Troy is getting a new restaurant on its riverfront. Dinosaur BBQ is officially coming to the Collar City this summer. Our Solomon Syed has details.

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After months of planning and submitting building plans to the Troy Zoning Board, the Dinosaur BBQ is ready to set up shop on River Street.

"This will be a huge draw for the city and I think the word 'sustainability' is the one that keeps coming up," said Troy Planning Board member James Martin. "And it's well applied because what we need are things that are going to keep people coming here and make them want to stay here."

Construction actually started on the site of the old Fresno's restaurant several weeks ago but nothing was official until the full city planning board voted on the proposal. But after Dinosaur BBQ already met zoning requirements and submitted their blueprints, Thursday night's role call became a formality.

"We went over a lot of the site plans, details and had a lot of questions on what each side was expecting from each other and they were very thorough on what we wanted to know," said Troy Planning Board member Mark Popp.

The plans call for red and blue signage, which matches the restaurant's design scheme at its Syracuse, Rochester and New York City locations. And in addition to comfort food and a full bar, it'll feature live music and other special events. All that has city officials dreaming big, Dinosaur big!

"I tried to visualize the summer time, and what the activity there was going to be, it's just mind boggling," said Popp.

Bergmann Associates, which will be in charge of construction, shares that enthusiasm and they think the restaurant is bound to leave its footprint on the area.

"I live in the city of troy and it just seems like something needs to get going here, to help revitalize the downtown area and I think Dinosaur BBQ can be that," said Eric Redding, a design engineer for Bergmann Associates.

Local residents agree, Bob Schleisher said, "I didn't eat before I came here, so that's all I can think about.”

But one question still remains. When will all the food and fun begin? There have been rumors that Dinosaur BBQ was going to open in early summer. Turns out that's not going to be the case. But we spoke to a representative from Bergmann and they said they hope to finish the project in late July or early August. That's still a ways off, but it'll give you plenty of time to build up a dino-sized appetite.