Have you been to Craft on 9 in their new location downtown? We were so excited to check it out for the first time a couple weeks ago, and our jaws just about hit the floor when we walked in. The new space is absolutely amazing, and no detail was overlooked in the (12 month!) renovation. From the cozy lounge, high-tops, and bar in front, to the booths and mezzanine seating in back, it’s definitely a place that makes you want to linger a little longer over their fantastic food + drink. We were lucky enough to catch Chef Rob Murphy and his mom, Maria to hear a bit more about their renovation and move, some favorites from their menu, as well as some background on how it all began.
SOME BACKGROUND
Chef Rob, we’d love to know - what inspired you to become a chef?
Rob: I grew up with all of my grandparents being great home cooks. Watching them was fun, especially my grandfather Jim Murphy. I also was homeschooled by my grandmother from grades 7-9 and traveled with my family’s furniture business “Cottage Crafts”. We ate out a lot at very cool and unique restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner - sometimes being away from home for 4 weeks at a time. Seeing different cuisine from all over the country was very inspiring.
How did Craft on 9 come about?
Rob: I learned just about everything I know from Chef Shawn Whalen from Bistro Tallula (RIP). He gave me the tools I needed to be a successful chef/owner from the day I started working for him up until the point where I opened Craft on 9, which was five years. With my love for the community of South Glens Falls, when I heard that the former Luisas Italian Bistro had closed, I thought it could be a perfect spot to finally have the restaurant I had always wanted.
Maria: My husband Jeramie and I knew how much Rob wanted his own place. We had some financial availability to help with that, and along with Jeramie’s abilities in building we decided to take the leap of faith to help our son live his dream.
How did you decide on the name?
Rob: I wanted to focus on everything being handcrafted - from the food, cocktails, and of course, craft beer. I thought the simple but bold name “CRAFT” was catchy and then added the “on 9” to give it a “homey” feel as Route 9 pretty much runs through the center of all of our lives around here.
ON THE MOVE
We’re so thrilled to have you here downtown - how did you decide to make the move to Glens Falls?
Rob: It was a combination of it being a much better location with more seating, and the chance to have a new fresh breath of air with a space that will be maintained and kept up well by my new landlord Chris Patten.
How have things been at the new location? Settling in nicely?
Rob: We are settling in GREAT! We have just about quadrupled sales from the last restaurant. People seem to be enjoying it, as we’ve been sold out every weekend. We also have many private parties booked and have already done at least a dozen. We’re seeing a lot of the same faces plus many new regulars.
What kind of feedback have you gotten from customers on the space?
Rob: We have been welcomed to the neighborhood for sure! Everyone has been super great to us and seem to be excited that were closer to the majority of the population.
What's been the biggest advantage to having the new space?
Rob: Definitely the prime location and being able to seat 140 customers. The last location had a very dilapidated parking lot - it’s nice to have the Pavilion parking lot right next door also.
What's your personal favorite thing about the location in GF?
Rob: My personal favorite thing is and was being able to design this space from the ground up, with my parents and landlord Chris Patten. Also just the whole building being beautifully renovated, and the soon to be South Street project underway is very exciting.
Maria: The space, the people!! Glens Falls feels very alive and it’s inspiring!
ON THE TEAM
Sounds like it was a group effort to get all of the renovations done... how does it feel now that that's behind you?
Rob: It feels great! We had the best team ever while designing and building this place…my parents and I (who did the majority of the work) couldn’t have asked for better help than we had. Tons of people gave up extra time out of their days on the regular, such as my brothers, my uncle Matt, girlfriend Morgan, best friend Hank, and even some of my employees would come and help on their days off. The amount of help we received was incredibly overwhelming, and we are super grateful to everyone that lent a hand as the project STILL took 12 months.
Maria: Throughout the winter and spring it became difficult to stay motivated and there were times we lost sight of the light at the end of the tunnel, so it feels very good to be done and exciting to see guests enjoying the space as much as we hoped they would.
