Syracuse, N.Y. — It was a bake shop and then a deli before shutting down this summer. Now the retail location at the corner of Westcott and Dell streets is home to all things lobster.
Lobster Babe opened last weekend in the building at 466 Westcott. The seafood restaurant is operated by a company led by Danielle Mercuri, which also runs the Rise N Shine diner across Dell Street.
As the name implies, the menu incudes a variety of lobster rolls (also served in mixed flights), lobster mac n cheese and even loaded lobster tots. There are also soups, sandwiches, salads and a fish fry dinner.
It’s primarily a takeout place, but there are a few tables for dining in. There is no bar, but Mercuri plans to get a liquor license to sell canned cocktails.
Mercuri hopes to bring the same stylish presentation to seafood that she offers for breakfast dishes at Rise N Shine, and burgers at Loded, another restaurant her company operates on Thompson Road in DeWitt.
“It’s just a great opportunity to fill a spot on Westcott with something new and different,” Mercuri said. “And I just hate to see empty spaces on Westcott.”
Cure, the deli operated in that location by the owners of Recess Coffee, closed in June. Also this year, the Stout Beard Brewing Co. closed its taproom on Dell Street (it’s reopening this week in Liverpool). And then Beer Belly Deli, located on the same block as Rise N Sine, closed in July.
Mercuri’s company, Divine Diamond Restaurants, took over the lease at 466 Westcott held by the Recess Coffee owners. She’s also exploring the possibility of doing something with the vacant Beer Belly space at 508 Westcott.
And she’s also busy preparing to open Lalalu, an Italian restaurant that will take over the building occupied for years by Grimaldi’s just off of Carrier Circle. She’s partnering with local entrepreneur Adam Weitsman on that project, which has been described as offering food that is “zany and craveable,” not to mention Instagrammable.
“It’s been hectic,” said Mercuri, who hopes to open Lalalu at 6430 Yorktown Circle by early December. “There’s a lot going on right now.”
As for Lobster Babe, it had a soft opening for the past week. It will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.
The decor is still a work in progress, Mercuri said.
“It definitely doesn’t look yet the way we want it, but it’s going to get there,” she said.
And while some people might compare it to the Fish Friar restaurant in downtown Syracuse, Mercuri says Lobster Babe is a little different.
“I love Fish Friar, but they do a lot of fish and then have a lobster roll,” she said. “Here, we’re pushing the lobster. It’s all about the lobster.”
More food and dining news in CNY:
Two new restaurants now open in eastern Onondaga County shopping center
Three Syracuse-area Jimmy John’s sandwich shops appear to be closed
It’s business as usual at historic Cazenovia inn/restaurant as it fails to sell at auction
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.