The lease is signed and now a Chappaqua couple will bring the first eatery to the village”™s 113-year-old train station.
Peter and Erin Chase will transform the 2,100-square-foot space on Allen Place into Chappaqua Station Farm to Town, a café designed for commuters and the community. The building is now used for its public restrooms and its coffee, tea and newspaper concession.
The New Castle Town Board voted March 24 to let the Chases sign a 10-year lease. The town will charge the Chases $3,300 in rent per month with a fixed annual increase of 3 percent.
- Peter and Erin Chase have plans ready to transform the Chappaqua station into a small restaurant. Photo by Bob Rozycki
This is the first time the train station has been leased by the town, Town Supervisor Rob Greenstein said in the town”™s newsletter. “There were many, many issues that had to be worked out concerning the use of the space as a restaurant,” Greenstein stated.
Town officials were concerned about maintaining the building, which was built in 1902, the electricity and access to the bathrooms, which restricted the type of establishment that could take over the space.
The board agreed to accept bids from two other potential owners before giving the Chases the go-ahead. First Carla Gambescia, who owns Via Vanti! restaurant at the Mount Kisco train station, won the bid in 2013 to open a full-service restaurant in the space. Later that year the town debated with Gambescia because her plan would restrict access to the restrooms, and put out another request for proposals in March 2014.
In May 2014 the board voted to accept a bid from Leslie Lampert, owner of Ladle of Love in Mount Kisco, to open a bistro in the building. A month later, the board rescinded the lease in response to a petition started by the Chases and Gambescia to redo the RFP process.
The Chases, who had responded to the second and third round of proposals, run their own hospitality and management company, bpc (by Peter Chase). They conceptualize and operate bars, restaurants and hotels for high-end clients such as Starwood Hotels, chef Wolfgang Puck and Caesars Palace Las Vegas.
The two have traveled worldwide and have worked with large budgets and famous chefs, designers and owners, Chase said. This train station project is smaller scale, but more personal for the couple, Peter Chase said.
“There”™s always a little bit of a separation for us,” Chase said of their work. “This is something that”™s going to be in our hometown and we”™re excited to support growth for our downtown.”
Chase said he and his wife are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the caf̩. Some of this includes replacing the buildingӪs basic electrical system and making the walls and floors compliant with the Health Department.
When the ground thaws out and the couple finds available electricians, the replacement process can begin. Peter hopes the remodeling will start in May, end in June and that the café will be at least partially operational in July.
The building was restored in 2005, so he said they do not have to renovate, and they will use the station”™s existing structure to fit their concept.
The Chases will turn the former baggage room into a kitchen and retail shop. The kitchen will feature ventless appliances, so they can cook without smoke, something Chase said was important to the town.
The ticket booth will become the tea and coffee stand, which will be open weekday mornings starting at 4:30. The café will also serve lunch midday, and dinner, small plates and drinks after work hours. On weekends Chappaqua Farm to Town will be open for brunch, lunch and dinner. The couple aims to source from local farms and farmers markets.
There will be about 40 interior seats and 25 exterior seats. Additional customer parking could be available in the future.
Chase described the caf̩ as a place thatӪs functional all day. Someone could come in the morning to drink coffee, eat a croissant and read the newspaper, return to eat a salad for lunch and catch up with friends or someone from the train after work.
Peter looks forward to getting to know his neighbors, which will be different than other projects he and Erin have done.
“This is something much smaller and something that allows us to be a part of the community and get to know everybody that lives here because everybody that lives here will come in at some point,” Chase said. “There”™s really good chance that Erin and myself are going to be there and we”™re going to get to know them.”
Chase said he is interviewing full-time staff, but he and Erin plan to be in the restaurant 365 days a year for the first year, he said. “It”™s about as mom and pop as it gets.”
