Kevin Oklobzija

@kevinoDandC

The idea seemed so good at the time to Bob Youst.

He would take his business, Steel River BBQ & Grill, and combine it with the closed-down River Street Grill & Pub next door to create a dynamic, elegant and true-to-its-Charlotte-roots neighborhood bar and restaurant.

A bar on the south half of the building, scrumptious dining on the north half, and a party room upstairs with a view of the Genesee River and Genesee Yacht Club.

In his vision, he'd christen the new pub and eatery in the summer of 2015.

"A three-month facelift," Youst said of the renovation.

It turned out to be more like a 15-month construction odyssey filled with rotted beams, failing floors and defective plumbing. Then again, when you're revamping a building that was erected in 1853, the old Showboat Hotel, you probably shouldn't expect anything but surprises.

"We had one unforeseen nightmare after another," Youst said.

But guess who's now open for dinner?

Whiskey River Pub & Grill officially welcomed dinner guests and bar patrons on July 1, and while work on the second-floor party room is just beginning, the pride of Youst's dream has been realized. He and his wife, Tina Cipolla Youst, are co-owners.

From chestnut and mahogany trim to inlaid stone on the walls, from a meticulously crafted decor and cedar ceilings to homemade lights out of Jack Daniels bottles, Whiskey River is a dining and drinking oasis along the west bank of the Genesee at 421 River St. It's on the one-way portion of River Street accessible from Stutson Street to the south.

Whiskey River has a early 1920s feel, and whiskey barrels accentuate the design.

"The love of the prohibition era with a touch of class," Youst said.

The hickory and applewood smoked chicken wings — made in the smoker out by the bocce courts and horseshoe pit — were a staple of Steel River and still are being served. But the fine-dining menu features a variety of steaks, prime rib and seafood, and a signature whiskey bourbon gravy spices up pork and sirloin.

"Before, Steel River was a bar, restaurant, diner, BBQ house all in one," Youst said. "It was too much."

That's why he wanted to expand. The project certainly was not an easy endeavor; they had to pound through 18-inch brick walls to create the doorways.

But the rotted support beams and frail floor Youst and his partner in craftsmanship, Jim Maroulis, found early in their renovation are just battle scars.

Youst wasn't schooled in culinary delights. He's no chef extraordinaire. He's a carpenter and has spent 25 years in the construction business. He's vice president of Excelaron, a Rochester-based residential and commercial construction firm. Whiskey River has 16 employees and Youst leaves the cooking to his chefs.

"What did I know about restaurants? I ate in them three times a day," said Youst, 42, of Greece.

Because he did the work himself, with family and friends pitching in, creating Whiskey River was possible without hitting the lottery.

Much of the materials were reclaimed from work sites or demolition projects. He bartered for some. Worked out deals for others. And then he and Maroulis sawed, crowbarred, pounded, sanded, welded and leveled their way to the finished product.

"I'd work from 7 a.m. to 3:30 or 4:30 (at Excelaron) and then be here from 4:30 to midnight," Youst said.

The savings were enormous because he did the work along with Maroulis, a retired carpenter.

"If you were in construction and you looked at this place, you'd think I put $300,000-plus into it," Youst said. He said his actual outlay was in the neighborhood of $30,000.

All from a dream that didn't involve an architect's blueprints.

"If you hire an architect, then you're building his vision," Youst said. "How often do you get to build your own vision?

"I've always built for someone else. We wanted to create something for ourselves."

KEVINO@Gannett.com

If you go

What: Whiskey River Pub & Grill

Where: 421 River St., Rochester.

Hours: Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.-midnight or later. Friday-Sunday, noon to 2 a.m. Dinner is served from 4 p.m. to 10:30. A fairly large bar menu is available each night until closing. Saturday features a prime rib and lobster tail special.