A Big Red Tomato Grows in Haverstraw

A Big Red Tomato has sprouted in Haverstraw Village. Reyes “Ray” Dominguez, a long-time Haverstraw resident, has created his most recent venture, The Big Red Tomato at 9 Main Street, right across from Lucas Candies. The new bar and grill boasts a tasty fusion of Latin, American, and international flavors. Ray has come a long way since his immigration from Mexico years ago. His story is an inspiration for us all, and the true entrepreneurial spirit of the Big Red Tomato is bright.

Union Restaurant Thrives

The Union Restaurant is thriving amidst the worst economic fallout since 1939. Paulo Feteira, the maitre d’hotel, and David Martinez, head chef of Union, have combined their talents to bring about this blast of Euro-Latin fusion cuisine. Paulo and David are together twenty-year veterans of Peter X. Kelly’s Xaviar’s Restaurant and Freelance Cafe of Piermont. The two men’s resumes have ushered up valuable and overwhelming name recognition for Union Restaurant and have poised the Village of Haverstraw to become a regional restaurant destination; evidence of this exists every Friday night when New Jersey license plates line Main Street and Westchesterians are commonplace. The Union is THE anchor restaurant of Main Street.

Farewell to Bricktown Brewery

I am sad to report that the Bricktown Brewery at 4 Main Street shuttered its doors in the shadows of the worsening local and national economy. The restaurant had a good 5-year run in the Village, attracting new faces to the downtown that had yet to experience Haverstraw. Haverstraw eateries and stores have been hard-pressed in recent years to attract enough patrons to make their businesses viable. The Iron Horse antiques store was the last business to shut its doors on Main Street, following Chadia’s Home Furnishings. The Riverstone Antiques Center at the Stone Building aside the Village Hall has also closed shop, citing difficult economic times.

Haverstraw needs to attract new patrons that are willing to return with more business. Many patrons of Bricktown Brewery cite crime as the major deterrent. Patrons feel uncomfortable knowing that drug and crime problems plague the downtown. I recently have had conversations with many Haverstraw downtown patrons, trying to find the key to a lasting downtown revitalization. How did Nyack work? How has Greenwich Village, Brooklyn, and even Asbury Park turned into havens of artists, intellectuals, and young families? Haverstraw is missing that key. We must ban together to find the key to a vibrant, lasting downtown Haverstraw.

A Bowl Full of Americana: Soup Stone Cafe

The Soup Stone Cafe has been delighting tongues for more than five years in its neat and cozy storefront at 14 Main Street in the Village of Haverstraw, next to Lucas Candy and the Haverstraw Brick Museum. Hot soup steams everyday at the Soup Stone; each day two special soups are offered to accompany sandwiches and wraps, or as a main course. Stone Soup, the cafe’s signature, is offered everyday. The ancient legend of the Soup Stone is quite applicable to the Village of Haverstraw, today.

Remembering a Landmark

Chris Lima of Stony Point has recently created www.anniessnackshack.com, an online tribute to the Annie’s Restaurant and Drive-In on Route 9W and Filors Lane in Stony Point. The 1951 County Landmark will be razed in the coming weeks to make way for a CVS drugstore, the eighth drugstore in the immediate area. The story of Annie’s and its demolition prompted me to write an opinion for the Rockland Journal News:

Our Neighbor Gets a Facelift

The Ossining Ferry dock and train station area is about to undergo a complete transformation into a beautifully appointed mixed-use neighborhood. Ginsburg Development Companies and Capelli Enterprises have teamed up to build One Harbor Square between the existing ferry pier and the Metro North train station. Easy access to New York City, the rest of Westchester, and Haverstraw make this location priceless. HaverstrawLife welcomes our neighbor’s development, as it will help spur commerce between the Haverstraw Pier and the Ossining Pier. New restaurants will surely emerge on both sides of the Hudson, within walking distance of the ferry piers to accommodate this new market of consumers. Read more about the project here.

Cruise to Dinner

On any given weekday evening, the Haverstraw Ferry runs its rounds to Ossining and back, shuffling commuters home from their daily work grind in the city. Little does anyone realize that the ferry can be used as a tool to quickly get to some of the best dinner spots in the Hudson Valley. Simply catch the boat at any of the times listed on NY Waterway’s website (5:00 and 5:40 PM are recommended for dinner). Enjoy a spectacular ride across the widest part of the Hudson River. As the ferry departs Haverstraw, and as the peak of High Tor Mountain shrinks into the evening sky, the cliffs of the Palisades Escarpment dive into the waters of the Hudson. The Pocantico Hills of Westchester gently climb and roll up to the horizon. The Nyack downtown shimmers from afar. Once reaching Ossining, get to the Metro-North train platform (southbound) and wait for one of the many Grand Central-bound trains. Take a sleek metro-liner south to Yonkers; get off here. Dozens of high-class, international restaurants now line the main street outside of the Yonkers Train Depot. Make your way to the Hudson River’s edge by crossing beneath the train trestle and to the famed Yonkers Pier. The Pier will soon offer a top-notch restaurant on its second floor, created by the famed Peter X. Kelly, dubbed “Xaviar’s on the Hudson.” A turn-of-the-century custard stand and coffee shoppe will be featured on the first floor. Eat outside on the sidewalk at the Pier View Restaurant and enjoy the dramatic vista of the Palisades cliffs across the river. Once finished eating, stay for dessert and drinks. Don’t worry you have time to catch a ferry back to Haverstraw; the last ferry leaves Ossining at 8:15PM. That gives you 2 hours to enjoy dinner, take an exciting ferry ride, and enjoy the unbelievable views of Haverstraw Bay and the Palisades. I strongly recommend this dinner “trip.” You’ll feel as if you’re in Europe and far, far away from your daily routine…