Hamilton Eatery owner begins search for successor

HAMILTON, N.Y. — Clay Skinner hopes to retire from his restaurant in the not-too-distant future, and with no one in his employ wanting to take over, he is offering up a unique opportunity to someone interested in owning a restaurant. Skinner and his wife, Nicki, opened Hamilton Eatery 14 years ago where Roger’s Market once stood on the corner of Maple and Lebanon streets in Hamilton. The restaurant offers up a variety of hot and cold sandwiches, soups, salads, bowls, and more for both take out or to eat in at the dining room’s four tables. Skinner is offering something else — the chance for a potential new owner to work with him, learn from him, and be mentored by him prior to taking over. “Really, what they would get here is to see how to run a restaurant without any risk,” he says. “I have a lot to share, and I have a fantastic facility for somebody to do it in.” Skinner, a Fabius native, began his restaurant career 35 years ago in Telluride, Colorado, where he managed and later owned four different eateries over the next 20 years. Out of those four restaurants, he sold two that are still in business today. In 2010, the Skinners purchased the former Roger’s Market in Hamilton and opened Hamilton Eatery. The space features a large walk-in cooler and a walk-in freezer, beer cooler, a spacious prep kitchen, a full-sized smoker, and a service line including hot and cold sandwich stations. “I really have the place for a hot shot cook to come in and really do something,” Skinner says. With an eye toward retiring a few years down the road, Skinner first looked in-house among his staff of 10 to see if there was any interest. “No one is grabbing the torch,” he says, so he decided to take his search outside the restaurant. “Maybe there is some kid living in DeWitt [or elsewhere] who has been cooking for five years,” and wants to take the next step. Skinner says he’s willing to meet interested parties where they are, offering opportunities to work at Hamilton Eatery and learn along the way or tailoring things to meet their needs. Maybe someone wants to just start out doing some catering out of the eatery or adding on Sunday hours. “We can nurture someone along at their own stage,” Skinner says. From there, there are many opportunities for a new owner to take the restaurant and run with it. The foundation — a ready clientele in a busy college town — is already there for them to build upon, he adds. As far as what he’s seeking, Skinner says his eventual successor should be interested in small business and ideally have a few years of experience as a cook. Skinner can teach them the business skills they will need including managing inventory, scheduling, customer relations, and more. What they really need is the desire to own their own business, and he invites those people to reach out to him. “The opportunity, should we find this new blood, is to take our grandiose kitchen and use it,” says Skinner.