The late 1970's in upstate New York... Bill and Pat Else spent their days and nights working at a small, but immensely popular tavern in Latham called Friar Tuck Pub. The idea was hatched to go into business for themselves. They purchased an equally popular, yet slightly larger tavern in Rotterdam called Cardinal Puff's Pub in the summer of 1982.

They served drinks by the fistful, featured live music, and slowly expanded the menu. The neighborhood tavern began to transform from a bar into a restaurant.

By 1987 the transformation had become so apparent that the name was changed to Scarboroughs Restaurant & Tavern to better reflect the ambiance as well as the offerings. In 1996, the strip mall they were located in was torn down, and the plaza was expanded with the addition of several large chain anchor stores. They were moved to a different location within the plaza. Though this was a hectic time for Pat and Bill, it allowed them to build a new venue that could more adequately handle the direction they were looking to go. The kitchen and dining room were expanded, and overnight they turned their small tavern into a full blown restaurant.

Fast forward to 2006. The weekdays are spent serving the best grilled sandwiches in the area to a bustling lunch crowd and the weekends are spent serving dinners to a packed dining room. Having achieved their grandiose plan to turn Scarboroughs into a restaurant, Pat and Bill began their next venture: Owning their own building.

This is how Scarboroughs has come to find its new home on Old Niskayuna Road in Latham. The Else's found an old Shaker farmhouse that had a certain amount of history and character and charm that they deemed it worthy of being morphed into a restaurant. They kept the dining room and living room intact, and expanded into the backyard to build a fantastic 142 seat restaurant with two fireplaces and a large patio for outdoor dining. The venue is off the beaten path just enough to create a warming atmosphere but not too far to make it "out of the way". And of course, the food is still the focal point. The grilled sandwiches, the appetizers, the dinner menu, the house specialties, and of course, the legendary chicken wings.

The Else's would like to thank all of their loyal patrons, old and new, for their years of continued support, and they'd like to invite new customers to come and see what they've been perfecting since 1982.

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