Serving Up Success: At Long Last Diner Honored as Cayuga County’s 2025 Small Business of the Year

Starting a restaurant is a difficult task, especially given the failure rates in the industry, which are quite high. To be successful takes a lot of skill, determination and a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Robin Long is just that person. With over 30 years in the restaurant industry working for other people, and a dream to one day open her own, she finally did just that with At Long Last – an upscale diner just outside Auburn, NY. As the name suggests, it was a long time coming for the woman whose last name is also Long! The perfect name for this unique restaurant.


You may wonder what an upscale diner is exactly. Well, Robin intended it to be 5 star quality food from scratch and beverages, including alcohol, with quality ingredients for breakfast and lunch but at a price point that everyone could enjoy. Robin came to the SBDC with her vision and was looking for assistance with her business plan and cash flow projections in late 2022 and in summer of 2023, was able to get the funding through some creative personal funding as well as an SBA working capital loan.


At Long Last officially opened on February 15th, 2024. And when she did open, there were long lines of 2+ hours of people waiting on the weekends. Robin thought this was just the novelty of the new place but even now, if you go there, you will likely be waiting for at least 30+ minutes. People don’t mind waiting. It is THAT good! Even Billionaire and business owner Adam Weitsman loved it and commented on his Facebook page.


As she celebrated her one year anniversary, she tells us that “the volume of business has exceeded my expectations which is a HUGE positive”. She never intended for the business to offer dinner but due to customer demand for it, in summer of 2024, she began offering dinner two nights a week. It has been such a success that they are looking to expand to other nights as well as to offer catering and private parties. The biggest challenge has been the rising costs of food.


Robin said “I have the most amazing team who has stuck by me and this new venture and I couldn’t do it without them. This restaurant isn’t about me, its about the team that has been created and the 100 percent they give everyday.”


"Kellie was a huge help in creating a business plan and a fantastic resource in finding funding. The help was amazing and having someone be a 'cheerleader' and a call or email away was amazing."