Community mainstay to close at the end of March, as owner announces she is retiring
By Zachariah Morehouse
As Basil & Wick’s, a popular restaurant located in a corner of the business district in North Creek, appears to be closing at the end of March, many residents are wondering what will happen next.
Owner Jane VanVoorhis Peter made the announcement on Feb. 25, capping the restaurant’s 14 years of service with a thank you to the customers, staff, and performers who kept the business thriving over the years.
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“The timing was right,” said Peter in an interview. “It’s time for somebody else to step in.”
Andrea Hogan, former town of Johnsburg supervisor and regular patron of Basil & Wick’s since the restaurant’s opening in 2010, congratulated Peter but also expressed concern about what it means for the community.
“Anytime you lose something that serves as many people as that does, it’s going to have an impact,” said Hogan. “I’m pleased for my friend Jane. That, you know, the retirement she’s been looking forward to is closer for her.”
Hogan’s perspective mirrors many in the North Creek community, as the restaurant is filled with a line out the door nearly every weekend. The current expectation is that the restaurant will not be gone forever, but rather temporarily paused while it transfers ownership. According to Peter, the restaurant already has potential buyers.
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Success, but also struggles
Peter mentioned that a lack of housing in the area has led to difficulties finding and attracting restaurant workers. Some of her employees, Peter explained, travel over 40 minutes from Glens Falls to come into work.
She explained her desire to sell the establishment so new management could continue the legacy of Basil & Wick’s, with Peter hoping that whoever purchases it will keep the name going.
Executive Chef Billy Trudsoe discussed in an interview that he had plans to purchase the business, but that he and the owner could not come to a mutually satisfying agreement. Because of this, Trudsoe decided to step away from Basil & Wick’s to support his own restaurant, Lizzy Keays.
“I didn’t expect it to be how it ended, but at the end of the day I got to move forward,” said Trudsoe.
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Photo by Zachariah Morehouse
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