Ever since the news got out more than a year ago that the Red Brick Tavern (https://hudsonvalleyone.com/2019/07/23/rosendales-red-brick-tavern-to-be-reborn-as-santa-fe-burger-bar) had been acquired by the owners of the Santa Fe restaurants, locals have been wondering when the Main Street Rosendale institution is going to reopen. They also want to know how different its menu is going to be from its predecessor, a popular working-class watering hole known previously for many years as Ray’s. Speculation on Rosendale-related social media pages has persisted at a low buzz for months now, with many former patrons recalling their favorite Red Brick specialties with nostalgia.
The answer to the second question is that the new owners, Annie and Jimmy Demosthenes and David Weiss, are putting their own brand on the place. It won’t be the same Mexican food as the Santa Fe chain. Under the day-to-day operational leadership of Roxana Guerra, a longtime manager at the Kingston branch, the space will be known as the Santa Fe Burger Bar. Craft burgers, craft beers and fancy milkshakes will hold center stage.
As to the timing, they’re getting close, but have not yet set a reopening date more specific than some time in October. “We could probably push it and open within a week, but we won’t do that. We are taking our time to make sure everything is in place,” Annie Demosthenes said last week. The original plan was to open much earlier, but, like many who have spent their Covid-19 downtime trying to redesign their domestic spaces, the new owners discovered that delivery times for large items such as appliances have become much longer than normal, due to factory staff cuts.
New coolers and freezers for the expanded kitchen were particularly problematic. “We had to order and cancel and reorder the restaurant furniture several times, after realizing our previous orders were not going to be filled when the companies said they would be. Regardless, we’re very close.”
Meanwhile, renovation of the brick-fronted building – originally a lumber/coalyard and feed store, built in the 1890s – has proceeded apace. Though brightening up the cavernous-but-dimly-lit interior, which has windows only on the street side, was a major design goal, poking holes in load-bearing brick walls is not a wise approach, structurally speaking. So, the new owners opted to freshen the space optically with paint. Passersby have already noted that the façade’s signature red brick has been painted a pale grey, and that motif carries over into the interior walls, tables and seating.
Most of the old wooden booths and steel chairs will remain, albeit in a lighter shade, and spaced as needed to accommodate social distancing guidelines. The beat-up floors have been resurfaced, but the big rectangular bar remains, now fronted with sections of the wrought-iron scrollwork panels that used to flank the front entrance. Behind it, four red-bordered blackboards have been installed to display the beer list and daily specials; beneath them are 16 new taps in a gleaming row. Annie says that there will eventually be wall-mounted TVs to keep the sports fans happy.
A massive antique wooden mantelpiece leans against the east wall, waiting to be installed: the owners’ one concession to the design themes that prevail at their other locations. In the rear, new windows in the bumped-out kitchen wall will allow patrons to have a peek at what’s cooking.
Perhaps the most enticing change has occurred in the building’s long-neglected back yard, which faces a parking lot, the base of Joppenbergh Mountain, the filled-in remains of the D&H Canal and a spur to the Wallkill Valley rail-trail that should eventually lure in hikers and cyclists. (A bike rack will be a new addition.) “When we started, we already had a plan for outdoor space, but when Covid happened, we realized how instrumental outdoor seating would be, so we made a much larger outdoor dining area,” Annie explains. An eight-foot-high fence has been torn down and replaced with a much wider perimeter of low grey barn-boards. The new patio is more than twice the size of its predecessor, with a fresh gravel surface. In the center is a long wooden planter surrounded by counters; its upper level helps secure four big overhead sails that will provide shade for outdoor dining. Yes, there will be table service out back.
And what of the food? As of last weekend, the initial menu had just been finalized, but the owners weren’t ready to divulge the details. “The menu’s great. We’re really excited about it: good food, good value,” says Annie. True to the venue’s new name, burgers will be the primary focus, featuring wagyu beef sourced out of Texas, served on potato buns baked in Vermont.
There’ll be salmon burgers and vegetarian options as well, plus sandwiches, salads and sides. Annie says that a weekly Fish Fry and Steak Night are planned, and hints that some specials may deliberately evoke beloved specialties from the Red Brick Tavern era. For the short term, until the pandemic wanes, there will be heavier emphasis than originally planned on dishes that adapt well to takeout.
Then there’s the beer menu. “Our craft draft beers are all going to be New York State-based,” says Annie. “We’re using Craft Beer Guild out of New Paltz for product such as Keegan Ales from Kingston, Sloop Brewing Company from East Fishkill, Mill House Brewery from Poughkeepsie, Westkill Brewing from West Kill, and so on. We’re also excited to offer a large selection of canned beers (bottled, too, but we’re particularly excited about the cans), which range from local to international.” Ciders and kombucha will also be on tap, and there will be a fully stocked bar.
In the rear, across from the kitchen, is a new structure that will serve as the dessert bar. Milkshakes made with ice cream from the Gillette Creamery will be a specialty, with flavor combinations ranging from plain vanilla to fanciful constructions topped with cake, brownies, cookies or candy – perhaps even a lit sparkler poking out. Sounds like a popular kids’ birthday-party destination in the making!
Once opened, the Santa Fe Burger Bar will be open Tuesday through Friday, probably from 4 to 9:30 or 10 p.m., earlier for lunch on Saturday and Sunday. “Hours will adjust as we get a feel for what our guests want/need, as well as what service we are allowed to offer,” says Annie Demosthenes. “Every week is uncertain in the restaurant industry, in terms of what New York State will allow.” For updates, stay tuned to the Facebook page (still under construction) at www.facebook.com/santa-fe-burger-bar-109873757152877.
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