Railroad service to Peekskill from New York City began in 1849. Though it has changed a lot over the years, as all rail service has in the United States, it has always been key to Peekskill”™s development and success.
The old Peekskill Station building was taken over in 1869 by the New York Central Railroad System, which ran its “20th Century Limited” train between New York and Chicago during the golden age of rail travel in the U.S., stopping at the Peekskill station on the way.
John Sharp, co-owner of new café The Central in Peekskill, is hoping to bring out the history of his new business space inside the station building.
“We named the Central after the Central System Line, before it was the MTA, back in the days when trains were grand and it had left Grand Central and passed by the station and went all over the country ”” with the big dining cars and all that stuff,” Sharp said.
Sharp, a Peekskill local who owns the Birdsall House, Gleason”™s and the Factoria complex at Charles Point (home of River Outpost Brewery and Fin and Brew restaurants) around the city, collaborated with Central co-owner Louie Lanza. Lanza and Sharp are also partners at Factoria.
After Lanza handled the renovation of the building, essentially redoing all of it except the original floors, Sharp sought to develop the space in response to its history, location and physical structure.
The building was last occupied by PJ Kelly”™s Irish Pub, starting in the late ”˜90s until its closure in 2009, leaving a gaping vacancy in one of Peekskill”™s most historic places.
“It’s a great location, you know? I’m looking at the fall leaves on the river right now, and it’s beautiful,” Sharp said. “And it’s kind of like there needs to be something here. It’s kind of the heart and soul of Peekskill, because it’s been here forever. And I think the community has been sad to see it empty this last decade and so, for me, it was an exciting opportunity. We”™re trying to curate something here that adds something to Peekskill instead of just competing ”” that gives it variety and something new.”
The south side of the building now contains The CentralӪs coffee shop and caf̩, serving beverages, pastries made fresh in-house and small bites. It is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and just started its weekend hours, now open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Saturday. Sharp said he hopes to add full weekend hours soon and bump up the weekday opening time to 5 a.m., to better serve PeekskillӪs commuter crowd.
“It’s a little bit more of a cafe than a coffee shop in the sense that we have a chef-curated menu. It”™s very small right now, but it’s going to grow,” he said. “The rest of it is going to be a full bar, on the north side, (serving) New American with, as we call it, a Mediterranean accent. We”™re taking inspiration from the entirety of the Mediterranean, all the way from Israel to Spain. It”™s kind of small plates, lounge atmosphere. That won’t come until probably February. We still have some construction to do and just timing-wise, we”™ll be holding off a minute.”
With The Central, there are options for everyone, from commuters looking for coffee and a quick breakfast, those looking to sit and have a meal, the remote work crowd who may enjoy the coffee-shop ambiance and background sounds of the Hudson Line train and even those passing through on the way home ”” Sharp is also looking to implement takeout options like made-in-house rotisserie chickens for workers commuting to be able to take to their families on the way home.
Luckily, the space is going to an operator who realizes its potential as an anchor and hub for the community.
“It’s the gateway,” Sharp said. “People get off the train and this is literally the very first thing they see.”
For whatever can”™t be made in house, Sharp also views The Central as another opportunity to draw upon some of its commercial neighbors around the city. The coffee house section is fully stocked with beans roasted by the Peekskill Coffee House and dairy from Hudson Milk, both producing their products from the Peekskill Hat Factory”™s commercial spaces. As The Central”™s offerings expand, he looks to bring in more local suppliers for items like breads and cheeses.
Local suppliers are another way to combat the rising costs of supplies and shipping that restaurant owners are especially struggling with now, something Sharp has been no stranger to during this opening process and in operating his other restaurants throughout the pandemic, waiting on shipments of cups, straws and even the tabletops he had ordered for The Central.
“The pleasant surprise was that I didn’t struggle to find amazing employees and have a full staff for the front of the house,” he said. “And I still have a little bit of an issue finding kitchen work ”” It’s a problem across the board with all our restaurants ”” but we still found a great chef, which is a huge part of the puzzle.”
Sharp will continue to put the pieces together for The Central as it goes through its opening process, but for now, it will ease slowly into its spot as a new Peekskill mainstay.
