By the Rondout Creek in Kingston, the rustic and vintage-inspired The Cornell Restaurant + Bar attracts tourists and locals alike with diverse food and a deep connection to Kingston’s history. This used to be barbecue mecca Ole Savannah, but owner Dave Amato wanted a change.

“The southern name kind of put us in a box,” Amato said. The rebranding, he said, was about “putting something more current and something that I was more passionate about.”

Amato, who is a lifelong Kingston local, wanted something connected to Kingston’s history. The name of the Cornell Restaurant references the Cornell Steamboat Company, which brought bricks, cement and other materials, as well as passengers, up and down the Hudson River. Amato said Kingston wouldn’t be what it is today without company founder Thomas Cornell. Amato’s grandfather was also a bricklayer, which connects him to this history.

With that in mind, Amato wanted to redesign the building, which began life as a steel factory and has been a lot of things over the years, in a way that was true to that history. He worked with Jackson Creative to bring this vision to life. “It brings back a very vintage, but modern, but industrial feel.”

Part of the rebrand is the new menu. While Ole Savannah was branded as a Southern restaurant, this wasn’t reflected in the menu over time. He said that Southern food made up less than 15 percent of the former menu. Now that he has a new name, he can explore a “global fusion” of food inspired by the restaurants he’s seen on his travels.

“In my free time, I travel to different restaurants. When I hear about a certain place in New York City, Miami, Nashville, Tennessee, Los Angeles,” he said, “I travel to and I learn every day from the industry leaders. And basically, I go, I really like this dish, come back and bring it to my chef and recreate it.”

His head chef is Anthony Calon. Amato said Calon, “usually can replicate it the same, if not better than elsewhere.”

Popular dishes include handcrafted pasta, sushi, bang bang shrimp tacos, dim sum and chicken parmesan pizza.

The Cornell particularly serves a wide variety of Asian cuisine, which Amato describes as “probably the most popular in the country right now.” He also lived in Thailand for two years, and has a Thai son, which influences his taste.

Since rebranding, Amato has enjoyed support from both old and new customers, Kingston residents and tourists alike. He hopes that The Cornell can be a “top dining destination.”

“What have I learned? Dreams do come true.”

The Cornell Restaurant + Bar is at 100 Rondout Landing in Downtown Kingston.