PETER R. BARBER Post cards from Schenectady's past cover the walls of the dining area at the Horses Lounge on McClellan Street in Schenectady Thursday, May 23, 2024.
PETER R. BARBER Post cards from Schenectady's past cover the walls of the dining area at the Horses Lounge on McClellan Street in Schenectady Thursday, May 23, 2024.
The Horses Lounge, a longtime local favorite bar on McClellan Street, has been closed since last summer and it will reopen under new ownership, with an updated look and menu.
“I don’t have a day that goes by that somebody doesn’t ask me ‘When is the Horses opening?’” said Tommy Nicchi, who bought the business and the building at 912 McClellan late last year from Christian Fritzen.
Fritzen’s father and stepmother, Fred and Gladys Fritzen, opened the bar in September of 1976. The latter had always dreamed of opening a bar and had spent much of her early career training and showing horses, hence the Horses name. Christian Fritzen took it over in 2014 after Fred’s health started to decline.
When he started looking for a buyer, he knew he wanted to find someone who would keep the Horses going and build on it.
“It was important to me to find a purchaser to continue my family’s legacy,” Fritzen said. “We’ve been a staple in the community for nearly 50 years and I’m excited and very happy it will continue on.”
Nicchi, who also owns The Broken Inn in Niskayuna and the Comedy Works in Saratoga Springs, initially heard about the closure of The Horses Lounge from some of its longtime customers.
“My staff and some of my patrons had been coming here for years,” Nicchi said. “They spoke about it in a very beloved way.”
Last September, he attended an estate sale at the restaurant where some of the memorabilia was being sold, and within minutes he knew he wanted to bring the place back. Former customers have been supportive from the start.
“As soon as word got out, the people who had been coming here since the 70s and 80s and 90s, who maybe don’t come here or had stopped coming here because life happens, were excited to come back,” Nicchi said. “There’s a little nostalgia for them and people who live in the neighborhood and were regulars who were really bummed out that their local spot was closing are equally as excited.”
Over the last few months, he and a small team have been renovating the restaurant, refurbishing the century-old hardwood floors and updating the kitchen and patio.
Much like the furniture at The Broken Inn, everything from the light fixtures to the barstools at the Horses “had a life before it came here,” Nicchi said. That includes a vintage horse head that’s used as a draft line handle they’re calling the “Horse Line.” Each week, it will feature a different $5 draft. However, customers can instead take a chance and have the bartenders spin a sizable red and white wheel that sits behind the bar with the numbers 1-10. Whatever number it lands on is the price they pay.
The aesthetic also leans into Schenectady’s history. The walls are dotted with postcards of scenes around the city during the 1920s to 1940s.
“The idea is that [there are] people who know this place but haven’t been here in years and some who are just learning about it, and one thing that they have in common is Schenectady,” Nicchi said.
There are also photo collages of customers at the bar over the years.
“Those are the roots of this place. Let’s bring some people in and have them see if they can find themselves,” Nicchi said.
Like the space, the menu has also gotten a refresh. Fritzen passed down the family recipes and the mainstay wings and burgers will still be available, but now they’re all customizable.
“Instead of having 10 or 12 different kinds of house burgers with set toppings, we’re going to do the same burger and then you just tell us what you want on it,” Nicchi said.
The same goes for wings, flatbreads, footlong hot dogs, fries/tots and onion rings. There are also salads and starters, some of which are carried over from The Broken Inn, including the Bavarian pretzels and sweet corn nuggets.
The Horses’ house-made blue cheese dressing, which was a long-kept secret Fritzen family recipe, will be available.
“We’ll be selling the house recipe blue cheese to go because people love it that much,” Nicchi said.
When it comes to beer, they’re bringing back Genesse Cream Ale, Schlitz and Coors in banquet-style bottles. They’ll still offer locally-made craft beer from Seven Points Brewery, Wolf Hollow Brewery and Frog Alley.
They’ll also now be open for lunch, with hours of operation from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. If customers pay in cash, 3% of the sale will go toward Schenectady-centric causes in an effort Nicchi’s calling #RESPECTSCHENECT.
“While people don’t always take change very well, they’ve been very positive in terms of their response to the changes we’ve made,” Nicchi said.
Fritzen has been happy to see Nicchi build on his family’s legacy, noting that Nicchi’s love for the community and his experience in the business, gave him “the confidence and comfort in making this transition much more settling.”
“I know our regular customer base will welcome Tommy and his crew with open arms and support his and The Horses Lounge’s continued successes for many more years to come,” Fritzen said.
PETER R. BARBER Post cards from Schenectady's past cover the walls of the dining area at the Horses Lounge on McClellan Street in Schenectady Thursday, May 23, 2024.
