As owners of the Knotty Pine Restaurant in Thendara, Cindy and Gary Isensee follow in a tradition of service and quality established by the first owners and perpetuated by a series of owners going back to the 1930s.

Mary and Michael Martin built the Knotty Pine in the 1930s and sold it in 1946 to the Schultz Family who ran it until 1972 when they sold to partners Dave Tickner and John Scholl. Restaurateur Nini Ventura of Old Forge and Utica owned the Knotty Pine until 1983 when he sold it to the partnership of McCartney/Virkler/Mojaleski. Doug and Bonnie Bennett bought the restaurant business in 1985 and sold it to the Isensees in 1991.

The building itself grew under the various ownerships with more than five additions and renovations, including major ones by the Schulzes and more recently a private banquet room competed by the Isensees in 1994. The Schultz Family expanded the Martin’s small apartment upstairs, enlarged the dining room, bar and kitchen and even rebuilt the fireplace to the size it is today.

The Schultzes’ Knotty Pine was a family affair with siblings, spouses and eventually children working there. However, there was only one cook, Betty, who carefully watched what came back on her plates and noted what customers liked best. Betty’s niece, Mary Hogan of Thendara, recalled that her Uncle Jim, Betty’s husband for a time, was the bartender and when business was slow, he would flag down cars on Route 28. Mary’s father, John Roberts, was the popular maitre d¥ and had the uncanny ability to remember the name of every customer who came to the Restaurant. Rose Gillette was the only waitress for the entire restaurant and every dish was made to order.

Nini Ventura first visited the Knotty Pine on dates with his wife Joy. He said he loved owning the Knotty Pine and selling it was one of the hardest things he ever did because he found operating the restaurant so much fun. He was forced to take over his family’s restaurant, Ventura’s in Utica, when his father became ill. One of Nini’s fondest memories of the Knotty Pine was the night during the 1980 Olympics when the bar was packed with guests watching the hockey finals and the US team beat Russia. After the victory a guest bought drinks for everyone.

Natives and visitors alike have memories of the Knotty Pine. Their recollections include special meals and special times ñ the start of a romance, a birthday celebration, an anniversary dinner, a family Thanksgiving, or just a quiet meal by the fireplace on a cold winter night. These days regulars and newcomers are welcomed at the bar by Gary with “What’ll it be?” or greeted in the dining room by Cindy asking, “How was your day?”