Emma Cleary’s offers favorites, expanded menu

The Enterprise — Michael Koff

Sweet venture: New Emma Cleary’s Café owners Brian Farley, left, and his mother, Rhonda, show off the bakery items in their shop; the family purchased the restaurant in January. 

NEW SCOTLAND — Emma Cleary’s Café in the hamlet of New Scotland has new owners and new offerings, but has kept the same name and the same menu items its customers have always loved.

Brian Farley and his mother, Rhonda, purchased the restaurant three weeks ago. Brian Farley, 24, is a Voorheesville graduate who worked at Emma Cleary’s for three years before becoming a restaurateur.

“Everything we make is exactly the same,” Farley told The Enterprise about the menu. The shop originally offered deli and bakery items, and continues to flaunt its large bakery case.

In October, with the approaching sale, Emma Cleary’s added a flat-top grill and a fryer. The new equipment allowed the expansion of the breakfast menu to include pancakes, French toast, and eggs, and the addition of burgers and fries for lunch.

“Some of the [changes] were already put in motion,” Farley said of the new equipment. “We do more American-style meals.”

“We have plans to start dinners, sometime,” he said. “It’s something we’re going to do.”

The Farleys have not advertised the change in ownership. The previous owner, Karen Sullivan, opened the shop in 2002.

“People assume the food is going to change,” Farley said. With his experience with the menu at Emma Cleary’s, he will “recreate that, and add to it,” he said.

Farley has added occasional dishes like chicken pot pie and chicken cordon bleu to the menu, while keeping the rest of the menu the same, he said.

Rhonda Farley handles the business side of the restaurant, and Brian Farley manages the cooking and menu planning, he said.

“Things have been going really well,” he said. “My mom and I are so thankful for the Sullivans. They made sure everything was going to go through O.K.”

Customers can keep up with the shop on Facebook by searching for Emma Cleary’s Café, he said.

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