This summer, a new venue will replace Balloons Restaurant and Catering's usual summer restaurant service at Emerson Park.

Cayuga County began awarding bids three years ago for restaurants to provide a full-service restaurant on the dining room side of Emerson Park's pavilion when it's not used for other private events.

For two years, Balloons has hosted guests dining prior to Merry-Go-Round Playhouse shows or just enjoying dinner on Owasco Lake.

This year, the restaurant owner said he no longer wanted to provide the dining services and the county re-opened bids and awarded a contract to Ricky's Restaurant, in Auburn, said Gary Duckett, director of Cayuga County's parks and trails.

Ricky's Restaurant owner Fonda Chronis said the restaurant will open Wednesday, May 30. He said there's no set hours for it because they're only open when the pavilion isn't being used for private scheduled events.

“We're keeping it simple but elegant,” Chronis said.

Chronis said the prices will be reasonable with a wide variety of food including everything from sandwiches to crab legs. He plans on changing the menu for each of the five shows.

“Fonda has been very pleasant to work with,” Duckett said. “We're excited about it, we weren't sure we would get anyone else.”

The restaurant will pay the park $150 a day to use the facility, Duckett said. “Hopefully it's a win-win situation,” he said.

For information on the restaurant's weekly hours call the hotline number at 729-3029 or call Ricky's Restaurant at 252-8887.

Staff writer Kristina Martino can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kristina.martino@lee.net