Business Profile: Monteverde at Oldstone, Cortlandt
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
It has been in existence since the Revolutionary War period and it is as active as ever in 2016.
Monteverde at Oldstone in Cortlandt has been owned by Harrison resident Arlene Perrott since 2011. The property was opened for private events five years ago, but her restaurant was not opened to the general public until October 19 of this year.
“That was the original plan,” Perrott said last week. “The property needed a lot of work. So the nice thing about the private events was a lot of them were weddings and were geared to outside so we could get the mansion healthy again.”
The property has a centuries-long history. It was built by the Van Cortlandtville family in 1760.
“From what we’re learning, it was part of Fort Independence during the Revolutionary War,” Perrott said. “It had been a private home after that.” The property has also housed several restaurants serving a variety of cuisines, she added.
Perrott and her husband, Brent, purchased the property in an auction after the previous owner declared bankruptcy. “We actually looked at it to be our home,” Perrott said. But the couple felt it was too large to be their home so they decided to run it as a business, she said.
Perrott is being assisted by her friend, Mary Ellen Fabry of Scarsdale, who serves as director of events.
The property has several buildings, including the mansion where the restaurant is located, offices, a garden house, the wine cellar, which originally was ice house/root cellar, and an office for the property manager. The site also includes a 60-foot-by-90-foot tented pavilion, which is open during the warm weather months, Perrott said.
“We do weddings soup to nuts,” Perrott said.
The bridal party can get ready for the wedding ceremony in an upstairs room in the mansion, she said. The wedding ceremonies are generally conducted on the grand lawn; the cocktail hour is on the stone patio overlooking the Hudson River and dinner and dancing is usually held in the tented area, she said.
The property has hosted several corporate and other events and galas have been held at the site, Fabry said. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday for dinner. It serves “inventive American cuisine,” Perrott said.
The site offers nine rooms for rent – three in the mansion and six in the garden house.
“We are going to continue to grow,” Perrott said. “We want it to become the place where everybody feels comfortable coming to.”
Monteverde at Oldstone is located at 28 Bear Mountain Bridge Rd. in Cortlandt. For more information, call 914-737-6555 or visit monteverdeatoldstone.com.
