1. By BRANDON ROMAGNOLI
Contributing Writer
news@cortlandstandard.net
HOMER — Randall Lewis,
owner of Linani’s Catering, re-
cently opened a new restaurant
called the Sherman House Res-
taurant at 11 N. Main St. in the
historic Briggs Hall. He said he
wants to bring casual dining with
ambience to his customers as
well as the Homer community.
Lewis has been working in
Homer since 1997 with his for-
mer business, Linani’s Cookie
Factory, but decided catering
would be his main focus. He
named the catering business
Linani’s because the name is
familiar within Homer.
Lewis hopes the Sherman
House Restaurant can become
just as familiar within Homer.
He believes the restaurant will
generate a lot of business and
support from the community,
due to how much he has re-
ceived over the years.
“The Homer community is
very supportive and growing,
businesses are becoming more
active in the community,” he
said.
The Sherman House Restau-
rant is an idea Lewis has been
working on for years. While ca-
tering is his main business, he
hopes the Sherman House will
be his focus in the future.
“Catering is the main focus,
but the restaurant is the culmi-
nation of everything I’ve been
working on,” Lewis said.
Forrest Earl, president of the
Homer Business Association,
said he is excited to see the new
restaurant in the community
and hopes the business will do
well.
“The Business Association
is always excited to see a new
business in town. A new busi-
ness is always beneficial to the
town and everyone involved in
it,” Earl said.
The Sherman House Res-
taurant had a soft opening on
Jan. 1 for its lunch menu, and
has been serving lunch since
the first week of February. The
lunch menu features a variety of
sandwiches, along with appe-
tizers such as shrimp cocktail,
Moroccan chicken, crab cakes,
and French bread pizza. Lewis
currently offers buffet style din-
ners at the restaurant with plans
to add a service menu in April,
including items such as steak,
chicken filets and hamburgers
Lewis has two part-time em-
ployees helping him, as well
as six others who work at the
restaurant on occasion, but he
hopes to hire more part-time
workers as the market allows.
He has no specific plans to hire
full-time employees.
Lewis says for now the res-
taurant is open from 11 a.m. to
2 p.m. Tuesday through Sat-
urday for lunch, and 5 p.m. to
9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and
Saturday for dinner.
New restaurant opens on Main St. in Homer
Sherman House
to blend casual
dining, ambience
Photos by Joe McIntyre/staff photographer
ABOVE: Randy Lewis, right, discusses his restaurant’s decor with diners Ellie Potter, left, of Cortland, and Wanda Petrel-
la, center, of Solon, Tuesday at the Sherman House Restaurant, 11 N. Main St., Homer. Lewis said he worked on the idea
for the restaurant for years, noting that it “is the culmination of everything I’ve been working on.” BELOW: The restaurant
is located in historic Briggs Hall.