Published: August 29, 2008 03:21 pm            

THE ISLE FILE: Riverstone Grill, we hardly knew ya

If your summer to-do list activities included dinner at the Riverstone Grill, you missed it. The new Riverstone Grill is now the former Riverstone Grill. 

Most new restaurant ventures fail within three years. The Riverstone Grill did not fail. It was the nearest thing to a runaway success hereabouts in many a moon. Even in midweek, the parking lot would be packed, but family matters have forced Don and Denise Carter into the hard decision to turn off the burners.

The Riverstone opened in the spring in a lightly-patronized pub at that funky turn in East River Road just south of Broadway. Back when Doug was jogging he would sweep the parking lot for containers discarded by careless customers, another story for another time. This was both a building and a business that had seen better days.

The Carters saw this nearly-empty glass as 10 percent full. The shape of the building had a certain charm, and there was a family connection, too. Against all odds, they pulled up most of their stakes in Florida, blended Denise’s recipes with Don’s kitchen skills and fired up the grill.

Isle File first heard of it over the counter at Wilson Farms, center of communications for south Islanders. It was “just like the old Del & Herb’s,” a powerful tribute. (The “new” Del & Herb’s, the Bake & Brew, is doing just fine but closes before the Riverstone opens.

We swung by about 6:15 one evening, narrowly missing the “early birds.” Unable to piece together a satisfactory order from the heavy concentration on seafood, we left. The dice never fell in such a way that we got back in.

It looked great, with heavy furnishings befitting the slightly upscale fare, several cozy sections and the old bar still in place. “Word of mouth” would take your breath away. The bumpy parking lot yielded no nickel cans now but maybe if you were lucky you might score a Lexus hubcap.

What happened next was not in the business plan. An older family member fell ill in Florida. The Carters decided that to try to run the Riverstone with attentions divided by a thousand miles just wouldn’t suit anybody. So they closed down. Even came home to reimburse buyers of gift certificates. Wow! When Ithaca landmark Joe’s Restaurant closed, certificate holders got a finger in the eye; Joe had sold them right up to closing.

Compared to loss of life, limb and property, we can’t characterize the Riverstone story as a tragedy, but it certainly is a sad turn for folks on both sides of the stove. If there’s any bright side, it’s that they proved that a good restaurant, well-run by people who know the trade and the clientele, can make it on Grand Island.

West River, anyone?

Isle File idea? Write pollyndoug@hotmail.com

        

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