![]() Lost Dog Café moved to a much larger space in an old cigar factory on Water Street in April 1997. It was more than food, more than coffee, more than music…it was a great place, and it was our own. We, with the help of our friends, family (including Marie’s children Carson then age 6 and Farrell, age 4) and staff (who were really more like friends) managed to create a place that was special. We’ll never forget the endless cappuccinos we made that evening while Patti Smith’s “Gloria” blasted in the background. On opening night there were over 200 people sitting at tables, on the floor, on couches…some of whom had gotten word that we opened from an interview on WHRW at Binghamton University, others who had naturally gravitated towards the hub of light and activity. Our goal was to create a comfortable, unassuming place where people could hang out, eat good food and drink great coffee. Clarese always turned up even if each disappearance lasted for weeks at a time, which we decided was a good omen. chihuahua Clarese who had gotten lost on some of Liz’s visits to Binghamton. Lost Dog Café opened in an old garage on Main Street in Binghamton on October 21, 1994. ![]() In our planning stages we learned that Carla Bruce & Ravi Prakash were interested in our pipedream, and the four of us decided to set off on this journey together. She suggested we open a place of our own and bring something from all the great spots we loved in the city. Liz noticed that there weren’t any places in town with that comfy, “café” feeling. Where did we go when we were bored? To a café!Īfter over a decade in NYC, we decided to move back to our hometown of Binghamton, NY. Where did we meet up with friends? In a café. Where did we go to celebrate great moments of our lives? To a café. We had many favorite haunts in the East & West Village of NYC like Café Orlin, Yaffa Café, Florent, Kiev, Odessa, Pyramid Club, King Tut’s WaWa Hut, Holiday, and Downtown Beirut. Though it was obvious that she didn’t know how to open a bottle of wine with a tableside corkscrew, the owners let her stay, probably because of her natural instincts for hospitality and making people comfortable. Marie had virtually no waitressing skills but managed to get her first job at an Italian restaurant on 34th St. Liz started as a prep cook, moved up to sauté and before long had mastered many aspects of the fine art of cooking. ![]() In the meantime, in order to pay for studio rehearsal time and rent, we worked in restaurants in NYC. We played at the now defunct CBGB’s, The Bitter End and Speakeasy. Our goal was to pursue our lifelong dream of creating music. We had grown up in Binghamton, NY and moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn with two sisters we met who attended Binghamton University. The band was called The Derangelles (yes, deranged angels). Once upon a time we were in an all-female band in NYC. Such has been the case for us, Marie McKenna and Elizabeth Hughes, and our place called Lost Dog Café. Circumstances, life, fate and maybe a little magic step in and deliver something unexpected, yet totally fun and delightful. Sorry all you hopefuls but if you think this pizza is good I shudder to think what you have been forcing down gf-wise.Sometimes one sets out to do one thing and ends up with something all together different. The service was great and the cause they donate to is definitely worthy, but at the end of the day I would have rather donated $20 directly to the foundation itself. Naked pizza is around the same price and at least the crust stays together and is the right combination of crispy and chewy. The only thing that even made the pizza edible was the mountain of toppings they provided. Assuming that the crust isn't made in-house, I can only hope they will decide to change their gf provider to something more edible. It's somehow a cross between a sponge and crumb cake, a crumbly sponge. The toppings are very generous but the crust is just awful. However after paying $20 for my individual size pizza I couldn't have been more disappointed. The Lost Dog Cafe is right around the corner from me and I was delighted to learn they donate to the lost dog and cat foundation (a great organization). I have been gf for 10yrs now and am always on the hunt for a decent go-to pizza.
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