The ‘Cheers’ of the North: Long Lake’s Adirondack Hotel

How one woman’s vision helped ensure historic 1899 hotel’s success

By Holly Riddle

Since 1850, Long Lake’s Adirondack Hotel has managed to survive and even thrive in the modern era of Adirondack travel, thanks in large parts to the efforts and ideas of one woman: Carol Young. 

Young owned and operated the Cobblestone Restaurant & Inn in Long Lake, from 1978 to 1984, before returning to her hometown of Buffalo, where she found work as a CPA. She didn’t stay away long. In 1990, the Adirondack Hotel’s previous owner, Bob Lucci, called and made an offer Young and her husband, Art, couldn’t refuse. 

“I just wanted to [buy it]. I loved it,” said Young. “I love Long Lake and had a home there, so I spent all my free time there. The hotel was the center of the community and it was very rundown. It only opened in the summer. I wanted to open it up and convert it so it ran year-round and was economically viable. It was a long challenge, but we made it.” 

A renovation process

When Young says the endeavor was a challenge, it’s hardly an exaggeration. Built in 1899 (the original hotel burned in a fire in 1898), the hotel had sat dormant for two years. Two weeks after Young purchased the property, the main boiler and hot water system “blew up.” There was little or no heat throughout the main dining room and bar. The plumbing needed revamping. Young installed all new bathrooms. The kitchen required new equipment. 

Still, Young persisted. In order to drive winter tourism to Long Lake, she and the hotel team helped reorganize a town snowmobile club and worked with organizations to develop an overland trail system. 

“Developing a winter business was key to being open year-round and, as that evolved, my motto always was and is continuity. If you’re open, you’re open,” she said. “Unless there’s a dire situation or a major problem with the building that you have to close temporarily for a couple days to fix. We’re open seven days a week, year-round, and we have the only restaurant in Long Lake that does that.” 

Recruiting family to help

Since those early days, more then 30 of Carol’s family members have worked in some form at the Adirondack Hotel. At first, it was just a necessity, as the area employment pool was small. Over the years, though, that changed and, at one point, the hotel was the largest for-profit employer in the county. 

A good number of the tight-knit family still work at the property and it’s not uncommon for younger family members to work there throughout high school and college — and, now, Carol has finally turned the reins over to the second generation: her niece Colleen Coughlin. 

“I started off as a busser [at the hotel],” she said. “I paid off my first car with tips, working in the summers for Aunt Carol. I worked my way up to server, bartender, the front desk and back of house. I worked in many restaurants growing up and I gained a lot of confidence from the faith that Carol put in me, to go serve billionaires that were sitting in our Victorian dining room, trusting that I wouldn’t spill anything on them!” 

The next generation

Coughlin and her husband formally purchased the property on Dec. 31, 2024, and plan to relocate to the Adirondacks as soon as they sell their current business in Miami. 

Colleen hopes to continue Carol’s legacy, ensuring the Adirondack Hotel remains an economic driver in Long Lake, and both women note that, just as the hotel serves the community, the property likewise relies heavily on its local patrons. 

“In a small community, if you don’t have your local people, you might as well shut the door,” said Carol. “We have seven months of off season and five months of tourists. Come that seven months, you have to have your locals or you’re not going to make it.” 

And the Adirondack Hotel does indeed have its locals, with ample regulars claiming their spots in the bar and restaurant. 

“The Adirondack Hotel…it’s like the ‘Cheers’ of the North,” said Coughlin. “Everyone knows your name. You can sit down at the bar and ask the bartender [how his family is doing]. There’s just such a cozy feeling.” 

Carol summed up, “It was built by locals and because of the locals, it has continued. Because of the locals, it will continue for hopefully another 100 years.”