Local Saratoga favorite Panza’s restaurant will be moving from its current spot on Saratoga Lake to a new location on South Broadway.
The Panza family has operated the restaurant for more than 80 years, and now, current owners Tony and Michael Panza are pursuing a new challenge. The pair has been working with Capital Region builder Chris Marchand to restore the iconic Trade Winds building on South Broadway to become the new home for Panza’s.
Trade Winds, another celebrated restaurant that shut its doors in the 1980s, was a natural fit for the new Panza’s in part because of its 3000-square-foot kitchen. “This kitchen was designed to make great food, and it did so for decades,” Chef Tony says. “So, while we are updating appliances and other new kitchen gadgetry that’s evolved over the past 30 years, the bones of this kitchen remain the same as when it was built in the 1960s. It’s a great kitchen and will only enhance our ability to deliver quality and consistency.” The new restaurant will keep the traditional Italian cuisine Panza’s is known for on its menu, but will also introduce new lighter options.
To get the restaurant ready for the grand opening, updates to the building’s technology, decor and furniture needed to be made. The end result has a “rustic Mediterranean feel,” and is complete with the glass-enclosed Gateway View dining room, the Grotto Bar and Tavern and an upper-level music lounge, which will showcase local musicians on Friday and Saturday evenings. (During racing season, the schedule with extend to feature music every night, ranging from piano and jazz to cabaret and R&B.) One thing that didn’t need upgrading was the 70-space parking lot. “We like to joke that parking is actually our greatest asset for this place,” Michael said. “Where else can you go to dinner on Broadway in Saratoga Springs and know you’ll find parking for your vehicle?”
The grand opening of the new Panza’s will be Friday, May 3 at 5pm. “People tell us they remember how Trade Winds used to be and are excited this place will be alive again,” Michael said. “We’re excited as well and can’t wait to share this with everyone who loves Saratoga and great hospitality.”
