'Sad to see it go.' Portion of iconic Red Apple Rest torn down in Town of Tuxedo

Hudson Valley News ^ | 10/31/23 | Blaise Gomez

[Impala64ssa]

Even before the New York State Thruway was built, there was the Red Apple Rest on Route 17 in the Hamlet of Southfields in the Town of Tuxedo.

People who remember the iconic restaurant in its heyday stopped by the iconic site to watch the symbolic end of an era, as a portion of the old 1930's restaurant was torn down.

"Every time we'd be out doing our thing back in the day, this was our stopping hole to eat," says Morgan Grant, from Suffern.

The Orange County landmark was once a thriving business that put the hamlet on the map as a midway point for New York City travelers headed to the Catskills.

"In the summertime, this section of the building was an open area with a counter where you served busloads of people who came on the way up to the Catskills," says Betty Langberg, with the Tuxedo Historical Society.

It's been closed since 2006 and is in disrepair As soon as demo began on Monday, people took to social media – posting pictures, sharing memories and even reaching out to News 12 to alert us of the building's fate. Ownership of the Red Apple Rest changed hands from Reuben Freed to Peter Kourakos in the 1980's. The restaurant was kept open for a few decades but was condemned in 2007 because of roof damage. Town officials say about a third of the building is now being torn down because of new structural concerns after a section collapsed several months ago. "It's unfortunate," says Langberg. "It's sad to see it go." The Red Apple Rest was featured in several Woody Allen films and is considered a landmark in the community – even as it is now "I hope they do something with it," says Grant. "Another restaurant, I hope. It's sad." The town says so far, the current owner has no plans. News 12 reached out to Kourakos for comment but hasn't heard back.

[Impala64ssa]

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Lot's of famous people stopped here over the decades. Even Zippy the Pinhead



When I was a kid still living in da Bronx, we'd stop here whenever we travelled up to the Catskills, even though the Thruway was already built. Their food was that good. About 10 yrs ago some investors from the UK were considering buying the place, restoring it and turning it into a biker bar and grille, but that fell through when they determined the building was beyond repair. Sad to see it go

[Fish Speaker]

Route 17 was the main East-West thoroughfare through the Southern Tier of New York. Other than I-90, the only multi lane road that went East-West.

[Chad C. Mulligan]

Sad to read this. Lived in Orange County myself in the ‘70s. Stopped at the Red Apple Rest a few times when out on weekend motorcycle rides. Thought then that it would be there forever.

Route 17 was always known as “The Quickway”. Ran it all the way to Corning any number of times, doing sales calls.

[Deplorable American1776]

The Red Apple was nice...it was as iconic than the Motel on The Mountain that we drove past every trip to Pennsylvania to visit relatives before I-84 was open.

[Wuli]

We once had friends that lived in Tuxedo. They moved there to get better digs for their money, so they said, but I think what they saved on their housing they spent on the commute into and back from Manhattan five days a week.

And yes, I remember the iconomic Red Apple on Rt 17. Never ate there but passed by it many times.

[1Old Pro]

a midway point for New York City travelers headed to the Catskills

In the early 1900s, when Jews and other minorities were banned from upscale hotels and beaches around New York City, the Catskills offered refuge. Every summer, families fled their cramped apartments for the mountains