It’s been said that if you choose a job you love, you will never have to work a day in your life.
Those are words to live by for Michael Heller, a 25-plus year veteran of the food industry who on November 1 will become the new owner of Eagle Bay’s Hard Times Café.
A native of Diamond Point, a small community situated on Lake George, Heller has spent most of his life catering to the culinary needs of Adirondack visitors and residents.
A passion sparked at the age of 14 when he scored a job as an ice cream scooper at the Lake George Howard Johnson’s, led him to practical experience at other area restaurants before studying at Paul Smith’s College and Le Cordon Bleu Paris Culinary Arts School in France.
Following graduation, the Adirondacker worked in New Hampshire and around New York state before choosing to settle closer to home and family—working as a chef at the former House of Scott’s Restaurant in Bolton Landing and The Algonquin Restaurant.
For the past seven years he served as executive chef at Porreca’s Restaurant in Lake George.
But Heller’s long-range plan was to own his own place, and for the last few years he has been investigating opportunities within the Adirondack Park.
After seeing an on-line real estate ad for Hard Times, he made a post-Labor Day visit to Eagle Bay to meet with the seller, Lisa Lewis, who has owned and operated the restaurant for the past 13 years.
As a visiting snowmobiler, Heller was already familiar with the Eagle Bay area; and it’s the similarities between the tiny village and his hometown that made him realize that he had found the right place to call his own.
“Diamond Point is kind of like Eagle Bay—a little place between two big resort towns.
I have an understanding of the dynamic of working within the Blue Line which I believe to be an asset in business,” he said.
Heller’s offer was accepted by Lewis, and from there things came together remarkably quickly.
The offer included him and his childhood friends Dan Proulx and Andrew French, working side-by-side with Lewis since the end of September to get a feel for both the character of the four-story building and the clientele.
Heller said they have received a lot of positive feedback in the past month, something they are most appreciative of.
“You don’t always get the welcome mat rolled out for you because people don’t know who you are or what you’re about. But we’ve had quite the opposite experience here.
Everyone has been extremely nice and supportive,” he said.
A retirement party and customer appreciation day at the restaurant on Friday, October 31 will mark the end of Lewis’ era of ownership.
Patrons are invited to stop by to wish her well and will have the opportunity to meet new inn keeper Heller and his support staff: Proulx, the general manager and IT specialist and French, first cook and building superintendent.
The doors will stay open until Tuesday, November 4 as a gesture of convenience for those going to the polls at the Eagle Bay Fire Hall or just passing through.
“We’ll be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner until then to accommodate voters and provide take-out for folks working the polls.
We welcome curiosity seekers to stop by and say hi, or simply get a last look at Hard Times as it is now,” Heller said.
The real work begins the following day when the crew attacks the interior of the dining and bar areas in preparation for their reopening over Thanks-giving weekend.
Heller said the plan is to follow the traditional Adirondack Inn model, retaining the separate dining area and tavern, and catering to a mixed clientele.
“We’re open to the guy who wants to have a beer at the bar and watch a ball game or NASCAR, and the ladies group who comes by for lunch.
All will feel equally welcome…one establishment, lots of choices,” he said.
It will be open seven days, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
The menu will experience an overhaul; diners can expect a mix of traditional fare and new creations.
“We won’t mess with the classics, but we’ll also have the opportunity to explore our creative sides,” Heller said.
Another plan in the works is to develop a loyalty program whereby customers can earn benefits for their frequency of patronage.
Recognizing a void in accommodations in Eagle Bay, a long-range goal of Heller’s is to completely renovate the second floor’s five rental rooms and owner’s quarters to bring the establishment back to its original roots as a full-service inn.
The intent of his vision is clear with the renaming of the business: The Inn at Eagle Bay.
“This is our brand, this is Eagle Bay and we need to represent it.
That’s why we wanted to incorporate the name of the town into the name of the business–so people know where they are and this is who we are.
“We’re newcomers, but we have town pride and this is where we chose to be.
We had other options over the years but this is where we ended up.
As my late grandmother used to say, Everything happens for a reason…and here we are today in Eagle Bay,” said Heller.