SOUTH VALLEY, N.Y. – After 35 years, Nick and Linda Andriaccio have retired from the business they’ve loved and nurtured into the successful and well-known Nic-L-Inn Restaurant.

Friends, family and patrons came to wish the Andriaccios well at a retirement party in their honor at the Nic-L-Inn’s outdoor Breeze Bar on July 19. New owners, Deborah Walston and Jack Kraatz, who officially took ownership of the establishment around July 21, managed the party and met longtime frequenters of the restaurant.

The couple has five years experience in the food service business and owns a banquet-type venue in Palestine, Texas, where Deborah was born and raised. The facility, called Bella Sera Ranch, gets its name from an Italian phrase meaning “beautiful evening.” Together, they will manage both businesses – Deborah at the Nic-L-Inn and Jack at Bella Sera Ranch, where he is executive chef.

Originally from North Tonawanda, N.Y., Jack said they have lived in the area on and off, for about 10 years at their vacation home nearby. He said the Andriaccios have been talking about selling the Nic-L-Inn for several years and every time he’d come to the restaurant, he’d tell Nick that he was still interested in buying the business. About one year ago, the Andriaccios were ready to talk.

“From the very beginning, when I talked to Jack and Deborah, I could tell their hearts were in it and it felt right to have somebody in the food service business take over, plus they have business backgrounds,” Linda said.

Over the last 35 years, the Andriaccios have created an ambiance at the Nic-L-Inn reminiscent of an Adirondack Great Camp with its natural wood interior, fieldstone fireplaces and mounted hunting trophies, but they say it hasn’t always been this way. According to Linda, the restaurant started out as a run-down log cabin that was preceded by Mooney’s Tavern and later The Lucky Dollar. Back then, the road was the main thoroughfare between Jamestown, N.Y., and Bradford, and the former Red Wing Restaurant, near the marina, was the only eating establishment within 10 miles.

The Andriaccios had been operating a restaurant from a rented space, in Buffalo, and were seeking a new location to own and expand. Linda’s mother was originally from Frewsburg and her parents met in Buffalo. Her father built a hunting camp just past the marina where their family spent weekends. When her parents retired, they moved there.

With the South Valley area growing, the marina expanding and people coming to the area to build summer homes, the potential for a restaurant was there and the location made sense.

In May 1980, Linda and Nick bought the Lucky Dollar – renaming it the Nic-L-Inn. The name has its roots from Nick and Linda’s names and, coming from Buffalo, they choose the Buffalo nickel as their logo.

The first 10 years involved totally renovating the restaurant. Since then, the seating capacity has tripled from 50-150 and several additions have been added, along with three fieldstone fireplaces. In the last 5 years, they’ve expanded the size of the outside dining area.

According to Linda, the Nic-L-Inn still has one of the largest restaurant kitchens in the area. According to Nick, their’s was the first restaurant in the area to serve sizzling steak on a hot steel platter. His famous Nicolino Bread and handmade lasagne is as popular as ever, as well as his spaghetti sauce made from his mother’s own recipe.

In their 35 years, the Andriaccios have had just two chefs – the late Steve Wallquist and Travis Smith, current head chef. Jack is also a chef and for the past two months, he’s been in the kitchen watching Nick prepare all his special sauces and lasagne. Everything is written down exactly the way Nick does it.

The Andriaccios are on their third generation of staff, so they’ve known the families that are like their own family, and Linda says it’s wonderful.

“I feel blessed I mean really blessed to have the employees we’ve had over the years because I am well-aware that you don’t do this on your own,” she said. “You need people that you can trust to do the right thing and act as your agent to keep your customers serviced and happy.”

According to Linda, the new owners are adamant about keeping the same staff and the consistent, high-quality menu. She said they’ve been in the food business for five years and they know quality. They know what keeps people coming back.

“We feel that we have a really good relationship with Nick and Linda. They’re very special people,” Jack said. “We want to continue the legacy that they’ve built here over the past 35 years because it’s a destination and we want to keep it a destination.”

“It’s an honor and a privilege for us to take over and continue their traditions here,” Deborah added.

The new owners say the restaurant’s name will remain the same. Jack said the name has to stay with it, along with the same high quality food already offered on the menu – things people really care about.

He said people won’t see a lot of changes, especially on the main menu. They plan to add some new menu items at the Breeze Bar outside including a Smokehouse Barbecue.

“Nick and Linda will still be around for a while and we’ll be learning the business from them, but they’re going to take a vacation this summer – something they’ve never done,” Deborah said.

According to Linda, she and Nick decided to retire about two years ago because they don’t have the stamina anymore.

“You can’t be in this business and think you’re going to work 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; it’s 12 hours a day and if someone doesn’t show up to work, you cover it with no questions asked,” she said.

Linda said it takes a lot of stamina to work like that and she’s at a point where she doesn’t have the same energy to maintain the hours and the hands-on needed to keep the business at the level it needs to be.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, but what isn’t that’s worth anything. I mean, anything worth having, you going to work for it,” she said. “I don’t regret the hard work at all – even the time and the hours we’ve been here because I think we’ve been very fortunate. I can’t count the number of friends we’ve made through the years. It’s beyond measure.”

Choking up a little, Linda said “it’s absolutely bittersweet and was a hard decision to make, because it’s very hard to walk away from 35 years of our life.”

The Nic-L-Inn is located at 12045 Bone Run Road, Frewsburg, in the Town of South Valley. For more information or to make reservations, call (716) 354-5011 or visit online at www.niclinn.com.