The bar and mezzanine for the former wine bar and restaurant Vintage, as seen from the entrance of 897 Broadway, in Albany's warehouse district. The new owner of the building hopes to attract a new operator for a restaurant or brewpub there. 

ALBANY — The new owner of a large building in the warehouse district that five years was handsomely renovated into an industrial-style restaurant space, but two concepts failed there in quick succession, hopes to bring in a new operator, preferably one intent on opening  a brewpub.

Developer Brian Pollock, who already owned an office building at 915 Broadway, recently finalized the purchase of 897 Broadway, vacant for more than two years since the short-lived no-ware pint & plate, which failed at the beginning of the pandemic, about six months after changing its name from Vintage, a restaurant and wine bar that had been open for the year and a half prior.

The building previously was the longtime home of a moving company and, before that, a repair facility for commercial trucks. Noting the high, barrel-vaulted ceiling, steel mezzanine installed over the large bar, interior courtyard with fire pit, commodious private-event room and about 70 seats for dining at tables and booths, Pollock said, "It would be perfect for a brewery."

Given the recent dormancy, Pollock said his first priority is assessing two-plus years of deferred maintenance, followed by a thorough clean-up to prepare for showing to potential operators interested in leasing the building for a restaurant venture. The physical space and equipment remain in good condition, given their relatively limited use during the tenures of Vintage and no-ware, Pollock said.

Despite the striking design of the space, the presence of veteran operators and quality names in the kitchen, Vintage never really established an identity for itself. It was founded by Mike Graney, of Graney’s sports bar on New Scotland Avenue in Albany and the former Graney’s Stout, across the street from Vintage (now The Copper Crow, being readied for a reopening next month following a post-flood renovation).

Graney and minority partners closed Vintage in February 2019, after 13 months, intending to transition it to management and then ownership to Dave Camacho, who owns Risotto on Northern Boulevard near Memorial Hospital in Albany. It officially emerged as no-ware pint & plate in August 2019 but seems to have been a pandemic victim, with the last online reviews filed in early 2020.

If a brewpub or other restaurant opens at 897 Broadway, it will again be part of a growing warehouse district that already has a busy bar scene and will be further bolstered by two recently announced large development projects that will bring at least five businesses and 350 apartments to the area, including the redevelopment of the Huck Finn furniture store building and its surrounding property.

Steve Barnes has worked at the Times Union since 1996, served as arts editor for six years, and since 2005 has been a senior writer. He generally covers restaurants, food and the arts, and is the Times Union's restaurant columnist and theater critic. Steve was also a journalism instructor at the University at Albany for 12 years. You can reach him at sbarnes@timesunion.com or 518-454-5489.