LAKE PLACID - Native New Yorker Erick Kelecseny has brought a little taste of the Big Apple into Lake Placid. Oct 14th was the "soft opening" for the new restaurant Make'n the Dough, a primarily Italian fine dining. And not only did we move from US Hwy 27 to here, we have expanded with our sportsbar.

" I built everything from the ground up," Kelecseny said. "I'm using the last of my life savings."

Before becoming a restaurant owner, Kelecseny operated his own boat marina in Lake Placid. As the economy took a turn for the worst, he discovered it was costing him more to keep it open, so the decision was finally made to close it down. "Nobody's going to buy RVs, Jet Skis or any of that type of stuff now," he said.

As Kelecseny made the tough decision to cut his losses and close the marina he started an informal survey of the area residents and asked what they would like to see in Lake Placid.

"Everybody said, 'Good food, good pizza,'" Kelecseny said.

It certainly helped that Kelecseny had graduated from a culinary arts school years before. He never ventured into cooking as a profession because, "they wanted me to work in a kitchen at $8 an hour."

He has lived in Florida for five years, two of those in Lake Placid. Kelecseny calls the small Highlands County town "beautiful" and is very happy he and his family took up residence here.

"The only thing I miss about New York is the food," he said. "That's why I opened the restaurant.

As the idea started taking shape, Kelecseny called several of his New York friends who owned pizzerias to find out all the necessary ingredients he would need to create that perfect pie. One hardship in building a pizza masterpiece is locating New York-style bread in the area. Down the road, Kelecseny plans to start baking his own bread. In addition he is also retaining a chef “who has cooked in some of the finest restaurants and revamped our menu”.

Spending hours behind a counter taking orders can also be physically exhausting for Kelecseny, who lost his right leg and left arm in a motorcycle accident almost three years ago.

"For me, every day's a blessed day," he said. "You can't complain."

He hopes young children who see him working can take inspiration that they too can do something meaningful with their lives.

"One thing I truly believe is if you put your mind to it, you can do it," he said. "I'm missing an arm and I'm missing a leg. A lot of people want to quit. For me, it's continue on. Believe in your dreams."

If he's not discussing the restaurant plans or heating up that piece of pizza in the oven, Kelecseny likes to chat up his customers and share a few jokes back and forth. He also asks for their honest opinion about the food so he knows where to make improvements.

"That's what it's about; you start to get friendly with people, you tell jokes and little things," he said. "Therefore, people want to come back and see you."

Kelecseny hopes to spend a lot more time with the people of a Lake Placid, an area away from Gotham that he has grown to love and a place he wants to raise his children.

"I'm looking to have a family-established business to keep them here for a long time, I hope," he said.