Plans underway to turn Trails End into modern, multi-level restaurant
By James M. Odato
A man who recently purchased Big Tupper, the shuttered ski mountain on the edge of Tupper Lake, is close to acquiring another local landmark that rarely closes.
Martin Schapira, who has a home on an island in Tupper Lake, is in the final stages of purchasing the Trails End Tavern building with the idea of upgrading it substantially and adding amenities.
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If his plan becomes a reality, the log cabin by the water would be transformed into a cutting-edge restaurant with a second level and a rooftop deck. The 77-year-old roadhouse off State Route 30 would improve its million-dollar view of the pond, river and Adirondack peaks.
Trails End to change hands
The tavern, open seven days a week and until 3 a.m. on weekends, has been owned and operated by Mark “Beard” Sutliffe for nearly 40 years. And his mother before that. Sutliffe, 72, said he’s ready to dial back his duties.
The plan is to sell the building to Schapira. Sutliffe will continue running the bar under his liquor license during 2025 while Schapira works out a new look. “It’ll be fancy,” Sutliffe said.
“It’s the nicest commercial view in the park,” Schapira said. “I’m looking to take what he had and make it a lot nicer in the future.”
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The Tupper Lake Planning Board approved the expansion plan. It issued a special permit to Schapira in February with the condition that any exterior lighting plan fits with dark sky standards.
A fresh approach to transforming Tupper
Schapira and his partner Josh Parnes purchased Big Tupper and some nearby property in a foreclosure auction by Franklin County last fall. Schapira said he is still discussing ways to reopen the mountain for recreation and potentially a downhill ski center again. He said he is developing plans for the ski lodge there while trail uses are explored.
“Tupper is on a nature preserve and has a tremendous amount of potential and is being underutilized,” he said. He said he intends to make any project he develops in the region, including housing on the acreage around Big Tupper, “beautiful.” Trails End would be enhanced, he promised, if he completes the purchase soon and builds upward.
“You go into the bar now, you’re looking at the highway,” he said. “If you go up higher you see the beauty that God or nature created.”
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He said he continues to investigate possibilities for what the public sector can do to help restore Big Tupper.
Schapira and Parnes, both of New Jersey, bid $650,000 for the mountain intending to focus on luxury home development around the mountain and “minimizing the impact on the natural beauty.”
Other investments in the works
Another part-time Tupper Lake resident has been investing in the region. Stanley Rumbough also bid on the Big Tupper property. He previously purchased the Blue Jay Marina and Campsite on Tupper Lake and has upgraded it. He purchased the mortgage on much of the 6,400 acres that were supposed to be the site of a giant residential community development in Tupper Lake known as the Adirondack Club and Resort.
Rumbough may attempt to get some of the project accomplished, but the property is in foreclosure and awaits a judge’s decision on scheduling an auction.
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Sounds like a good plan.
looks to me like Tupper Lake will become a rich man’s haven and the middle and poor classes will not be able to afford living here and will slowly be pushed out of the environment they have enjoyed all their lives.
Because someone wants to upgrade a bar?
Somehow I can’t picture a row of Harleys parked in front of that artist’s rendering.
How can they talk about the history of the place and how it was owned by a family for so long and then offered up this incredibly cold, soulless rendering. This is not “beautiful” or “better” in any way? The people I encounter every time I get a drink at this bar are beautiful, local, hardworking people I have nothing but love for who have years of memories at this location that is about to be demolished. It’s a shame that progress always has to mean destroying the old and building something unrecognizable and not accessible to the people who have been patrons for decades. Trails End is the best bar in the Adirondacks, as is, and always will be. There could be improvements and additions without this nonsense that in no way matches the beauty of its incredibly special location.
I agree. Trail’s End always had a local vibe with regular people and not too many tourists. Too bad this is what is going to happen to that business. Want the same atmosphere, stop at the Bear Trap in Indian Lake.
