OUR STORY
From the same owner, James McCoy, of the iconic Number 5
Restaurant in Binghamton, NY and Lampy's Restaurant in
Endicott, NY, we bring you McCoy's Chophouse: An Italian
Steakhouse menu featuring steaks, chops, seafood, pasta,
and much more! Plus a huge bar and lounge menu!
McCoy owned and operated Number 5 Restaurant, an award winning fine dining restaurant, for 43 years in Binghamton. Just recently he sold the property to a developer and has merged his 2 restaurants into 1. Lampy's was the sister restaurant to Number 5, located in Endicott, opening in 2004, as a casual fine dining restaurant. McCoy kept the Endicott location and has opened a merge of both restaurants with an Italian section added to the menu, in September 2020.
History of Jim ‘the real’ McCoy
· April 1948– a star was born
· Winter‘65 -‘66- Dishwasher at Paradise for Lampy George
· Graduated UE High School June 1966
· Fall 1966– Started at St. John Fisher College
· Bartender at the Club Room
· Spring 1967– Began working for Guido Iacovelli in various positions at The Villa and Fountains
· Fall 1967– Transferred to Binghamton University
· Continued working for Guido in various positions at The Villa and Fountains
· Promoted to Assistant Manager at The Villa.. until he threw the manager in the dumpster
· Worked at Endicott Johnson as a Time Study for 6 months
· Summer 1969– Graduated from Broome Tech with an associate degree in business
· Fall 1970– Back to St. John Fisher College
· Worked at Uncle John’s Pancake House as a Cook then a Manager ..12 hour shifts in-between college and new baby
· Spring 1971– Graduated early from St. John Fisher with a bachelor’s degree in economics
· Had 2 job offers in Binghamton– 1) Assistant Manager at Endicott Bank for $105/week or 2) Manager at The Villa for $135/week.. and there it all began..
· 1971-1977- Wore many hats working with Guido Iacovelli. Learned a lot about the in’s and out’s of the restaurant world over the years working for Guido
--Purchasing and Distribution Manager at Vestal Factory in charge of distributing food to all 25 restaurants including The Villa, Augustino’s, Coco’s, The Vineyard, The Fountains, Tommy O’s.. eventually operating over 25 restaurants from all over New York to Philadelphia to Las Vegas
--Jim was put in charge of designing the new meat factory on African Road in Vestal, designing an ordering system for restaurants, as well as an inventory system
· Spring 1978– Michael Turback presented financial statements and an offer to purchase Number 5 to Guido Iacovelli.. Uninterested in the offer, Guido gave the paperwork to Jim to “get out of there”. For months Jim kept the paperwork on his desk, contemplating the idea of owning his own restaurant.. Knowing Guido would be furious, Jim took a leap– Gathered $13,000 down and getting the rest from the bank– he purchased Number 5 from M. Turback for $40,000
--At first, Jim had to work 6 days a week for $50– 2 days as a host, 2 days as a bartender, and 2 days as a cook. Having a lot of knowledge of the restaurant business he needed to learn the kitchen. After a rough first 2 years and almost closing the doors before NYE.. Number 5 joined Dine-A-Mate as one of the first restaurants offering guests a small coupon to come in.. this did a small turnaround for Number 5. .
--1980-1981– McCoy had enough money to update Number 5 by remodeling the bar, adding a stage, updated menus, and crisped up uniforms and staff. Throughout the 80’s, Number 5 was the place to be with a busy lounge, live music– featuring the popular house band, Grease Release, with Jim occasionally on vocals, and a large dinner menu.. The iconic Number 5 Restaurant had become the best Fine Dining Restaurant in the Southern Tier for 40+ years- concluding in 2020
· 1981- Frank Consentino offered Jim the takeover of the hotel restaurant in Canton, NY, called The County Seat– offering banquets, lounge area, and 3 meal service– concluding in 1995
· 1982– Purchased Nick’s Pier 7 on Front St., Binghamton, remodeling and changing the name to McCoy’s Dockside– featuring a 'salad boat bar’ with 90 items, a small private dining room, and a large dinner menu- concluding in 1985
· 1985– Being a restaurateur with a DeLorean wasn’t enough.. Jim purchased the Hartford ‘Binghamton’ Whalers along with Bob Carr and Tom Mitchell until 1990, then becoming the Binghamton Rangers from 1991-97
· 1986– Another offer from F. Consentino, sent Jim to Pennsylvania. Number 5 in Scranton, PA opened in August with a popular lounge and dining room decorated similar to the original Binghamton Number 5- concluding in 1998
· 1988– Purchased the Hotel de Ville with Nick Serafini– Operated the fine dining restaurant, Dion’s and then McCoy’s Chop House: The Place for Steaks- concluding in 2000
· 2004– Back to his roots– Jim purchased 105 W. Main St., Endicott –Previously Orlando’s- from Russ Rodriguez, the original chef of Fountains. The location was also previously owned by Lampy George in the 1970’s. Jim opened Lampy’s Mediterranean Grill: a casual fine dining restaurant with a popular lounge and large dinner menu featuring old classic dishes from Lampy and original Number 5 items– concluding in 2020
· 2020– A year to remember.. Merging Number 5 and Lampy’s, Jim opened McCoy’s Chophouse at 105 W. Main in Endicott. Still offering the best service, vast lounge and dinner menus, and keeping the classic fine dining experience alive after 44 years