September 30, 2009

 

     Locals have been making the trek to Hammondsport all summer just to get a taste of an old Corning favorite.

     The fire that burned Sorge's Restaurant to the ground last December, couldn't keep people away from its homemade Italian food.    

     All the puzzle pieces are almost in place to start rebuilding Sorge's Restaurant on Market Street, but while it's closed, the owners still want to keep their customers happy.

     They teamed up with the Lakeside Restaurant for a weekly Sorge's Night.

     “We've always featured the lasagna here at the Lakeside every Wednesday, it's our second best selling menu item,” said Joe Sorge, former co-owner of Sorge's Restaurant. “So, its just nice to be able to offer that to the people that come up, to wet their appetite and keep them thinking of us.”

     Since July, Joe Sorge and his brother Mike have been hosting Sorge's Night at the Lakeside Restaurant on Keuka Lake in Hammondsport.

     Diners get their pick of four Sorge's recipes as well as the normal Lakeside menu.

     It’s a chance for longtime Sorge's customers to get a taste of what they've been missing since the restaurant was destroyed by fire late last year.

     “It was always very good and I always used to like the homemade pasta, it was just fantastic, I always used to get it every time I went,” said longtime Sorge’s diner, Al Wahlig.

     And that’s exactly what Al ordered for the final Sorge's night dinner at the Lakeside Restaurant.

     While Sorge's Nights are over, Sorge's Restaurant is just one step away from being rebuilt.

     The City of Corning approved a historic designation and a loan for the landmark eatery.

     Now, it's a waiting game for the building permit to go through.

     “Everything is pretty much in place to start construction in a couple weeks,” Sorge said.

     This time around, Sorge’s will look a bit different from how most of us remember it before the fire.

     The new eatery will be modeled after pictures taken when it opened back in 1951.

     The restaurant is expected to be open before next spring.