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In the early 2000s, Joseph Russek was a CIA-trained chef who’d built a reputation at places like The Mansion at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Cafeteria and other restaurants in Manhattan, as well as stints in Miami’s South Beach and in the Philippines. After those successes, what did he do?

“I quit, like all good chefs should do,” Russek says. “I’d never quit anything in my life. The day I quit, I was 26, pissed off at the world, and thought I knew everything.” Tired of the 100-hour work weeks, Russek was ready to start anew. He and his brother, Keith, had dabbled in real estate, so Russek decided to sell off some of his holdings and begin a construction business called Third Generation Homes.

IMAGES COURTESY OF THIRD & COMPANY LAKESIDE

  • Images courtesy of Third & Company Lakeside

For nearly a decade, that business was at the forefront of Russek’s entrepreneurial energies, but the idea of running his own restaurant never left. In 2015, he bought a fire-ravaged building on a small lake in the Ulster County hamlet of Walker Valley. Raised in the area, Russek had served as an altar boy at the nearby Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church and has fond memories of visiting the lakeside building when it was a bustling store and pizzeria.

That spot is now Third & Company Lakeside Restaurant—or simply 3rd&Co, for those in the know. Seeing choices like chicken and waffles ($17), loaded waffle cheese fries ($9), and the eponymous Lakeside Burger ($10), you’d think 3rd&Co’s menu was your typical American fare. But along with comfort food like Lakeside Meatloaf with garlic mash, bacon green beans, and tomato relish, there are hints of Russek’s past high-end culinary tastes: pan-seared salmon ($25); Wagyu meatballs ($12) and white truffle oil fries with shaved asiago ($8). Local craft brews (Equilibrium, Keegan Ales) and wines (Warwick Valley, Whitecliff) are spotlighted here, as well as the usual domestic brands and imports. Always on the search for new ideas, Russek is planning a “field trip” for his staff to the Finger Lakes to sample wines that may make a future appearance behind the bar.

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IMAGES COURTESY OF THIRD & COMPANY LAKESIDE

  • Images courtesy of Third & Company Lakeside

It took Russek two and a half years to revamp the 1850s building. But just as he was anticipating the restaurant’s grand opening, he hit a roadblock. A church sits adjacent to 3rd&Co, and a town law dating to Prohibition slowed Russek’s application for a beer and wine license. To this day, the restaurant can’t serve hard liquor.

So for its first year, 3rd&Co was a breakfast-and-lunch spot. Handmade specialty doughnuts lured diners to this out-of-the-way place tucked up against the Shawangunk Ridge in southwestern Ulster County. “The doughnuts were a marketing opportunity,” says Russek. “They didn’t cost much to make, and were a quick sell. We thought if customers liked them, they’d come back. And they did.”

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IMAGES COURTESY OF THIRD & COMPANY LAKESIDE

  • Images courtesy of Third & Company Lakeside

Now people flock to the restaurant, drawn by its vintage decor as much as its menu. Among the cut-log walls, Edison-light pendants, and honey-toned ambiance are framed photos of old Walker Valley scenes. Some walls (even in the restrooms) are papered with enlargements of old postcards, with accompanying century-old sentiments gushing about the attractions in the hamlet. How did Russek gather such mementos?

“Lots of cups of tea with residents,” he says. “Some things just randomly showed up on our doorstep, once people knew we were looking for stuff. In commercial real estate, we are the gatekeepers of our property. Someday I won’t be here anymore, but these memories will be.”

By 2020, 3rd&Co was nearing its two-year anniversary—a good mark of success. “Then COVID happened, and that became our immediate challenge. We had 24 hours to make a decision,” Russek says.

We?

“The Third & Company family, although none of us are related,” Russek explains. “Down to the 15-year-old dishwasher, we are all involved in making decisions in this business. It came down to what we do best: cook and serve food.”

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IMAGES COURTESY OF THIRD & COMPANY LAKESIDE

  • Images courtesy of Third & Company Lakeside

Russek and his crew brought trays of food—”real food, not just pizzas” to essential businesses and essential workers, to fuel them during their long hours saving lives during the pandemic. The compassion shown by 3rd&Co came back to the business in spades.

“Nurses, first responders, and essential workers came to us looking for a small wedding venue. We said, ‘Sure, we do that,’” Russek says. “We redid our courtyard, we covered our terrace [the outdoor back deck overlooking the lake] —because it’s in our DNA to build, so why not?”

Blessed with picturesque property overlooking the small lake, Third & Company now has several venues-within-a-venue: Party planners can choose among The Pavilion indoor space that holds 99 people; The Restaurant, with a capacity of 49; the covered outdoor Terrace (30 guests); and The Courtyard or The Island, with a small covered bridge, walking trail, and plenty of outdoor space. For uber-micro weddings, there’s the Cabin, a rustic private dining room that seats 20, or the outdoor Dock for 12 guests. “We’ve held weddings from nine people all the way up to 100,” Russek says.

IMAGES COURTESY OF THIRD & COMPANY LAKESIDE

  • Images courtesy of Third & Company Lakeside

The catering venues have combined with social media to bring people to Third & Company. “We have 6,000 followers on our Facebook page, for a place in the hamlet of Walker Valley, which has a population of maybe 700 people,” Russek says.

Unlike a lot of restaurants, Third & Company is open only 20 hours a week—4 to 8pm Wednesday through Saturday, plus a Saturday brunch. “We operate when we’re going to make the best of our time,” Russek says. “That’s what burned me out in the restaurant business, was the 100-hour week. And we schedule only two Sundays a month for catering events.”

But the staff and Russek are constantly brainstorming new ideas. Those include The Food Truck, a mobile catering service both onsite and offsite, and collaborating with other local businesses on innovative ideas, including 24-hour food-truck events for corporations like Revere Smelting in Middletown, where Russek collaborates with Pine Bush’s Bearded Boys BBQ to serve all the shift workers at the plant.

Listening to Russek talk about the economics of his business, you’d think he’d earned an MBA. But you’d be wrong. “It’s learning from experience,” he says, “millions of dollars in screwing up and saying, ‘I won’t do that again.’”

“We put our own restrictions on saying we can’t do something,” he says. “It’s difficult, but it’s never impossible. We all wake up, every day, with the opportunity to do something great.”

Third & Company Lakeside Restaurant
3649 Route 52, Walker Valley
(845) 524-4874
Open Wednesday-Saturday, 4pm-8pm
Saturday brunch, 11am-3pm

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