a sort of loading dock and turn-about for trains.

The two hope the neighbors are supportive of the project. They were interested in starting a restaurant a few years earlier, but received resistance from neighbors because the property in question was zoned residential.

This time Coughtry does not expect any problems because the area is zoned commercial. A public hearing is set for next Tuesday, Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Village Hall.

Coughtry said he hopes to start work as soon as all the permits are in place. He expects the work to take six to eight months before it is completed.

Coughtry has owned and operated TEC/Northeast Fire Systems located at 100 Park Street for 35 years. His brick fire systems building abuts the old railroad building.
His experience renovating other property has given him a "good grip on what it takes" to complete this project, he said. "The area now is a mess, with scrub brush all over. We will dress up the whole area," said Coughtry.

As for the restaurant business, Coughtry and Anderson have been busy taking restaurant-management classes at Schenectady County Community College. Those courses have included culinary arts, management, baking and food preparation. Anderson, who is a practicing attorney, is currently taking a course that includes bar management and menu selection.

As part of his fire-suppression system business Coughtry said he has been in about 15,000 restaurants. However, that does not make him an expert in the business. Coughtry said neither he nor Anderson will be the main chef. They expect to hire a professional chef with a culinary degree.
Coughtry concluded, "If we can’t do it properly, we won’t do it at all."