By SAVANNAH BARR

savannah.m.barr@gmail.com

LIMESTONE, N.Y. — For husband and wife team Jay and Tracy Little, the goal has always been to own a restaurant of their own serving the community that they love. For them, opening the doors of Fattie’s Creamery and Grill in Limestone is a dream come true.

“This is something that my husband has probably wanted to do for 15 years,” said Tracy Little. “The lot came available and the timing just seemed right so we jumped on it.”

Little is a former nurse who left her full-time job to pursue this dream. She still works as a nurse as needed, but has big dreams for the restaurant.

The couple’s daughter gave them the boost they needed to finally pull the trigger.

“She told us that we were either going to do it now or we were never going to do it,” said Little. “And we just figured that she was right — it was time.”

With their children and grandchildren in Limestone, the pair have deep roots in the local area.

“I graduated from Bradford Area High School in 1987 and have been in Limestone for the last 36 years,” said Little. “My husband’s whole family — his grandparents and his father — they all are from Limestone, too.” The Littles put up a new building to house Fattie’s. For several weeks, locals have been curious about new construction along Main Street.

“We put in a brand new building so we have some nice indoor seating and a covered patio,” said Little. “Now that we have our sign up, I think people are starting to figure out that we are here.”

The restaurant opened its doors May 14 at 587 Main St. It has seating for 30 inside with another 30 outside on the patio. They are open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Fa_ie’s … page A-8 “Right now, the plan is to be open seasonally,” said Little.

They have an ever evolving menu that focuses on the staples of hot dogs, Angus burgers, pizza and wings. They strive to serve premium ingredients for a delicious experience.

“We make our pizza with fresh dough and only serve Nathan’s (Famous) hot dogs,” said Little.

They also serve subs and try to purchase local ingredients whenever possible.

“We buy our rolls from the Food Barn in Olean because we want to support other local businesses whenever we can,” said Little.

In addition to Perry’s Ice Cream, the Littles serve Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, which comes from Ludington, Mich.

“It is a higher-end ice cream brand and our customers have been loving it,” said Little. “I think some of them are curious about the flavors because you can’t get it anywhere else around here.”

The temptation for customers to try all the flavors has been so strong, the Littles have started serving “flights” of four different scoops of ice cream.

“Then people can share them and try everything,” said Little. “Nothing fancy but people love them because then they don’t have to choose.”

Some of the most popular ice cream flavors include peanut butter bullseye, sea turtle, banana pudding and carrot cake. Not to be forgotten in the array of hand dipped ice cream flavors, they also have soft serve options. The creamery does everything from milkshakes to blended ice cream desserts and sundaes, Little said.

As things stand now, the Littles are just trying to get their feet under themselves. Though the restaurant has only been open for a few weeks, they have been steadily busy and are growing in popularity. They have already had to hire more workers — including three cooks — to keep up with demand.

“It seems like more people are starting to hear about us either through word of mouth or on our social media,” said Little. “We have gotten customers from Bradford (Pa.), Salamanca, Franklinville, Allegany and Olean.”

In time, the Littles hope their restaurant becomes more than just a place to grab a bite to eat but also a community hub.

“There wasn’t a lot here in Limestone where people could come in, relax and have a bite to eat,” said Little. “We’re hoping to give them that.”