Owners of Maxon’s say people will be ‘shocked’ at the new look

The Enterprise — Michael Koff

New owners, new look: Laura Loverro and Brian Van Vranken — an engaged couple — are redesigning the restaurant they will run at the Western Turnpike Golf Course. 

GUILDERLAND — A new full-time restaurant, Stone Fox Grill, at the town’s Western Turnpike Golf is slated to open in mid-April when the golf season starts but will continue to stay open even when the season is over.

The town’s director of parks and recreation, Colin Gallup, called this “pretty exciting for the town.”

Owners Brian Van Vranken and Laura Loverro, an engaged couple, also run Maxon’s American Grill in Rotterdam, which they opened three years ago. They will continue to run Maxon’s while serving as the food-and-beverage vendor for the golf course at 2350 Western Ave.

Gallup said that five different parties had expressed interest in taking over the restaurant after the town ended its contract with Mallozzi’s last year.

“We ended up with two that followed it through to the very end and put in proposals,” he said, naming the other as A Perfect Plate Catering.

A five-person committee made the selection, Gallup said, deciding that Stone Fox Grill “fit best with serving the golf course and keeping the golf course the priority.”

In online polls, Van Vranken said, Maxon’s has been named number one or two several times. “Maxon’s is our heart and soul,” he said. “It just got to the point where we were able to venture out a little and expand the business. We are trying to bring a Maxon’s feel to Guilderland.”

Stone Fox Grill will be a “funky fusion,” Van Vranken said, including homemade smokehouse barbecue as well as some American fare. It will offer homemade kielbasa and sausages, he said, as well as its own smoked brisket, ribs, and pulled pork.

Their burgers are “famous,” Van Vranken said, and there will be a couple of different burgers on the menu. The menu will also include Korean barbecue, he said. The restaurant will offer daily specials and special events such as beer pairings, he said.

“We try to keep everything as fresh as possible. Everything’s made on the premises,” he said.

Van Vranken said he has been working in restaurants for almost 30 years. Loverro, he said, has done a lot of banquets and weddings.

At the golf course, Van Vranken and Loverro plan to do a lot of large parties. “We have two large banquet rooms and a large patio outside that holds about 700 people, with a green area where everybody can hang out,” Van Vranken said. Stone Fox Grill will be able to host events including weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, and birthday parties, he said.

Renovations are currently underway, said Van Vranken.

They include, Gallup said, replacing the flooring, refurbishing the bar top, upgrading some lighting, basic repainting, and putting in a divider wall to separate the bar from the dining area a little better.

“We’re giving the place a much-needed facelift,” Van Vranken said. “We’re bringing it into 2019. The building was stuck in, I think, 1987. People who know the building are going to be shocked.”

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