Peter Kelly, the Michelin-rated chef hired with much fanfare in January with a five-year contract, is no longer the culinary director at the Abbey Inn’s Apropos Restaurant.
“Adrian Glaza is the executive chef and he will continue,” said Tom Dolan of DD/HA Hotel and Real Estate Advisors, brought it to manage the transition. “We’re going in a different direction. We want to update the menu and the strategic direction of the restaurant.”
In early October DD/HA began working at the property, hired by the owners of the Abbey Inn, Martin and Irene Ginsburg. It’s not DD/HA’s first connection to the luxury hotel, restaurant and spa. Dolan worked on the Abbey project many years ago while it was under construction.
Kelly said he was surprised to learn that his services were no longer needed. “My direction when I came was to continue along the Michelin path.” [The restaurant received the prestigious Michelin award in April]. “I was never told they were unhappy with my work. It was in a tough place when I got to it, why they reached out to me. I tried to give them everything I had. I treated every guest as if they were coming to my home. It’s a big operation and needs a lot of tender loving care.
I was engaged to elevate the quality of both food and beverage as well as service at the property. I spent nearly a year laying the foundation for that goal. I built a staff and team both in the kitchen and dining room that worked very hard to learn a new way and deliver the level of hospitality guests at The Abbey deserve,” Kelly told the Herald.
“Peter Kelly was there together with Adrian and we just felt it best to part ways,” Dolan said. “The strategic direction that we’re taking has some great upsides in a different culinary direction.”
Dolan said he would love to see the restaurant become attainable for a lot of people, not just those that can afford to pay $60 for a steak. “We want to create a culinary experience for the masses.”
Kelly, for his part said he “was honored to work there to try and turn the ship. The Abbey Inn and Spa should be a premier property in the Hudson Valley. There are few properties that offer such a beautiful destination and amazing vista to our very special Valley,” Kelly said.
Kelly was called into a meeting on October 31 and informed that the company was heading in a different direction. ”It takes a full team that all have the same vision – that was part of the issue.” He noted that four management companies have been involved with The Abbey Inn in the last five years. “Haycreek, Revival, us and now they’ve brought in a team that Tom assembled with a new general manager.”
Hospitality in general is a tough business, Kelly said. And the Ginsburgs are caught in the middle. “They aren’t in the hospitality business.”
Taking the Abbey, Apropos in a new direction
Dolan of DD/HA said a much stronger marketing program will be created that will be more visible in the community and showcase all the offerings available at the Abbey and Apropos.
“My role is, as managing director, acting as the eyes and ears of ownership to help them through this process of transitioning into the next level. We believe that we can deliver better than we already have and want to continue to improve,” Dolan said.
Dolan will develop the strategy and vision and organizational structure. “We had the unfortunate experience of opening in April of 2020 in the time of Covid, which was a tough time for hospitality in the industry as a whole. They never had a chance to get out of the gates that they normally would have.”
Dolan said creative, unique packages going forward could include a possible guys weekend with striper fishing on the Hudson, wine tours, and shopping tours to Woodbury Common or up to Beacon where the arts scene is thriving.
“Peekskill doesn’t necessarily have some of those things but when people go to a resort they look at it as a jumping off point to go to other areas,” Dolan said.
The Abbey for weekends and weddings almost sells itself, according to Dolan. “The next piece is as a culinary destination for Westchester County where people can come to dinner, enjoy the views or even breakfast or brunch overlooking the Hudson from the local Northern Westchester community,” Dolan said.
Another new initiative will be to drive the midweek business with larger Westchester corporate groups, emphasizing the well-appointed rooms with stunning views of the Hudson River Valley.
“It’s that midweek business that I’m coming in to negotiate rates with local companies,” Dolan said. “There’s only one hotel in Peekskill and it’s nearly 100 percent sold out all the time. One of our competitors for this market is in White Plains, the Opus, a Marriott Autograph Collection. So the challenge is how do we draw these groups out of Manhattan on the train where we have a shuttle which we will also use for wine tours or art tours throughout the Hudson Valley.”
With office space being downsized and people working from home there’s a need for small corporate groups within a company for offsite space where people can come and convene. “For example on Wednesday we have a local corporate group that will have two days of meetings. They get to have great food and the grounds are beautiful with a large park with 100 acres of trails right above our hill.”
Dolan is at the property every other week for two or three days. Generally, hotels have a management company manage the day-to-day operations but often they’re not on site. “A couple of years ago The Abbey had a management company but they don’t have that anymore, they manage it themselves,” Dolan said.
Garret Corcoran, who has a background as a hotel general manager, is replacing Sanjeev Rai as the general manager. Corcoran worked in the city for a several hotel companies and was general manager of Troutbeck several years ago in Dutchess County, according to Dolan.
