D&R Depot Restaurant

Sean Valdes, an owner of D&R Depot in Le Roy, is ready to move on to the next phase of his life, and he’s decided to leave while he’s on top.

Valdes announced earlier this month on social media that he’s selling the restaurant. 

He started working for the restaurant in 1993, as a dishwasher. Valdes worked his way up through the restaurant staff and eventually bought it. His wife is a part-owner and head chef.

“I have never made a personal decision before that wasn't restaurant-first. This will be the first personal decision we have made as adults. We are just looking for something different,” Valdes said.

“My wife and I have been doing it for a long time. We met here. We got married here. Our kids work here now. They are teenagers. It’s just life changes. We are both in our mid-40s, and we are looking to do something different. We are still at our peak. We are busy. We are popular. We have a tremendous staff and a great system in place. This is the time to say, ‘We did it, and let’s go do something else.’”

Don and Nancy Nickerson opened the D&R Depot in September 1991 as a mid-scale restaurant that served homemade food. The restaurant is perhaps best known for its chicken pot pies.

Nancy passed away in September.

Valdes said no changes are immediately coming. Everything is the same as always. He said he doesn’t have to sell D&R Depot to the first person who comes along. Valdes wants to sell the restaurant to “someone who fits our culture.” He wants his replacement to successfully shepherd it through the next 20 to 30 years.

As Valdes prepares to leave, he can’t help but reflect on what he’s learned from 30 years in the business.

“I think that restaurants now are getting a bad rap. Yes, business is hard. Yes, prices are higher. All those things are true,” Valdes said. “But I think if you focus on your customer and focus on your staff and control your costs, the restaurant business could be quite profitable. The relationships you make from it are invaluable.”

The D & R Depot uses Atlantic haddock, delivered 3 times a week, so our fish fries are always tender, flaky and delicious! Includes choice of potato, coleslaw & our homemade muffins and rolls. Looking for a healthier option? We also offer broiled, cajun, lemon pepper and Italian haddock. Click here to see our full menu!

D & R Depot Restaurant & Catering Services, 63 Lake Street (Route 19), LeRoy, (585) 768-6270.

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A couple of years ago the wine distributor for D&R Depot Restaurant in Le Roy convinced Sean Valdes that he should drop his dream of serving only New York-produced wines.

New York wines are too seasonal, he said. They would be too hard to keep in stock.The wine list would always be changing.

Then about six months ago, another distributor, one based in Batavia, came by and Valdes mentioned his desire to stock only New York wines. This distributor listened and agreed to work with Valdes on coming up a suitable wine list.

"We figured out that we could do year-around reds and year-around whites from New York," Valdes said. "New York wines are seasonal, so we choose larger vineyards and different choices that we could get all year around, but ones that wouldn't be so different -- not the peaches and the apricots -- not my crowd. Pretty much the standards."

And as of Wednesday, D&R Depot is the only restaurant, according to Valdes, outside of the Finger Lakes or Albany, to serve only New York wines.

"Champagne only comes from a certain region of France, otherwise it's sparkling wine, so even our sparking wine is from New York State. It's Goose Watch," Valdes said.

So why go to an all New York wine list? Valdes' answer:

"First, New York has some great wines. We focus on Finger Lakes, but there's a winery in this area. Long Island has a lot of wineries. There's even some in the Adirondacks. I think it's a neat thing. It's a niche market. It's always good to be local and it's what we strive for anyway, so this is a neat thing to fit in with that. And they're different. Even the riesling that you get from New York has a little bit different flavor than you would get from California or France or Australia. It's something different to offer our customers and it's been a big hit so far."

Some of the wines on the list include Fox Run Chardonnay from Penn Yan, Glenora Riesling from Dundee, Thirsty Owl Diamond from Ovid, Brotherhood Pinot Noir from Washingtonville, Heron Hill Game Bird Red from Hammondsport and Knapp Superstition from Romulus.

Pictured above with a selection of their wines are Valdes and Nancy Nickerson.