Bacchus Restaurant is another New Paltz tavern with a surprising amount of history behind it. Now celebrating its 41st anniversary in business, Bacchus sits in a building that struggled to find a long-term use for years — that is, until Wayne Bradford moved in and named his establishment after the Greek god of wine and partying.
Early days: Leading to the current structure
The brick building at 4 South Chestnut Street is a second attempt. Back in 1891, a smaller building occupied the site. It housed A.C. Yeaple’s barber shop and shoe repair store. That building and the construction got a lot of attention back then, in part, because it took place next to the New Paltz Independent’s print shop and office.
By 1894, the old building was gone. The local press wrote anticipatory articles about what would be in the “large building” replacing the old barber shop. Soon, the LeFevere family — Huguenot descendants — built the brick building. It’s one we know today as Bacchus, here in good old 2014.
When it was built out, the first use of the building was as a carpenter’s shop. It was owned by masons Dan Kniffen and Zack Berryann.
In November, Isaac G. Newton moved into the space, opening Newton’s — a store that sold stationary, candy, underwear, hosiery, toiletries, tinware, cigars and other tobacco products.
Looking for purpose
After the general store days, 4 South Chestnut Street experienced roughly 70 years of changing uses. Especially back in the early 1900s, owners and stores came and went.
Here’s a quick breakdown:
• In 1901, S. F. Donnelly moved in and had a mason and bricklaying shop.
• In 1903, a millinery — a women’s hatmaker — and dress shop opened there.
• In 1904, an advertisement for an office for rent appeared in a local paper, noting the site had been the dress and hat shop.
• In 1905, E. Lieberman opens a tailor’s shop.
• In 1906, New Paltz Normal School — the old teachers’ college predating SUNY New Paltz — used it to house a few academic departments.
• In 1910, George Ackert moves in, opening a “hand laundry.” Sometimes known as “Chinese laundries,” hand laundries are what they sound like — clothes getting cleaned, dried and ironed the old-fashioned way without machines. The laundry ends up lasting, being one of the longer-lasting uses of the building.
• In 1943, a Mrs. Dammier purchases New Paltz Laundry from the Ackert family, according to a New Paltz Independent brief.
• In 1945, New Paltz Laundry is taken over by a different owner — a Mr. Ryder.
• In 1948, the building is used as a taxi car station.
• In 1959, again according to the Independent, John’s Barber Shop opens. The legacy of that old barbershop remains. According to Bacchus’s website, they still have an original barber chair in their office on the third floor.
• In 1972, the New Paltz Artists Asylum celebrated their grand opening in the building. The grand opening ad says they planned to show old movies, art films and hold poetry readings.
• Also during the 1970s, part of the building was used in secret as a 1,200-foot still photograph pornography studio. Often the pictures featured young women from SUNY New Paltz.
The modern era of Bacchus
In fall of 1973, Wayne Bradford and his then-business partner started work on Bacchus Restaurant. They gutted the old building, which the landlords desperately wanted to rent.
“I found this building. These guys couldn’t afford to pay the heat. The pipes broke. The landlord was really frustrated. We came to an agreement,” Bacchus’s owner remembered. They had to renovate the 1,200 square feet of space themselves, and they only had six months.
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