As a Batavia native, David Snyder — no doubt along with many other locals — has memories of going to Sunny’s restaurant at the then-Genesee Country Mall downtown.
“I spent a lot of time there as a kid; my parents took us there,” Snyder told The Batavian Monday afternoon.
He has been spending time there once again — only this time around as a new owner of the property with plans to bring another version of Sunny’s back to the city. A longtime icon of downtown Batavia’s dining scene, the restaurant and lounge closed its doors on May 19, 2019.
“This is all pretty new; it’s only been a couple, three weeks, I think, since we’ve owned it, finally,” Snyder said, confirming that he purchased the site from former owner Pete Zeliff after a lengthy pursuit. “We’re working on the menu … we want to bring some different dishes into the community that other restaurants locally do not offer. Obviously, you're going to see some things on the menu, some Italian dishes you know, like the parms and stuff like that. Obviously, steaks. We want to push that pretty hard.”
A 2000 Batavia High School grad and busy remodeling contractor, he has been cleaning up and renovating the property, he said, while a liquor license has been submitted to the New York State Liquor Authority. City Council was notified of that during a conference meeting Monday evening, and there were no issues on the city’s side.
He understands that, as with all applicants, it may be quite a wait to hear back from the liquor authority about his license, he said, and is “hoping” to tentatively open in July or August at Batavia City Centre. It’s to be known simply as Sunny’s (no "restaurant" or "lounge" after it), and likely with a six-day schedule, he said.
