Dinner with a side of history

To say The Old Foundation, a restaurant in Kenoza Lake, NY, has an old-school vibe would be putting it lightly. Opened four years ago by husband-and-wife team Ian and Jessica Boyle, the building has been a roadside tavern since its construction in the 1860s—predating its historic neighbor, the Stone Arch Bridge. 

Whether a customer is a local throwing a surprise 85th birthday party in the private dining room, a newly legal drinker celebrating their 21st birthday or a young family visiting for the weekend, the Boyles want the space to be a home for everyone. 

“This restaurant is literally the first floor of our home, and I think everything that follows is, in one way or another, a reflection of that,” says Ian, describing the interior design as “a little hodge-podge, just like us.” 

Adding to that homey feeling is the restaurant’s mascot, the couple’s dog Angie Lou.

“Our customers are the life of the place,” says Ian. “We have the die-hard generational locals rolling in on snowmobiles, sitting next to British rock stars, in turn sitting next to a local politician, sitting next to a published author, sitting next to the head of Pride, sitting next to my uncle from Ohio who’s deep in a conversation with Antonio from the Villa. A bar is a place for everyone to come together. And we wholeheartedly embody that.” 

Having hosted weddings, funerals, celebrities and town meetings, the tavern survived Prohibition and reinvented itself countless times under a host of varied and colorful proprietors, says Ian. One regular guest, well known by employees as “Harold,” is the ghost that allegedly haunts the building. Thought to be the specter of a former owner or George Markert, the victim of the notorious Stone Arch Bridge Hex Murder in 1882 (Markert’s funeral was held in the tavern), Harold regularly makes his presence known—whether it’s a glass thrown off a shelf, a bottle knocking over on its own, or a penny falling out of nowhere onto Ian’s head.   

The current owners met 15 years ago while working together at a restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which was Ian’s first job as a chef. But Sullivan County was where they chose to open a place of their own, and with good reason. 

“My family has roots in this area dating back to the post-Revolutionary era,” says Ian. “My grandfather’s foster family, the Drakes, were one of the founding families of Cochecton. Eventually their childless heir, Al Drake, fostered my Italian grandfather in Brooklyn, back in the late ‘40s, which led to him falling in love with the area, and eventually inheriting the Drake homestead in the ‘80s.” The Defalco-Boyle clan has been deeply rooted here ever since.

The menu tends to lean towards Italian cuisine, which Ian studied while the couple lived together in Southern Italy. “We try to keep to the classics, but we also prioritize seasonality of ingredients,” says Ian. “I’d go crazy if I didn’t change things up from time to time.” Popular items include pasta, pizza, smoked trout Caesar, calamari, chicken parm and “crispy Brussels.” 

However, the specials, which are presented on a menu handwritten by Jessica, “are what the ones who really know go for,” says Ian. “We are always experimenting with new ideas.” 

The restaurant sources locally for many of its ingredients. It buys much of its produce right up the road from Jack Diehl, as well as mushrooms from Agrarian Feast, honey and produce from Riverbend Gardens, seafood from Liberty fish market, hydroponic basil from Steve Belner, venison from Halloran farm, and produce from Wild Russet and Good Find Farm. “There are also lots of wonderful regulars who often stop in with extra bounty in the lush seasons and I’m always happy to do business when it comes to beautiful, local, fresh, produce,” says Ian.

Owning their first restaurant doesn’t come without its challenges. “All the things you love about the industry—the creative elements, the food, the wine, the staff that becomes a second family, the characters—can easily and quickly become ominously eclipsed by the sometimes mundane and sometimes harsh realities of finance and personnel management,” says Ian. “But that doesn’t mean the spark is gone. We are honing our skills every day, and I still see this as the very beginning of the journey. It’s important to step back for a moment and remember all the people and things you love.” 

Regular events in the space include the Foundation of Funk, an all-night dance party held at 10 p.m. every second Saturday of the month, and Dan Jam, a raucous live jam session and open mic every first Tuesday. On St. Patrick’s Day the adjacent liquor store, which was legally grandfathered into the building (common among other older bars in the area), reopened for drinking in the restaurant or taking home. 

“I’ve never worked in a place that really exemplified such a vivid cross section of society,” says Ian. “We really have, somehow, pulled it off.”

“That’s the kind of place the world needs right now,” he adds.    

Located at 5371 Rte. 52 in Kenoza Lake, NY, The Old Foundation is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. For reservations, call 845/482-2564.