Salt & Char, an upscale steakhouse, will open
this spring at 353 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.
BY MAUREEN WERTHER
The trifecta of restaurants scheduled to open
in the Adelphi Hotel in Saratoga Springs and at
the site of the former Maestro’s restaurant are
only the first of many projects envisioned by
Adelphi Hospitality Group.
Toby Mildé, president of Richbell Capital
LLC and owner of the historic Adelphi Hotel,
365 Broadway, formed the Adelphi Hospitality
Group after meeting with renowned chef Gray
Kunz and finding that they shared a vision for
the culinary future of the region.
Mildé said he met Kunz through a mutual
friend in the hospitality industry. After sitting
down together on several occasions to talk
about Milde’s vision for the Adelphi Hotel-and
the Saratoga region in general, they found their
visions aligned and decided to form a partnership.
They envision three projects.
The first–Salt & Char–is expected to open
this spring in the Van Dam building, 353 Broadway,
formerly home to Maestro’s.
Mildé said Richbell Capital has invested approximately
$2 million into its transformation.
The main focus of the menu will be beef, which
will be locally produced and sourced. Kunz is
the architect of the menu which, according to
Mildé, will be constantly evolving in order to
offer the finest culinary experience.
The other two restaurants scheduled to open
in the Adelphi Hotel have not been named as
yet, but Mildé noted that one will be a fine
dining experience in a "brasserie" style, while
the other will be a more casual, open-fire type
atmosphere.
Mildé said that the Adelphi lobby bar will be
another place for guests to meet for cocktails,
raw bar selections and lighter fare.
Both Mildé and Kunz anticipate a long partnership
and are excited about future projects,
according to Mildé.
Born in Singapore and brought up in Switzerland,
Kunz began his culinary training in the
Swiss city of Bern as chef apprentice to Fredy
Girardet, a highly acclaimed chef in Europe.
Since then, he has enjoyed a stellar career in
the U.S. and abroad.
He has won James Beard Foundation's Outstanding
Chef awards and a Best New Restaurant
award and is in the foundation's "Who's
Who of Food and Beverage." Restaurants that
Kunz has opened with critical success include
Café Gray and Grayze in New York City, as well
as Café Gray Deluxe in Hong Kong. He is also
the author of "The Elements of Taste."
Richbell has developed a number of residential
communities in the area, including The
Paddocks of Saratoga and The Kensington at
Halfmoon.
The Adelphi Hotel closed following the summer
2012 season. The owners originally hoped
to reopen by the summer of 2014, but the project
proved more complicated than expected when
the building was determined to be structurally
unsound. The long-awaited reconstruction of
the 137-year-old hotel was started about a year
ago and is ongoing.