NEED COMFORT?

Ken’s American Cafe Is Here For You

By JENNIFER HILL • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

ONEONTA – ‘When people go out to eat, they want something they can’t have at home – if they’re Americans, they want comfort food,” said Ken Bender, namesake of newly opened Ken’s American Café on Southside Oneonta.

Most recently manager of The Otesaga’s Hawkeye – the Hawkeye’s former chef, Dan Wigington, is partner in the new venture – Ken’s menu reflects that philosophy. An aptly named section of his menu, “Comfort Classics,” includes such down-home favorites as Yankee Pot Roast, Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf, and Mac ‘n’ Cheese.

But “American” doesn’t just mean comfort food.

Ken’s – Sabatini’s for years; most recently, Asian Temptation – has a menu replete with names of dishes that refer to the culinary influences during Bender’s 30 years of managing restaurants all over the country. The names should also appeal to his customers, 14,000 of whom will be coming soon from all over the country for the summer baseball camps.

Examples are the appetizers Santa Cruz Brussel Sprouts (fried and tossed with apple and lemon aioli), Maui Coconut Shrimp, and Buffalo Chicken Poppers. Other Comfort Classics are Jambalaya, Texas Barbeque Tips and the Santa Barbara Garden Pasta, the latter a nod to Ken’s sister, who lives there.

Ken did not take a direct path to the restaurant industry. He first tried law school, but dropped out his second year, and joining Greenpeace in Boston in 1982. Greenpeace hardly seemed the place to learn about managing a business, but Ken said that’s exactly what happened.

“We ultimately had to have employees and run it like a business,” he said. “I raised a lot of money for Greenpeace, and then we had to hire people, set up contract, and pay them.”

According to Ken’s resume, he raised over $100 million and hired and supervised managers overseeing 400+ employees as Greenpeace USA’s National Fundraising director in 1984-86.

But Ken decided he would have a more financially lucrative career in the for-profit world, so he enrolled in Suffolk University’s MBA program. It was at that point that he put a toe in the restaurant industry.

“I had always wanted to bartend,” Ken said, “so I did it to help pay my business-school expenses.” His first bartending job was at the Trapp Family Lodge – of “Sound of Music” fame – in Stowe, Vt.

After earning his MBA, though, Ken struggled to find a job because of his “radical past” at Greenpeace. When Ken’s Steak House in Framingham, Mass., founded by Ken Hanna, who also created the multimillion dollar Ken’s Salad Dressing line, offered Ken Bender a business manager position in 1989, he accepted.

Ken Bender became general manager after Hanna’s youngest son Timmy fired the oldest son, a time which Ken called “intense.”

When the elder Hanna died in 1995, Bender and his wife opened their own restaurant, the first Ken’s American Café in Littleton, Mass., when they ran until 2004.

For the next 11 years, Ken oversaw different restaurants, from an Uno Chicago Grill and Applebee’s, to the legendary El Tovar lodge in the Grand Canyon, which he called his “dream job.” In 2015, he moved back to his hometown of Delhi to care for his elderly parents and joined The Otesaga. When the property at NY-28 was up for sale, Ken asked Dan if he wanted to join him in buying the property and opening a restaurant with him.

“I always wanted to have my own restaurant, so when Ken asked me, I jumped at the opportunity,” said Dan, who is Ken’s co-owner and executive chef. “It wasn’t easy, by any means, but it what I’ve always wanted”. Dan explains how much work it was to open the restaurant. He says they found their equipment supplier, Nella, pretty quickly but says they struggled to find a local food supplier that offered good prices. And there was a delay on some of the permits. But it all sorted itself out in the end and Dan says he wouldn’t change a thing.

In addition to comfort food appetizers, lunch, sandwiches and desserts, Ken’s American Café serves wood fired pizza, baked in the new wood fire oven, which Ken named “Betty” after his late mother.

Ken’s American Café is located at 748 NY-28, Oneonta. It is open Tuesday-Saturday, 11:30a.m.–9p.m., Sunday brunch, 10 a.m.- 2p.m., Sunday dinner, 2-7:30p.m.