Table settings and restaurant fixtures set out for Saturday's Krebs auction
/ Photojournalist Andy Perdue
SKANEATELES -- A landmark in the Skaneateles community for more than a century is being auctioned off piece by piece Saturday. It's your chance to take home a piece of history as the contents of The Krebs restaurant are sold off Saturday morning.
Everything is for sale, from the tables and chairs to table settings, to all kinds of antiques. The restaurant, founded by Fred and Cora Krebs, opened its doors 111 years ago in 1899. It passed through three generations of their family and was run by Larry and Jan Loveless for 46 years. Jan Loveless died this summer and Larry plans to retire. The Krebs closed its doors on October 16th.
Several high-profile people have eaten there, including former presidents Bill Clinton and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
The restaurant and two adjacent houses were recently bought by Adam Weitsman, president of Upstate Shredding, for $1.05 million. He and his wife Kim plan to continue operating the restaurant, donating profits from the restaurant to Onondaga County food banks and other charities. Even if the restaurant isn't profitable, the Weitsmans say they will donate a minimum of $100,000 a year to feed the hungry and help children.
They plan to spend $1.85 million to renovate the restaurant with a new kitchen and landscaping and make it handicapped accessible. The hope is to re-open the restaurant in the spring. The Krebs will keep its famous seven-course, old-fashioned dinners. The menu will be supplemented by an upscale menu that will incorporate more locally produced vegetables to support area farmers.
Click here for details of the auction and pictures of what will be sold.
