Restaurant Revival: The Sauce Boss

HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (WENY) -- Each week, WENY News is focusing on local restaurants that have helped the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite their own challenges. It's an effort we're calling "Restaurant Revival."

This week we're spotlighting the Sauce Boss in Horseheads! The restaurant located on Lake Road opened last year, just two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic started. Owner, Tony Santulli says the restaurant did stay open during the entire pandemic, except they did have to shut down their indoor dining for a few months after parts of Chemung County were placed in the Orange Zone COVID restrictions. 

Right now, Sauce Boss is still mainly take out, but you can sit inside and eat. Just like so may restaurants in the community, the Sauce Boss struggled during the pandemic. But that didn't stop them from giving back to the community.

"I loaded my car up with 25, 30 pasta dishes and just went around to fire stations and police stations. I am sure they all remember this too, and just donated food, got out here to the community, gave a 10 percent discount to essential workers the entire pandemic. I mean even now, we are actually doing a food drive. So we constantly try to give back to our community and when everything started we knew how essential it was to give back," said Santulli.

Santulli added, "We also worked with the ARC of Chemung County because you know how all of the schools around the area were giving out free lunches to the kids and delivering them to their front doors, well the kids of the ARC didn't have anybody to give them meals. So every Tuesday for I think three or four weeks, we donated 50 to 75 meals just to the ARC and we were part of the Elmira Restaurant Collaboration."

WENY-TV is recognizing the good work the Sauce Boss is doing in our community, and paying it forward to you. Click here to enter for a chance to win a $50.00 gift card to the Sauce Boss. 

Each Thursday, we'll spotlight a new restaurant in Chemung County, and offer you the chance to help support them.