(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2023)
The family that runs Stunad's Italian Ice. Owner Michael DiTroia, second from left, his brother Paul Mastroieni at left, his mother Traci Mastroieni and Rob Porter.
Stunad’s Italian Ice will open a second shop in Lake George Village in time for summer. It is the second restaurant for owner Michael DiTroia. His first is in the village mall. Christie’s on the Lake is removing its deck awning and replacing it with a roof. Shoreline Cruises is updating its facade and ticket booth, and Sundowner Motel is adding a second floor to two of its buildings. The owners hope to break ground by April.
All of the projects went before the Lake George Village Planning Board Wednesday March 15 and passed, usually with some conditions.
Stunad’s Italian Ice “is a family effort,” DiTroia said after the approval with conditions. The name is a nickname bestowed by his grandmother.
His mother, Traci Mastroieni, explained that the name “is Italian slang for nuts or crazy.
“It was always used ‘endearingly’, for the most part,” she wrote in an email, adding that the endearing nature of it is why he kept it as the restaurant name.
The family is from Westchester County originally, just outside the Bronx, in the New Rochelle/Pelham area.
The storefront at 155 Canada St. is a former gift shop, and the issue is that DiTroia can do little with a portico out front, under current zoning.
It is screened now, and removing the screen and placing two or three bar-height tables, even without chairs, under the portico roof turns the space into outdoor dining, although DiTroia and family friend Rob Porter told the board that was not the intention.
As well, the building is built to the property edge, and tables for outdoor seating need a wider set-back from the sidewalk.
They do have some options that might work, such as pushing the tables as far from the sidewalk as possible, or they might go before the Zoning Board of Appeals to ask for a variance.
The planning board was happy with the change of use from gift shop to restaurant for the location which is next door to Mezzaluna, another Italian-inspired restaurant.
Christie’s on the Lake will replace the awning over the deck on Christie’s Lane, the steep alleyway that connects Canada Street to the village boardwalk. The board spoke some about the roof being impermeable, but the land below it is also impermeable, and code allows for an impermeable surface to cover another impermeable surface, said Dan Borusch, the director of planning for both the town and village of Lake George. Planners often talk about stormwater "infiltration," or the idea that as much of it as possible should soak into the earth before reaching the lake.
Owners Gary McCoola and Brett Lange explained also that the building already incorporates a storm water mitigation system, and no rain water goes directly into the lake. The board approved the change so long the gutter system ties into the storm water management system.
The Sundowner Motel, at 420 Canada St., wants to raze two cabins and create two new cabins but with two floors instead of one.
Application materials say they are making no changes to the lighting, topography, sewage disposal, or the location of trash receptacles.
The exterior walls of the cabin will have dark brown stained or painted pine log siding, and all agreed — after some fun banter between the applicant, his wife and the board — to forest green shingles. The project still must go to the zoning board for a setback variance.