There may be nothing there right now, but Jim Latini is confident the barren stretch of Route 17, where he”™s plunked down $1.8 million for the shuttered Duck Cedar Inn in Tuxedo, will eventually be a hub for business.
He”™s taking his own business, Ramapo Machine & Tool, and bringing it from its current 3,000-square-foot space in Haverstraw to the new location. That means room to roam for Latini and his expanding business: a new 9,000-square-foot machine and tool shop, hiring more employees, as well as bringing new retail to the area.
The move will also bring him closer to his Warwick home. “This will shave 40 minutes off my commute,” says Latini.
It will also offer him the opportunity to renovate the entire front and side of the old inn building, creating space for at least 11 retailers. So far, Latini”™s signed on two tenants besides himself.
He plans to open an ice cream parlor at the corner of the renovated commercial space and eventually hopes to maintain it year-round, offering gelato in a café au lait setting and a place to sit and roam the Internet. “That will be my retirement,” says Latini with a grin. “I”™ll make the gelato, and my children can continue running the machine shop ”¦ and I”™ll be there to make sure everything runs smoothly.” A bagel shop has already signed on, planning to open in November.
Latini believes that Lou Heimbach”™s recently approved residential development ”“ 67 upscale homes coming in just up the road from the Duck Cedar Inn ”“ as well as the traffic passing by on its way to apple picking, the annual Renaissance Faire and commuters going back and forth to Bergen County will provide customers welcoming a place to stop, grab a bagel or maybe a slice of pizza on the way home.
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Latini says the state Department of Transportation is working with him to make the road more amenable to passers-by, and he”™s hoping the town of Tuxedo Police Department will consider his location a good place to slow down drivers who cruise by the site now at 70 mph.
“The road is dangerous,” says Latini. “But once business and housing starts coming here ”“ and it is coming ”“ people are going to have to start driving like normal people. We have confidence the town is going to want this location to succeed, and we”™re going to give them a reason to stop.”
The Duck Cedar Inn, likes its neighbor, Red Apple Rest, was once a thriving business. Both establishments were regular stops for anyone driving on Route 17 on their way to the Catskills. “In 2005, the person who was leasing the restaurant from the family that owned it just walked off, leaving a couple stranded and their wedding in shambles,” says Latini. “It was eerie walking in here. The entire dining room was set up for the wedding, and the place was filled with cobwebs. Spooky.” Â Â Â Latini bought the building in 2006.
The landmark restaurant is just a shell now. Inside, it”™s a maze of construction, as Latini and his wife, Noel, along with their family, have taken the quantum leap of faith into buying in a bear market and gutting the interior, readying it for their own business and others they hope will come flocking. Latini says his contractor plans to incorporate as much energy-saving components into the new construction as possible. “We can”™t use geo-thermal heating, but we will use solar panels for the roof, put in extra insulation and whatever other cost-saving measures we can incorporate into the renovation.”
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Financing was difficult, but Latini finally managed to get an SBA loan through Mission Oaks Bank in California. “Yes, borrowing is difficult, and going out for a $2.5 million loan to renovate didn”™t seem to interest most of the people we approached. But we have confidence in this location. Orange County is growing, and the number of cars that fly by here each day are going to start slowing down when they see the area begin to blossom.”
Much of the furniture from the Duck Cedar Inn, including the old bar and several fixtures, were donated by Latini to the Renaissance Faire on Route 17A. “They needed to upgrade, and I had a ton of stuff to get rid of. It worked out for both of our businesses.” While the actual Faire only runs about six weeks, the property has 20 full-time employees living there year-round. “They even took the bathrooms out,” laughed Latini. “We don”™t need them, but I”™m sure visitors will appreciate the upgrades this year.”
Latini knows it will take time to sell his business in Rockland, but he”™s confident once he”™s moved into his new location and his former site is cleaned and ready for potential new owners, it will sell. “I am very fortunate,” he says. “My late father started the business and the property is paid for, so whatever we see in profit will go right into our new location. There are not many machine and tool shops around, so we are going to retain our clients. As far as selling our former property, I”™m sure the market will turn around and we”™ll start to see people buying again. Right now, the market is going through an adjustment but it doesn”™t mean you can”™t think ahead to the future. I feel very confident in the future, although my wife”™s a bit nervous,” says Latini. “I told her to let me to the worrying.”
The Duck Cedar name is staying.
“I”™m keeping the name, because this place has been here since the 1960s and I doubt there”™s a person who hasn”™t driven down this road that doesn”™t”™ know it. But now it will be a whole new place, one that I”™m confident people will stop and shop in.”
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