KNOX — Anyone stepping into the My Way Tavern in Knox wondering whether the name has anything to do with the Frank Sinatra song can take a look at the lyrics framed on the wall — complete with the Chairman’s printed signature — and remove all doubt. 

Owner Erin Thorpe told The Enterprise that, although she was raised here in the Hilltowns, a lot of  her family is from New Jersey, so Sinatra was a big part of her musical life growing up. 

“That song itself has so much meaning, to anybody,” she said. “You have to do it your way in life, and that’s just the bottom line.”

Thorpe’s way is working because — despite what she described as a chaotic start — the Township Road restaurant will be celebrating its one-year anniversary next month, featuring live music at the restaurant on Aug. 23 from the band Tangled Web, on top of a private party before that. The restaurant’s official anniversary is Aug. 14. 

Thorpe has worked on the property through several of its iterations, beginning with arguably its most famous — Township Tavern — followed by On the Hill Pub and Grill, and most recently by Joe’s Tavern. In between the last two, she also put time in at Tesoro, the Guilderland Italian restaurant that was taken over by Caffe Italia. 

Inspired by Township Tavern chef Paul Centi, and Tesoro chef Raffaele Sainato, Thorpe said she wanted to draw on what she learned working for both of them to create a restaurant that’s as meaningful to the community as Township Tavern had been. Sainato, she said, has even come by to guest-chef, and will return again at some point. 

“I just really wanted that feel,” Thorpe said, “but I didn’t want to copy anybody else, because you’ll never be anybody else. You have to have your own spin on things.” 

For Thorpe, having her own, good restaurant means “a really good menu” — courtesy of head chef Michelle Vincent, a fellow Township alum, and Jason West, who owned his own pizzeria in Voorheesville — along with a “comfy, homey feel” in the dining room, featuring seasonal decor, with “old-school pictures” in the bar area upstairs.

“I get a lot of responses with that,” Thorpe said. “People love coming in here. They have a good time, they feel comfortable. It’s really just a family-based establishment.” 

Thorpe said she hopes to expand the restaurant to an outdoor area where it will be easier to feature bands and other events. 

“We just want this business to succeed,” she said, not just for her own sake, but for her employees, who she says have made it all possible. 

“I talked to other business owners, and they all explained to me how … one of the hardest parts of starting a restaurant is getting good employees,” she said. “And I’ve got to say, I was very, very blessed with that. Hands down, I have the best staff ever.”

In her first year, Thorpe said, nothing has been much of a surprise, but she added that she’s still constantly learning, taking cues from the community in order to succeed. 

“Anything you do in life, you have to be open-minded and you have to live in the community,” she said. “It doesn’t mean that everybody’s always right, but you have to be able to come together and come up with good ideas.” 

Restaurants are notoriously difficult businesses to run, but Thorpe is feeling optimistic, especially with the support of the community and her staff behind her. 

“They say, make it through your first year and you’re usually good,” she said. “In about your second or third year, it starts to get better. So we’ve made it this far. I can’t believe we’re coming up on a year, but here we are.”

It goes to show, she said, “You just can’t give up. If you really want something, you’ve got to just do it.”