Emily Stewart

Poughkeepsie Journal

BEACON – Rochester resident Heather Storti didn't tell her sister, Dana, where they were going to celebrate Dana Storti's 36th birthday.

She guessed anyway, during the five hour drive to Beacon.

Their destination?

A "Doctor Who" themed restaurant — The Pandorica — that opened on Main Street in July.

"I didn't give her any clues but she guessed it halfway down," said Heather Storti, 25.

"I blurted out — are you talking about 'Doctor Who'?" said Dana Storti.

Healther Storti said she found out about the restaurant that pays homage to the long-running BBC science fiction show from an online article a week or so ago.

Other online reports have shown long lines outside the restaurant, with some people in costumes, waiting to get into the Beacon eatery that seats about 40.

The Pandorica takes the space formerly occupied by the Cup & Saucer Tea Room. The ownership is the same.

Owner Shirley Hot said she decided to change the format of Cup & Saucer, which she bought in 2007 and had worked at since 2001, after reading online reviews that complained it was like their "grandmother's house" or "a funeral parlor."

So Hot — a lifelong "Doctor Who" fan — decided to go with what she knew.

Details of restaurant, like sunflowers on every table and tablecloths with a pattern similar to character River Song's journal, are a nod to the show, she said, which began airing in black and white in 1963.

"Doctor Who" is the longest-running science fiction TV series, with 769 episodes as of June 2010, according to the Guinness World Records website. Its current season premiered Saturday. The show has become more popular in the United States in recent years since BBC America began airing the series, and due to the increased availability of television shows on the Internet.

At The Pandorica, a "crack in the universe" lights up on the wall next to the bathroom door, which, of course, is painted blue like the outside of the TARDIS, the doctor's time machine and spacecraft that on the outside looks like a vintage London police box.

Hot named it The Pandorica for two reasons: She didn't want to drive non-fans from her restaurant, so she wanted something subtle. Also, she thought it would be fun to say "The Pandorica Opens," which is the name of an episode that aired July 17, 2010, she said.

Cornwall residents Phil and Jackie Russo and their three children had a shorter drive to The Pandorica.

Phil Russo wore a "Doctor Who" T-shirt and his oldest, Lucas, 8, played with a replica sonic screwdriver — a tool the Doctor often uses — while they waited for their order. Russo said the two of them are fans of the show.

"We had to come," he said.

Emily Stewart: 845-437-4882; estewart@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @estwrt

VIDEO

To see a video about The Pandorica, go to PoughkeepsieJournal.com.

IF YOU GO

What: The Pandorica, a Doctor Who-themed restaurant

Where: 165 Main Street, Beacon

Hours (set to change): Monday, 1 to 6 p.m.; Wednesday to Saturday, 2 to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 2 to 7 p.m.; closed Tuesday

Information: (845) 831-6287