The iconic Gilligan’s Island storefront, located in Sherburne. (Submitted photo)

by Sophia Root,

Commerce Chenango

SHERBURNE – This week, Commerce Chenango would like to highlight Gilligan’s Island in Sherburne, a family restaurant and ice cream shop.

Aside from their unique and homemade ice cream, they sell burgers, sandwiches, wraps, sides and a complete menu of sides and salads.

Gilligan’s Island is a long-time member of the Chenango County community.

Owner Michael Lagoe said he is grateful for the support provided by Sherburne and the surrounding areas saying, we are “grateful to live and work in such a close-knit community.”

Annually, Gilligan’s Island sells 100,000 ice cream cones and sundaes and about 35,000 burgers.

Lagoe grew up in the area and went away to Binghamton for college and experienced life in a larger community. However, when it comes to raising a family, Lagoe wouldn’t want to do it anywhere other than in a small town. He came to Sherburne and bought Gilligan’s Island in 2007.

Built in the 1960’s, Gilligan’s Island started off as an ice cream shop. Unique to the time and location, it included a drive through window. Lagoe likes to think that it was most likely one of the first drive through windows in our area, as the drive through was conceptualized in the late 1950’s and was initially popularized on the west coast.

The restaurant building has become iconic in local communities, and patrons often take pictures outside of the iconic signage, according to Lagoe. A significant part of the weekend crowd are college students from Colgate, and Lagoe is grateful for their support. As a matter of fact: “Raider Passion (a crowd favorite ice cream flavor) was developed at Colgate”, said Lagoe.

Acknowledging that they do not conduct business in a high-income area, Lagoe is grateful that Gilligan’s Island have been able to “…keep it affordable” through COVID-19. Through the years, they've had great reliable help from friends and family in the area. Their employees provide great food and service and are happy to be a staple in the community.

One of the “shining moments” for Lagoe as a business owner this was in 2020 on the weekend of the Sherburne Pageant of Bands.

The annual event is the biggest fundraiser for the Sherburne Fire Department, and due to the cancellation, they were going to go without that money. Gilligan’s Island was lucky enough to stay open through the pandemic, and so they donated 20% of their profits to the Sherburne Fire Department.

This day was busy for Gilligan’s Island, and they were happy to donate $4,400 when it was all said and done.

On Mondays and Wednesdays between October and March, Gilligan’s Island hosts Community Fundraiser Nights, where they support a different group every night. Whichever group is participating gets 20% of the profits made that evening. These groups can take home $300 to $600 a night, depending on the community participation. Lagoe is happy to host these to support participants, and to stimulate the support of small businesses over the cold winter months.

To learn more about Gilligan’s Island or to view their menu visit www.gilliganssherburne.com or follow them on Facebook at Gilligan’s Restaurant.