Bradford’s well-known restaurant, the Downbeat, which just reopened under new ownership in December of 2016, will open again Wednesday as an Italian restaurant under new owners.
Former owner Jon Jordan of Rock City Hill, N.Y., said his last day of operating the restaurant was Saturday. According to city of Bradford officials, the new proprietor of the business is Pat Michaels, who has operated the Cow Palace restaurant in Limestone, N.Y., but is closing that facility.
Jordan has been in the restaurant business a number of years and had previously operated Jordan’s Restaurant in Olean, N.Y. He plans to completely leave the restaurant business.
“It just didn’t work out for us … we’ve found a new guy to take over, and I agreed,” Jordan said. “They’re going to keep the (Downbeat) name.”
Jordan said property owner, Greg Ross, will be able to retain the liquor license for Michaels and his partners, who will lease the building.
Jordan, a licensed optician, hopes to attend school for additional credentials before returning to that profession.
When contacted Thursday, Michaels said he and his two partners, Josh Martin and Brian Cobb, plan to sell a full menu of Italian food at the Downbeat.
“I’ve wanted the Downbeat for years and I had the opportunity to snag it, so here we go,” Michaels said. “We’re actually going to (serve) authentic Italian cuisine like it should be.” Michaels said the crew and wait staff from the Cow Palace will all move to the new business. He said the last day of operation at the Cow Palace will be Saturday. Michaels noted that while the Cow Palace will be closed, his lease for the building is through Jan. 31, 2018.
Michaels, who is a Bradford native and has longtime experience in the restaurant business as a chef, had operated The Michaels Cabin restaurant on U.S. Route 219 in Limestone before opening the Cow Palace restaurant in February.
Michaels said the hours of operation at the Downbeat will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The chef at the restaurant will be Michael Card.
