YONKERS BUSINESS: Grand Opening Ceremony for Dolphin Restaurant

YONKERS, NY: Dolphin, a  7,100 square-foot seafood restaurant offering outdoor dining located at the waterfront, 1 Van Der Donck Street.

GETTY SQUARE: : It marked the fourth new enterprise to open its doors for business in downtown Yonkers since April.

Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone; Yonkers Councilwoman Patricia McDow, and other elected officials and local merchants in welcoming the Dolphin’s owners and staff including restaurateur Elio Rugova who was a  three-start chef at Captain’s Table in Manhattan and his four sons: Jimmy Rugova, restaurant manager; Skel Rugova, Agron Rugova and Drit Rugova and chef David Hubert.  The Rugova family also lives in Yonkers.

The Dolphin is an exciting addition to the Yonkers Downtown which has become one of Westchester’s hottest destinations for dining and entertainment.

Over the past three months, Yonkers downtown has been experiencing an uptick in new business openings in spite of the recession.

In addition to the Dolphin, we’ve welcomed Key Bank, Retro Fitness and a new pediatric dental practice, Kids Smile Pediatric Dentistry.

In addition, the arrival of the Dolphin goes against the national trend which saw a decline in the opening of full-service restaurants over the past year, according to research by The NPD Group.

The Dolphin owners made extensive renovations of the site, formerly the Pier View Restaurant, including a re-designed kitchen, wood, stone and glass finishes on a new nautically themed street facade, new restrooms, LED lighting,  two bars and an international wine collection.

The two-level restaurant provides indoor seating for 170 and outdoor seating for 100.

The restaurant is the second generation “Dolphin.” Elio Rugova opened and ran the first “Dolphin” on Manhattan’s East Side for seven years.

He also worked at Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse in Las Vegas, Mulino’s Restaurant, White Plains and others.