TRR photo by Tom Kane Chef Michael Werneke prepares one of his specialties at Michael’s Delaware Valley Grill. (Click for larger image)

Elegant restaurant opens in Glen Spey

By TOM KANE

GLEN SPEY — Good word of mouth is the best kind of publicity that any business can muster.

If that’s true, then Michael’s Delaware Valley Grill in Glen Spey has the kind of publicity that money can’t buy.

After an intentional “soft opening,” Michael’s was serving food for only a few days when the noise of it reached Narrowsburg and the offices of The River Reporter.

The Michael in the equation is Michael Werneke, who is related to the Sullivan County Werneke family, but who himself has never been a resident.

That didn’t stop his uncle, Tony Werneke, who purchased the former Orchard Inn, from pestering his talented chef-nephew to come to Glen Spey and take up the chef’s trade again.

Michael, who had burned out on a number of restaurants, slowly came around and reconsidered his uncle’s offer. “When I saw that this was to be my own establishment and that I could make this place a first-rate restaurant according to my own tastes and talents, then the old excitement returned,” Michael said.

And first-rate it is, as one can see just by entering the elegant, wood-paneled establishment. An old Victorian bar, with marble fixtures and ornate woodwork, purchased from Maggie’s old-time restaurant in downtown Philadelphia, dominates the entrance and sets the tone for the rest of the décor.

“We turned the old shell that was once the Orchard Inn into something we can be really proud of,” he said.

Michael explains his cuisine as “new American” by which he means traditional but with a different flair. “I’m ready to experiment with different palettes with the hope that I can please every taste,” he said.

Michael’s will also do special banquet parties and is open Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Bar hours are seven days a week, 4:00 p.m. to closing, and Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 noon to closing.

 For reservations call 845/856-6900.