Walkway has domino effect
Get the gelato ready! Walkway Over The Hudson could prove to be Poughkeepsie restaurant owners”™ new best friend.
Kevin Kihlmire, whose family has owned River Station Restaurant on the city”™s waterfront for three decades, says the pedestrian span is the best thing to happen to city restaurants since the recession hit.
Kihlmire”™s parents bought the restaurant in the 1970s. It has a long history with Poughkeepsie, watching the city”™s waterfront ebb and flow with the changing times. “It”™s gone through a lot: a brothel, a hotel, you name it,” said Kihlmire. “But we”™ve been a restaurant for thirty-odd years and we feel blessed to have such a great location.”
Kihlmire believes River Station to be the oldest continuously run business in Poughkeepsie. It now finds itself between a pair of working bridges: the Mid-Hudson span and Walkway.
“My parents bought out an old building that was in front of the property and demolished it for our parking lot,” said Kihlmire, “so we have an unobstructed view of the Hudson from our outdoor dining area. We are fortunate we are the only restaurant with a view of the river in between both the bridge and the Walkway. When the Mid-Hudson is lit at night, it”™s just spectacular. The Walkway is another plus for us.”
Now that Walkway is about to be officially lighted on May 15, patrons at Kihlmire”™s establishment will be able to sit between the two spans enjoying the nighttime view.
“Before the Walkway was opened, we might have 120 people on a Friday evening on the outdoor deck,” said Kihlmire. “When it opened last fall, we saw that number go up to almost 400 a night on the weekends, with a waiting list of customers to sit outside. It”™s been remarkable.”
So remarkable, said Kihlmire, that he”™s established a free shuttle from Parker Avenue ”“ where Walkway Over the Hudson ends on the Dutchess side ”“ to his waterfront dining spot.
“Parking is limited down here,” said Kihlmire. “And after walking the span, people are happy just to get on the shuttle and come down and have dinner. It”™s worked out for both the restaurant and the customers. They just call us and we”™ll pick them up, then bring them back to their car when they are ready to leave.”
The restaurant”™s top floor was its former outdoor dining deck, which Kihlmire enclosed while retaining the water view via floor-to-ceiling windows. “It”™s great for parties and weddings, which helped us during the winter months,” he said of the space. “Now that Walkway has opened, if it”™s brisk out, walkers can still sit inside and have a great view of both bridges and see them lit in the evening.”
Kihlmire is not the only one that”™s seen the Walkway”™s potential. “Businesses are taking the initiative to bring in customers, and River Station is a great example,” said Charles North, president of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce. “The north side of Poughkeepsie has definitely seen an increase in business traffic as a result of the Walkway re-opening during the Spring break, when temperatures climbed and the sun was out. As the days grow longer and the weather more pleasant, ”˜meet me on the walkway”™ is going to be the city”™s new slogan.”
North said the chamber and city of Poughkeepsie are working together to create signage for visitors who come up by train. “Our economic development group took a walk with city officials, and we”™re in the process of getting directions posted for walkers and bikers. This has come upon us so quickly, and we are just thrilled with the implications for local businesses and hotels, so we are working as quickly as possible to get signage in place.”