AUBURN — Like many in the restaurant industry, the owners of Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant feel that while there are ups and downs, passion outweighs everything.
Owners Andrew Kirkland and Marcia Myers take pride in how their Auburn eatery has evolved since opening in November 2019, making this year its fifth anniversary. Almost immediately after opening, the restaurant faced a series of hurdles due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It had to close to diners and bank significantly on takeout orders as it cut services like lunch.
“We’re still here,” Myers, of Weedsport, said with a smile. “We’re doing something good.”
Kirkland and Myers were working at Auburn Community Hospital when they first contemplated bringing Jamaican cuisine to Auburn. One of their coworkers at the hospital was a relative of Hannah Groce-Bibby, owner of the Auburn Ale House, which previously occupied the 288 Genesee St. space. They shared with Kirkland and Myers that the business was being sold.
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The restaurant was in rough shape, Myers said. She and Kirkland renovated it — cleaning bathrooms, patching walls and brightening the colors to parallel the flavors of their home country.
Not counting food trucks or pop-ups, Lavish Lounge is Cayuga County’s only Jamaican restaurant.
“The goal was to offer something different, something exotic,” Kirkland said, noting the abundance of Italian restaurants in the area. “People like to stay in their comfort zones.”
The owners agree their location on Auburn’s west end is ideal, close to downtown but with breathing room. Customers come from the Finger Lakes and beyond, they said, as far as Watertown and Buffalo.
Where Cayuga County Eats
Where Cayuga County Eats is a monthly feature in The Citizen highlighting the “hidden gem” restaurants of the area. To suggest a restaurant for a future edition, email david.wilcox@lee.net, call (315) 282-2245 or message @auburncitizen on Facebook.
Andrew Kirkland talks about the appeal of Jamaican cuisine, which is served at Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant in Auburn.
Christopher Malone, The Citizen
Fun with flavor
Aside from meeting in the health care field, the Lavish Lounge restaurateurs are similar in that they don’t share formal culinary backgrounds or rigorous training. Their expertise comes from their hearts and families. Myers, who was raised in St. Catherine Parish, acquired her cooking prowess from her grandmother. For the Kingston native Kirkland, it was his mother.
Importantly, he said, the goal at the restaurant has been to have fun.
“All the ingredients and spices are natural,” Myers said. “The food also has to fall off the bone. This is the way it should be.”
They want their island’s cuisine to be accessible, appealing to people from Jamaica but also to newcomers.
With that in mind, Lavish Lounge’s menu blends Jamaican and American cuisine, giving familiar staples a Caribbean flair. The Lavish Burger is stacked with plantains, American cheese and guava barbecue sauce. The restaurant also serves up flatbreads, jerk macaroni and cheese, and alfredo pasta with Cajun chicken.
But the biggest sellers, Kirkland said, are the most unmistakably Jamaican: oxtail stew and jerk chicken. Curry and brown stew chicken are other popular selections, and seafood lovers can try salmon with pineapple sauce or red snapper with lobster sauce. Still, some traditional items aren’t offered, such as chicken feet soup and ackee and saltfish. The owners said the visual of the former, despite its abundance of protein, vitamins and minerals, may not be appealing. The cured saltfish, meanwhile, is Jamaica’s national dish but could turn off American palates.
The restaurant also serves chicken wings for 75 cents apiece on Wednesdays, and offers a child-friendly menu with burgers, tenders, fries and more.
Myers said she regularly cooks potential new specials and menu items at home, and when they pass her personal test, customers can try them the last Friday night of the month.
Myers also squashed the misconception that Jamaican food is spicy. Lavish Lounge’s menu has foods ranging from mild to hot.
“I did not know how to go about it or if people in Auburn would take to Jamaican food,” she said. “I’d rather try and fail than not try at all.”
Lavish Lounge’s jerk macaroni and cheese.
Provided
Removing stigmas
While Lavish Lounge’s restaurant business is the pride of its owners, the nightlife of its bar is a bonus they are happy to offer.
Similar to the food menu, the drink menu features popular Jamaican options, many with rum. Favorite cocktails include Rum Punch and Jamaica Water, while notable island beer Red Stripe is also served.
Popular nonalcoholic options at the Auburn bar include Ting, a sparkling grapefruit beverage that’s combined with rum to make Jamaica Water. Also available there are Apple J, a sparkling apple drink; sorrel, a sweet ginger drink popular around Christmastime; and the strongly flavored Reed’s ginger beer.
Kirkland, who frequently DJs at the bar, has high expectations there. He wants to provide a safe spot for people to dance, have fun and play games like dominoes, a Jamaican favorite. VIP memberships are also offered, ranging in price from $30 to $300. Members receive accessories, food tastings, admission to special events and more.
Kirkland’s expectations are motivated by misconceptions about Lavish Lounge, he said, some a result of the shooting outside the entrance two years ago. Others see it as a Black-only bar. But those misconceptions are the complete opposite of what the business actually is and values, the owner continued.
“I want to remove the stigma,” he said.
If you go
WHAT: Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant
WHEN: Open 3 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays
WHERE: 288 Genesee St., Auburn
INFO: Visit facebook.com/lavishloungebarandrestaurant or call (315) 252-2337
Gallery: Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant
Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant owners Andrew Kirkland, left, and Marcia Myers.
Christopher Malone
Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant’s Lavish Burger.
Provided
Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant in Auburn.
Christopher Malone, The Citizen
Lavish Lounge’s jerk macaroni and cheese.
Provided
Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant in Auburn.
Christopher Malone
Lavish Lounge’s Jamaica Water cocktail, made with rum and sparkling grapefruit drink Ting.
Christopher Malone
Lavish Lounge Bar and Restaurant in Auburn.
Christopher Malone
Staff writer Christopher Malone can be reached at (315) 282-2232 or christopher.malone@lee.net.
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