While, I love the idea, Mark s mother, DOREEN S DREAM, OF A FANCY BAR/RESTAURANT, I D PREFER SOMETHING MORE ADIRONDACK THEMED/ STYLED to blend in with it s beautiful surroundings !!
My sentiments exactly! When I saw the artist’s rendering, I nearly croaked.
The Artist Rendering doesn’t say Tupper Lake or the Adirondack’s at all. Looks like big City Concrete and Steel!
I love the idea but the artist rendering doesn’t look like it’s leveraging the heritage of this iconic place, ADK architecture, design, or the Tupper Lake feel at all. More effort needs to be put into integration design.
That will stick out like a sore thumb in the area. Nice design for downstate.
If he builds the restaurant in that pic you will have to get to it by boat cuz there’s not enough land left for parking unless he gets into the wetlands and with the blue herons that live there it’s very unlikely. It’s not a very Adirondack to fit in next to the swamp n boat docks.
Great idea, but PLEASE come up with a more attractive building. This rendering is just plain ugly for the Trail’s End site. Reminds me of something you’d see in a suburban office park or at Thruway rest stop.
I love the fact that there will finally be a place to actually enjoy that wonderful view. Sunrise to sunset will be fabulous ! Love the vision !
I wish Mr. Shapira well with his vision of upgrading The Trails End here in Tupper Lake to take advantage of the natural beauty that surrounds it!! I do hope that his final plan design has much more of an Adirondack Architecture to it. Remember we are in Tupper Lake, NY home to many descendants of the French Canadien Lumberjacks who called it home! I am sure that before this plan reaches its fulfillment it will.
The idea is great but that rendering doesn’t belong in the Adirondacks. It needs to be ADK architecture, not modern. Love the idea of emphasizing the location and the accompanying view but please let it fit in.
Ugly, ugly, ugly. ( I hope Shapira reads this.)
I actually love the design… lots of windows to see the nature. Reminds me of the Wild Center building.
Does not even remotely resemble TWC !! C’mon, that wonderful location, location, location deserves better.
We all b@tch and complain that we have nothing here… no place to eat, nothing too fancy… etc…
So it is upgraded, and maybe needs a few adjustments, but there’s nothing wrong with a new vision with a Town that is falling apart and in desperate need of something new, more jobs, and a “ new vision”. Just because we live in a town where everything looks “Adirondack” doesn’t mean we can’t accept someone’s “vision” of how beautiful it can be. Not everything needs to look the same. And yes, it may stick out like a sore thumb for a while, but if we start letting things come in and build our community, we would have the opportunity to see “outside the box”.
I totally agree with you DJ ! We the people of Tupper have to stop pretending like we have this beautiful great camp architecture all over town. What ADK vibe is everyone referring to ? The Dollar store ? McDonald’s ? Stewart’s ? The thrift store ? Bowling ? Common, we need to open our eyes and be thankful that someone is looking to beautify our community that is clearly run down and resembles almost nothing “Adirondacky”.
Really great idea raising the building like that off the highway to capture the views. Sunset from the bridge is always amazing ! Love the fresh look. Is that a rooftop seating area ? Any idea what type of food they will serve ?
I believe this is great news for Tupper lake and think in the end the owner will make some type of Adirondack theme. He said when he bought Big Tupper he was going to keep it from being commercialized.
The new design is an eyesore. At least design it with some log siding.. I like the open glass area for seating and the view , but it looks like some type of professional doctors office from Nj. I’d stop at the original structure in a second. This one I’d pass by in disgust.
As an outsider looking at Tupper Lake, a transformative project would be to move everything from “lower Tupper” closer to “upper Tupper”. Demolish the old factory building and all of the strip malls, and move everything closer together. The way it’s built now, it feels like two very separate areas, lower Tupper and upper Tupper. Make it all closer together and walkable.
Well crap, I was looking forward to going here in August. I hope construction doesn’t start this year.