COLONIE — Otis & Oliver’s, the restaurant at Mill Road Acres Golf Course in Latham, reopens Saturday. It was closed for nearly two weeks during the transition to ownership by Roger Martel, who has run the restaurant at the Albany municipal golf course for 32 years, and his son Jim.
Jim Martel, who will be the primary operator of Otis & Oliver’s and previously ran Martel’s Grill at the Town of Colonie Golf Course until closing it at the end of last year, said Friday that the sale had gone through and necessary permits granted.
He said via text message, “Same delicious food (and) same wonderful staff.” Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, noon to 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the business’ website. The menu includes almost 60 items.
The Martels bought the business from Don Wade and Erin Cavanaugh, the husband and wife who opened Otis & Oliver’s in 2005 elsewhere in Latham and moved it to the Mill Road course in 2012. The former owners said in April, when the pending sale was announced, that they wanted freedom to travel and spend time with family; Don Wade, who is 67, said he has been in hospitality for 40 years and no longer wanted the daily responsibility of the business.
The elder Martel, with six decades in the industry, said in April that he and his son recognized that Otis & Oliver’s is frequently busy and wanted to add it to their portfolio after closing at the Town of Colonie Golf Course. Over the next three months, Jim Martel said the extended transition was due to delays in licensing and permits.
Martel Hospitality Group is leasing from Mill Road Acres owners Jay and Gloria Jevons. The Jevons bought what was then a nine-hole course nine years after its 1973 opening, expanding it to 18 holes about 30 years ago.