Like the Cheers tavern in the long-running sitcom of the same name, Monaco’s Village Inn has been a mainstay in the small-town flavor of Front Street in downtown Ballston Spa for decades. It was a gathering place for friends, the local watering hole, a place that kids who took their first legal drinks later visited in their retirement years.
Last Saturday, owner and Village Mayor John Romano closed the establishment, signaling the end of an era. `I have mixed feelings about it,` said Romano. `I’ll miss my friends and all the people I’ve come to know so well over the years. But I won’t miss the work.`
Nicknamed `Crow` for his dark hair and eyes, Romano purchased the bar from his former partner Donald `Ducky` Monaco in 1970. To signify this changing of the guard, the duck cartoon on the sign hanging outside was crossed out with black tape, and a crow was painted on. Saturday, before a large crowd of friends and patrons, Romano climbed a ladder and, using the original roll of tape, X’d out the crow cartoon. There was a smattering of applause from people whose faces registered more than a bit of nostalgia.
The way it was
Monaco’s clientele has included local business owners, school-teachers, politicians, and lifetime residents. Even the crew from `The Way We Were,` filmed in part on Front Street in the 1970s, bellied up to the bar on the leather stools at Monaco’s. Former town of Milton Supervisor Wilbur Trieble said his town residents frequently made the drive to the bar to meet up with friends and neighbors.
`We had birthday parties and town parties there,` said Trieble. `The board of supervisors ate lunch there all the time. It’s a landmark that will be missed by many.`
Monaco’s was the site of high school reunions, NASCAR parties, pool and dart tournaments and the infamous mid-winter beach party, complete with real sand sprinkled on the wood floors. At one time, a full menu was served at the bar, which saw a drop in business following the no-smoking laws and the opening of new restaurants and sports bars at sites in and around the village.
`It’s hard work to stay in business now,` said Monaco. `I give Crow credit for sticking it out this long.`
Packing up the memories
Monaco’s dark interior was known for being cool in the summer and cozy in the winter months. Romano and a crew of helpers will spend this week taking down the trinkets and souvenirs that have marked the passage of time. Down will come the poster of James Dean, the Sponge Bob Square Pants cartoon characters on shelves over the bar, the puncture-riddled dart board, the pool table, the toy crows that Romano received over the years. Sunday, Romano peeled the original dollar bills from his first sales off the wall behind the cash register. The old-fashioned telephone booth, still operating, will remain in the far corner, as will the small tables covered with vintage newspapers under glass. From small interior closets, the crew cleared out Halloween decorations, holiday lights, a disco ball and an enormous collection of handmade ceramic beer steins with names painted on them. `People drank from their own mug when they came in,` said Romano. `That’s going back at least 20 years. I forgot I had them.`
Last call
This past weekend was a time for large-scale reminiscing. Michael DeLong of Ballston Spa grew up across the street from Monaco’s, and remembers working at the site where he later became a bartender.
`Crow used to give me $1 for sweeping out the parking lot, which back then was a lot of money,` said DeLong. `It’s family here, there are so many stories. It’s different from any other bar because of Crow’s personality. That’s what makes it so sad, all those memories.`
Micky Gruber, a former village resident, flew up from northwestern Florida Saturday to be there for the last night of business.
`I can’t believe it’s closing, and I can’t believe it’s been that many years,` said Gruber, a class of ’79 Ballston Spa High School graduate. `It’s the turning of a page for sure.`
Judge Courtney Hall, Saratoga County Family Court judge and acting Supreme Court justice, said he had lunch in Monaco’s just about every day for the last 10 years.
`I brought the soup and John supplied the newspaper; we’d shoot the breeze and he’d do his village office paperwork,` said Hall. `I honestly don’t know what I’ll do for lunch now. I don’t think the reality has set in. But I’m happy he’ll have nights to himself and not be working until 2 a.m.`
Saturday night’s last call crowd brought nearly 400 people into the bar, where they stood elbow to elbow watching old videos and reminiscing. Romano said he shut and locked the doors around daybreak on Sunday morning, finishing with a celebratory breaking of glasses in the corner of the bar.
`We’ll miss it,` said Ed Hersh of Ballston Spa, who frequently spun DJ music for parties at Monaco’s. `That’s all we can say; we’ll miss the place.`
Romano’s plans to continue as mayor
Romano, who created family festivals and reinstituted historical events in the village including holiday festivals, a summertime `Swimming Under the Stars` at the municipal pool, and the old fashioned Soap Box Derby races for kids, is known for his accessibility as mayor. Romano took phone calls at Monaco’s throughout the day about village happenings and issues, but more than likely, people went into the bar to talk with him in person. Now in his third term of office, Romano has announced he will run for one last four-year term in the March 2007 elections.
`I pledged to stay for the village’s bicentennial next August,` said Romano, who was born, raised and schooled in the village. `I can’t go out until I see that through.` “