Amazing! You mentioned your employees - how many do you have on board now?
Rob: We now have 18 employees, and I really do have the best employees. My new GM Bill Dingman and my Sous Chef Shawn have been killing it and really taking a huge load off my back, along with Bartender Joe and Chef Bill Nash who came with me to this new space from the old space. These guys have made training all of the new employees at Craft an absolute dream. I even got to hire my mother Maria full time…it feels great to be able to do that.
Yes! We noticed "Mom's Office" inscribed on the door upstairs..what's Mom's role?
Rob: Mom keeps all of the things that you don’t really think about while being a chef nice and glued together. She is basically my human resources person and accountant. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.. cooking really good food is the easiest part of owning your own place.
Maria: I’ll help wherever I am needed, but the main responsibilities will be anything to do with keeping the lights on and the employees paid. And decorating - my favorite thing to do in this amazing space!
ON THE SPACE
Speaking of the space - what was the most fun part and / or biggest challenge with the renovation?
Rob: The most fun part was definitely seeing and working closely alongside my parents for countless hours even though it wasn’t exactly what most people would call fun. I enjoy spending time with my family. The biggest challenge for us was working our normal full time jobs in between it all.. also I hate tile now.
Maria: The most fun part was when we started gutting and opened up the space to find the beautiful potential this old building had and to freely create and design the space. Another fun part of remodeling was when I built the bar back. Using the old shiplap flooring we found and the old Exit 17 highway sign we had made. It was one of the first of our designs to be finished. The most challenging part was balancing family time and the renovations. Working full time jobs and renovating in between. And the project taking 366 days!
Any fun surprises that came about during the renovation?
Rob: There were many surprises during the demolition part, which was to be expected in these old buildings. Countless layers of flooring installed through multiple decades - and apparently some people just poured concrete over problem areas back in the day!
Maria: All of the brick, high tin ceilings and the words Hotel Rolluf Glens Falls we discovered written on the I-beam on the front of the building. So much history and beauty.
Now that you’ve been through it, any recommendations you would offer to anyone looking to dig into a major renovation?
Rob: If it’s in an old building, allow yourself much more time than you think you need.
Maria: Do what it takes to stay motivated and work past the hard because in the end hard work will pay off.
Any favorite unique details in the space?
Rob: We got to use all of the old shiplap flooring from the 1800s that was in the now dining room on the front and behind the bar - gives it a real nice touch. Also, I got to hang my great grandfather “Bud” Scoville’s original “M.C. Scoville Jewelers” sign above my kitchen.
Maria: I love the huge old doors dividing the bar lounge from the dining area. I am also loving my office area as we added that floor to the mezzanine plan where it was originally just open space. My amazing husband found a way for me to be there rather than the basement!
ON THE MENU
All the regular favorites are still there... any plans on adding anything new?
Rob: Yes! Now that the train is rolling nicely and all new employees are well trained on how we do things here, we will start running more specials and change a few of the menu items to go along with the seasons.
How would you describe the menu to someone from out of town?
Rob: It’s hard to describe it honestly..when people ask what kind of menu I have, I tell them “it’s really whatever I feel like cooking”. It’s nice not being limited to one thing like Italian or Mexican. We have some American, Japanese, and lots of European dishes.
You've got about a dozen local brews on tap... how often do you rotate them?
Rob: Often! We never get two kegs of the same thing back to back and very rarely does one keg even make it through one work week.
What's your favorite dish to prepare?
Rob: My favorite thing on my menu is the Ramen for sure.. it’s also the most difficult to prepare but its just sooo good.
We can’t wait to try it. We’re so excited to have you downtown!
Maria: We are so excited to be a part of the growth downtown is experiencing!
Thanks Chef Rob and Maria - we’ll see you again soon for sure!
P.S. Reservations are recommended (they’ve been busy!) - you can grab all of their info and check out their awesome menu here.
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Hungry for more? We’ve featured a few other downtown restaurants here!
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