10 Sep Restaurateur invests in Charles Point Marina, Peekskill – The Journal News

Manhattan restaurateur Louis Lanza loves Peekskill so much that he’s bought five city properties to convert into restaurants and develop the local dining scene.

“We joke that we could turn this place into the sixth borough,” he says. “There are some great restaurant and shop owners here, you just need a guy like me with a big mouth to step in.”

Lanza opened The Hudson Room, an eclectic bar and restaurant with live music and a global-meets-local menu, in November 2014. And in August came Taco Dive Bar, a cool Americanized taqueria and tequila bar in a former brewery space. Hudson Creamery, an ice cream shop operated by one of Lanza’s partners, sits next door in the same building.

His biggest project is yet to come: Lanza has big plans and a short deadline in mind to develop the Charles Point Marina to “really make Peekskill a unique city.”

He’s partnering with Scott Vaccaro of Captain Lawrence, Ed Tiedge of Still The One Distillery in Port Chester and John Sharp of Gleason’s and Birdsall House to create a destination waterfront property. Plans include an event space, brewery, distillery and family-friendly activities like an arcade, ropes course and laser tag. Still The One Distillery will relocate to Charles Point Marina when the project is complete for summer 2016.

“The city gave us a 50 year lease,” says Lanza. “I’ve been raising my family [in Garrison] and just sold some properties in Manhattan. Then I invested every dollar I have in Peekskill.”

In the next six months he also plans to open Eagle Saloon in the same building as The Hudson Room. He says it will be a casual, neighborhood bar and restaurant, the informal alternative to the lively and high-end option next door.

“My end game is Peekskill. I get phone calls from White Plains and Ossining — people are trying to get us down there,” Lanza said. “But I want to be here.”

If you go …

The Hudson Room: 23 South Division Street, Peekskill, 914-788-3663,hudsonroom.com.

Taco Dive Bar: 55 Hudson Ave., Peekskill, 914-788-8226, tacodivebar.com.

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Original article – http://www.lohud.com/story/money/business/2015/09/10/restaurateur-invests-charles-point-marina-peekskill/72025780/