by: Michael P. Iten (pages 1E, 7E)

When Dennis Drew says, "We're in the entertainment business," he's not just referring to his work as keyboardist in Jamestown's 10,000 Maniacs.

He and bassist Steven Gustafson sit in the downtown Jamestown restaurant they own and actively run together and can't help but draw parallels between their two businesses: one sent them out to travel the world as alternative music stars during a turbulent 15 years; the other demands they order fresh produce daily and a connoisseur's choice of liquor.

The two owners of Jamestown's Stage Left co-mingle the metaphors they use to describe rock and roll and wine and dine; they refer to dinnertime as "showtime," compare their songwriting process to a simmering brew and frequently refer to the "performances" they give in each of their vocations.

And just as their former band vocalist tried to add more to her lyrics and performances than mere entertainment value, the two businessmen have a mission in running Stage Left: to contribute to the revitalization of downtown that they say has begun with The Lucy-Desi Museum. Stage Left is more than a restaurant to the two musicians - it's a payback to their beloved hometown, a safe haven, they say, where they grew up and now raise their own children. The restaurant is on Third Street next to the Reg Lenna Civic Center.

It gives them roots after a decade and a half of being uprooted, of playing every small club and big stadium in their quest for stardom. Their enthusiasm for the two venues is undiminished by the demands imposed by each.

"We bought the restaurant in February and immediately went on tour," Gustafson said during an interview at the restaurant.

Such interruptions will likely continue. Their new album, recorded with the lineup that includes original member John Lombardo and vocalist Mary Ramsey, will be released Feb. 25 almost exactly one year since they bought Stage Left - with a single expected in January.

"We just made a brilliant record for Geffen," Drew said. "All our records were written here in Jamestown. ... We sang political songs (in the original band). This new album is a personal album."

"The storefront next door is the Maniacs' rehearsal space," Gustafson said.

Philip Morris, executive director of the Arts Council for Chautauqua County and Jamestown City Council member from the Lakeview Ward, said he sees the restaurant as a larger commitment to the downtown area by the businessmen.

"We had 10,000 people between Memorial Day and Sept. 1," who visited The Lucy-Desi Museum, he said. The number seems a good omen.

"They've been to (Athens) Georgia and seen what R.E.M.'s done (for that community) and they're very specific about what they want to do," Morris said. "They live here and they want to make a difference here."

Drew and Gustafson hold their grand opening of the "New" Stage Left, as they're billing it, on Friday and Saturday. The opening will highlight the changes they have made as they took over management: a new menu, cosmetic alterations, efforts such as curtains replicated from the Civic Center hung to separate the dining room and bar area, works by local artists and a new attitude that includes music handpicked by the musicians to be played for bar patrons and diners.

"It's going to look like a Tuscan farmhouse, like the south of France. We'll soften the sound, make it feel warmer, more intimate," Drew said. "We want this to be a place where one's comfortable, but it's special."

For the two musicians, the idea is as close to heaven on earth as possible: a spot to feed, entertain and broaden the minds of patrons seeking an elegant evening.

"It's all about originality, unique menu, different music and art work," Drew said. "We've always done it our way, and it worked. ... Our music was never about clichés, and our food's not about clichés. We're trying to do things nobody else does."

The challenge for the businessmen will be selling upscale dinner fare, with its accompanying cost, to those who may prefer burgers and beer. But they believe the market is there.

The new menu features the jargon of the business that has dominated their lives up to now: appetizers are the "Opening Act," which range from $1.95 for a Caesar salad to $5.95 for pan-seared crab cakes; The "First Set," defined as "Pasta Fresca," ranges in price from Penne (a spear-shaped pasta imported from Italy) with fresh chunky tomato, basil and garlic sauce for $8.95 and angel hair pasta and jumbo shrimp sauteed for $1 3.95; and the "Second Set," (from the grill), which is more pricey - Southwest grilled chicken is least expensive at $10.95 and tenderloin of beef filet with cabernet reduction sauce and gorgonzola pine nut topping costs the most at $18.95.

Dinners are offered from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and 5 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Stage Left will also feature a low-fat menu for the health-conscious. Desserts are the "Encore," and feature items such as Jack Daniels chocolate chip pecan pie and cappuccino cheesecake.

Diners at the restaurant tend to dress in neat, casual clothing, but a suit and tie wouldn't be out of place.

The Stage Left opening occurs on the same day Drew and Gustafson will be honored in Buffalo with Business First's Fifth Annual "40 Under Forty Honor Roll" award. Drew and Gustafson are two of three Jamestown-area residents honored in the program that recognizes 40 business officials under age 40 in Western New York's eight counties. They were chosen along with WCA Hospital's operating officer, Betsy Wright, from 280 nominees for the award.

"They're very active in non-profit boards, they've sponsored benefit concerts and have the restaurant they're running there," said Scott Thomas, projects editor for the weekly newspaper, in describing the two.

The cynical would say the restaurant is an insurance policy for a band that lost its greatest asset - acclaimed poet and singer Natalie Merchant, whose last words about her hometown were disparaging.

But their venture is wish-fulfillment, Drew and Gustafson say. And any businessman will tell you a restaurant is far from a sure-thing from an investment standpoint.

"We're novices at it," Gustafson said of the restaurant business. "We've been relying on our staff."

The two decided they wanted what they perceived to be one of downtown's treasures to remain after its original owner decided to move on.

"We came here all the time we rehearsed on the street," Drew said. "We didn't want to lose the place. I want to be able to go out and get good food."

"I used to walk by this storefront on the way to go to high school," Gustafson said. "It's beautiful here. We've been all around Europe and all around the country. But it's beautiful here."

Drew and Gustafson said they haven't had to change much about the restaurant, just customize it to their tastes through additions to the menu and some changes to the restaurant's inside.

Hostess and waitress Kim Nordwall, a longtime friend of the band, said her bosses know how to run a business.

"Everyone's like a little family here," she said. "These two guys are the best bosses I've ever had."

Their star power doesn't faze her, she said. "You know what? I've never really thought about it," she said. "The time to put on dinner, that's our showtime."

"The key, really, is employees and efficiency," Drew said. "If there's a lot of pressure on them because the system's not right ..."

"They'll quit," Gustafson finished.

The employees are especially important to them, since it's likely the new album will send them off on the road together again.

Dining at such locally run restaurants is the difference between shopping at a huge chain store and a tiny boutique in a downtown storefront. An area's character is defined through local business, said Morris.

While national chain restaurants advertise on television, "there's no way a MacDuff's or Ironstone or Stage Left can compete with that," he said. "The trick is for people to not be fooled by the arrival of these chains to our community."

Chains don't necessarily spell quality, he said.

"I know (Gustafson and Drew) are definitely committed to downtown," said Don Luscher, executive director of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation. Luscher works with the two on a scholarship they created for mothers returning to school in memory of their moms. "They did good and they're giving back to the community. ... People ask, why should they bother? And the answer is they grew up here and want a place to thrive."

The two band mates are also betting that, pending the success of the band's new release, Stage Left will achieve success as a tourist stop - The Restaurant That The Maniacs Built.

"It'll be a fun thing," Drew said. "When we're on the road, people can come in here and find out where we are, what we're up to," Drew said.

"We've already had fans come up here to see our restaurant," Gustafson said.

"There'll be more after the new record," Drew said with a smile.