“We are trying to retire and would like to find someone who could take the restaurant over and love the building as much as we do. We’re actively selling the place to the right person.” That’s how Hudson Valley One correspondent Lynn Woods quoted Ginny Bradley about the Hoffman House in Kingston’s Stockade District – way back in March 2017. Bradley and her husband Pat had owned the historic building and operated it as a popular restaurant and tavern since the 1970s. They still haven’t managed to sell it, but it’s under new management, leased to chef Francisco Diaz and his wife Eva. Francisco’s brothers Dario and Pablo are also deeply involved in running the business now, and he and Eva’s son Pedro is learning the ropes.
“There was not a serious buyer,” Francisco reports. By early 2019, one interested party had put down a binder, but “didn’t accept the agreement at the last minute. Apparently, they tried to change it.” So, the owners decided to work out a lease arrangement with a veteran employee.
“I worked here for the Bradleys for 31 years,” Francisco says, first as sous chef and later as head chef. Both natives of the Mexican state of Morelos, just south of Mexico City, he and Eva lived for a couple of years in California before moving to Kingston in 1988. Eva got a job in the kitchens at SUNY New Paltz; Francisco found his niche at the Hoffman House and never left.
To longtime patrons of the restaurant, that’s welcome news, because no one knows better than Francisco Diaz how to prepare its signature dishes. In keeping with its rich Colonial history, the place is renowned for its classic American and Continental cuisine. London broil, prime rib, pastas, chicken and shrimp entrées, along with clams casino and coconut shrimp appetizers, keep bringing customers back year after year. “Our onion soup is one of the most popular dishes all year ‘round,” says Francisco. “We’re not planning to change the original menu.”
That said, he has noticed that some of the most loyal clientele haven’t been seen at the Hoffman House since the Diaz family leased the place in March – not because of any objection to new management, but because many of them are at high risk for death from Covid-19 due to their age cohort. They’re cautious about congregating, and when they do show up, it tends to be “when it’s not that busy.”
“We took it over together with the pandemic,” jokes Francisco about the inauspicious timing of the business move. The restaurant never actually closed, but only takeout orders were permitted until June, when socially distanced outdoor dining became legal in upstate New York. New tables accommodating about 50 diners and exterior lighting were then added on the building’s side lawn, supplementing its stone patio. The latest phase of the state’s reopening protocol has enabled the Diaz family to serve patrons at ten interior tables; the old building’s rambling layout helps keep them well-spaced in four separate dining rooms.
“Our clientele is changing a little bit,” Francisco observes. “We used to get a lot of older people. But younger generations are starting to move up here. They stop by, they try it out, they come back. A lot of them are from the City. They say, ‘We heard about you on social media.’” “We’re getting a lot of the younger locals as well,” adds Pedro, who assists his uncle Dario in running the bar, known for its creative signature drinks. To appeal to the younger crowd, “We’re updating our cocktail list and our liquors as the season changes,” Pedro says.
Otherwise, little change seems to be in store for this cherished eating and drinking establishment. Francisco and Eva toss around ideas about adding a few traditional dishes from their native cuisine to the specials menu on occasion, and may even start serving brunch for the first time in the Hoffman House’s history – once life gets back to normal, post-Covid.
They know full well that the building’s long history is its strongest selling point. Although the National Park Service pegs its construction date at 1679, 15 years after the British took over New Netherland, the stone house was built in the Dutch Colonial “rubble” style and has remained basically unchanged since, right down to the split “Dutch door” front entry. Anthony Hoffman, whose father bought the building in 1707, was an elected member of the Provincial Congress of New York City, a signer of the Articles of Confederation, a judge in Dutchess County and one of the original regents of the University of New York. The Hoffman family lived in the house for 201 years before turning it over to the Salvation Army, who used it as a warehouse and sold it in 1973 to the Kingston Urban Renewal Agency without having done much in the way of maintenance.
The agency salvaged the dilapidated structure’s exteriors, got it designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975 and sold it to Pat and Ginny Bradley. They in turn proceeded to rehabilitate the building, restoring and reusing original materials wherever possible – right down to the nails. Even the bowed, sagging floorboards were simply turned upside-down, planed, sanded and refinished. It was opened to the public as a restaurant in 1977.
Wandering around the Hoffman House today is a pleasure for anyone interested in architectural history, and the authentic period details, old-timey vibes and three working fireplaces make it an alluring place to sit and have a cozy meal or drink. Of particular historical note is the attic, whose steps leading to the roof suggest that it was used as a lookout in its earliest years, when it formed a corner of the Stockade. Char marks – remnants of damage caused during the Burning of Kingston by the Redcoats in 1777 – can still be seen in the attic section, and roleplayers in Revolutionary War-era costume congregate at the restaurant in years when the Burning is reenacted.
There even seem to be one or more resident ghosts or poltergeists who favor the attic space: Eva, Francisco and one of his brothers were recently sitting in one of the back rooms, shortly after closing time, when they all heard “heavy steps” running overhead – far too heavy to be a mouse or squirrel. “We went upstairs to the attic, turned on the light and there was nobody there,” says Francisco, adding that he has heard from a number of customers over the years that they can sense some sort of spectral presence in the building. Luckily, the ectoplasmic tenants seem to be friendly. “They probably like me. That’s why they don’t do anything to me,” Francisco jokes.
Another occasional presence from the building’s past are the Bradleys, who still live in Kingston and pop in at times to offer advice, especially about the historic preservation aspect of running the business. The usual annual refinishing of the floors didn’t need to happen this year, Francisco notes, on account of greatly reduced foot traffic.
“We give thanks to the owners for the opportunity they gave to my family,” he says. “We’re very pleased with all of our customers. This year has been very painful for everybody, and we give thanks to our community for being so supportive.”
The Hoffman House is located at 94 North Front Street, at the corner of Green Street. The restaurant serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 4 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. For more information, including menus, visit www.hoffmanhousetavern.com. Specials are updated daily on the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thehoffmanhousetavern. For reservations, call (845) 338-2626.
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