Michelle Natale, decorator and co-owner of Bricktown Inn.
Bricktown Inn, a bed and breakfast nestled in Haverstraw, is aptly named since the village was once a brick-making community. In fact, the 125-year-old inn itself is sturdily put together with bricks once hand-hewn in the village.
Owner Michelle Natale and her husband, Joseph, opened Bricktown Inn in 2003 after she convinced him that a bed and breakfast would be a good fit in the village, which was rising from the ashes of urban renewal decimation and becoming a Hudson River destination.
Natale”™s induction in the hospitality industry came at an early age, since her father had been in the restaurant business in the village. “I”™ve always been active in the community, and a B&B was something I felt would be a welcome addition to the village.”
Natale seemed to hit the nail on the head: She says the inn is booked every weekend and has to turn away potential customers. That”™s because B&Bs are scarce in the area; Natale says hers is the only “legal” B&B in Rockland County, but that”™s about to change.
“My next-door neighbor is in the process of converting her home into a B&B, and I”™m not worried about having competition. In fact, I welcome it because we”™ll be able to recommend each other if one of us has a free room.”
Bricktown Inn”™s amenities include a formal dining room where breakfast is served each morning, as well as an additional 1,500 square feet of common space, a living room with a baby grand piano, a library with wireless Internet access and a newly added garden room with a 50-inch plasma flat-screen TV and doors that open onto a tranquil outdoor area with tables, mini waterfalls and chimaeras. Bedrooms are comfortable and cozy, with Natale putting her own decorating talents to use in preserving the Victorian-style while adding the right amount of technology to keep guests happy and “connected” ”“ if they want to be.
“All four of our guest rooms have private baths,” said Natale. “We don”™t offer spa facilities because (we”™re) geared for those who want a getaway where they can wander around, visit the town, see our historic sites, walk along the Hudson at the linear park. There”™s a lot of history packed into the community, with plenty of great restaurants. We even have dancing in the streets at the end of August, so we are working to make the village a real destination.”
As a member of the Haverstraw Chamber of Commerce and Rockland Business Association, Natale is “glad to be part of making that happen.”
She said she welcomes more tourism destinations for the county. “Rockland”™s a great place to visit and because we”™re on the Hudson, a great place for boaters to visit and be able to stay overnight.
“If anyone wants to sail up (or down) for an overnight or weekend stay, we will pick them up from the Haverstraw Marina,” she said.
And since business typically slows during the week, Bricktown Inn offers midweek specials. “Basically, we are more than a B&B,” she said. “We have bridal showers, do staging for wedding pictures and decorate for holiday parties.”
