On Feb. 2, Victoria and George Amoratis reopened a landmark dining establishment at 2700 Route 23 North. The more than 100 year-old former stagecoach inn known to generations as Jorgensen's has been reborn as Victoria's Mountaln Inn.

Closed for the last few years, it has been reopened as more than merely a warm and inviting place to enjoy American-Continental cuisine.

Here, guests are said to be reliving past memories amid an elegantly Old-World ambiance while building new memories that are already incurring return visits to enjoy slow-roasted prime rib, aged steaks, and varied dishes graciously prepared by talented graduates of the Culinary Institute of America.

Victoria Amoratis said, "We wanted to create an upscale restaurant for The Year 2000 that was distinctively different from the norm. We wanted to have a rustic yet refined atmosphere that people would find comfortable, but not fragile. We wanted the place to be slower paced with an ambiance that holds memories for returning guests and creates new memories for the future. In our few short months here, we think we're well on the way to achieving our goals."

It took Amoratis and former owner, Richard Jorgensen, nearly two years to complete the sale of the restaurant. "That's because it was a very emotional sale," said Amoratis. "Richard had spent many, many happy years working in and building his restaurant and to part with it was difficult for him. Jorgensen's became a landmark where couples got engaged, had their weddings, family birthdays, anniversaries, graduation parties, and more.

"George and I hope to retrieve that following of the many people who have an attachment here, and we'd. like to help them build new memories. We want Victoria's to become the place people look to first to have their most special affair. We don't think everyone today wants the run-of-the-mill kind of catering hall with the same kind of fragile chandeliers and flat walls. We think they're really looking for an old-world-styled restaurant that can offer them more of the personal touch. That's our goal, and that's what we've already begun to build here."

While George Amoratis was "literally born into the restaurant business," his wife's trade as an interior decorator has helped rekindle the flavor of the former eatery that was once known to house the area's first telephone.

"This building is in three parts and has a lot of local history within its walls," said Amaratis, "and we're trying very hard to keep as much of its originality as possible. We remodeled the entry to create a center hall and more spacious lobby. We also put in new carpets and draperies, but we've left the wood-paneled walls, old brick accents, and many of the wonderful copper pieces and antiques that Richard collected through the years.

The amoratises are also maintaining the working fireplaces in the dining room and lounge and are keeping the rooms' huge coach lights lit. And adding their own stately touch of elegance, the linen-covered, candle-topped tables welcome their guests with a large scripted "V." "The ambiance is what people talk about when they first come back here," said its new owner."