By Lucienne Burns
Staff Writer, Times Union
(Lucienne is an intern through SUNY Institute for Local News and a Univ of Albany student.)
MALTA — Grammy Award-winning musician Ed Sheeran initially
went unnoticed when he went to a Capital Region restaurant
Tuesday night.
But when a hostess noticed him and another musician, Aaron
Dessner, sitting at the bar around 8:30 p.m. and notified the
owners, they were both pleasantly surprised.
PIK CAPTION: Ed Sheeran and Danielle Hartwyk, one of the owners of BuonaSera on the Lake in Malta, pose for a photo together after Sheeran stopped by the Italian restaurant to grab a drink on Tuesday. “It was a really great experience,” she said.
“It was a shock when you see someone of his notoriety in your
establishment,” said Jimmy Hartwyk, who owns BuonaSera on the
Lake in Malta with his wife, Danielle Hartwyk.
Celebrities, from actress and singer Liza Minnelli to TV cooking
personality Bobby Flay, have been drawn to the Saratoga Springs
area over the years for the Saratoga Race Course, but the Italian
restaurant overlooking the lake has only been open for two years.
Danielle Hartwyk says that a hostess, Jackie, is always “in the
know” and keeps everyone informed on whether there are any local
musicians or prominent figures at the restaurant. At first, she said
the news did not register with her.
“She came over to me and said, ‘Ed Sheeran’s at the bar,’ and I was
just like ‘Ok, Jackie,’” she said. Another employee noticed Sheeran
shortly after, and she went to take a picture with the musician.
“It was a really great experience,” she said.
Both Jimmy and Danielle Hartwyk said that Sheeran and Dessner
were very kind, gracious, and even video-called with the children of
a waitress who did not believe that he was really there. He said that
Sheeran took pictures with “anyone that asked him.”
“I’m definitely a fan of his music, but the one thing I do love about
him was his role in the movie ‘Yesterday’ about the Beatles,” she
said.
The musician stopped in for a beer after a fishing trip, most likely on
Saratoga Lake, according to Jimmy Hartwyk, who says an employee
at the marina below recommended the restaurant to them. The
Daily Gazette previously reported on Sheeran’s visit.
A recent Instagram post by Sheeran shows the pair fishing on an
unidentified lake in slides four and five, potentially Saratoga Lake.
Fans and news outlets have speculated that Sheeran’s local
appearance was a pit stop on his way to pop superstar Taylor Swift
and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s wedding, supposedly
taking place over the weekend. The New York Times and Associated
Press both reported that the wedding is expected to take place at
Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Both Sheeran and Dessner have connections to upstate New York,
as Dessner, who has helped produce and co-write music with both
Swift and Sheeran, owns a recording venue in the Hudson Valley
called the Long Pond Studio. Sheeran and Dessner have
collaborated on songs for Dessner’s band, The National.
Sheeran did not say anything about being in the state for the
suspected wedding celebration, according to the owners.
“I think they were just enjoying the day outside,” she said.
