Business Profile: Whistling Willie’s American Grill, Cold Spring
In the Village of Cold Spring, at the corner of Morris Avenue and Main Street, also known as Route 9D and Route 301, respectively, sits Whistling Willie’s American Grill, a restaurant perfectly situated in place in a town unchanged by time.
According to its website, the location was built as the Diamond Hotel with a saloon on its ground floor, opening its doors in 1849. Since then it’s changed ownership and names a number of times, perhaps most notably as Henry’s on the Hudson back in 1986. Six years ago, Bill Sohan, a restaurant owner from Fishkill, bought the establishment and opened it as Whistling Willie’s.
Kostis Koustoueekis, who’s known Mr. Sohan since he was a child, bartends at Whistling Willie’s and helped open the place in 2007.
“We really tried to bring it back to what Henry’s was,” Mr. Koustoueekis said. “Just good food, casual, fun. Henry’s wasn’t upscale. It was a good tavern; good burgers, good steaks. Nice atmosphere, family friendly. That was our goal and I think we accomplished it.
“We’re a good fit. This is exactly what Cold Spring needs. Because they tried to do Mexican here and it’s not for Mexican…. It needed to be a tavern—fun, friendly, casual. That’s what we brought it back to. So it’s good, it’s working out well.”
The atmosphere of the restaurant, like that of Cold Spring, allows visitors to feel at home with the locals.
“I think the village is like that,” Mr. Koustoueekis said. “I think they’re warm. You know they’re always like, ‘Oh Cold Springers, you’ve got to be here for 80 years to be a Cold Springer…’ But they’re still warm to everybody who comes in. I don’t think they alienate people. We get a lot of tourists, we get a lot of locals but we do get a lot of tourists. People that come up, they stay at the Pig Hill Inn for one night, they’re sitting at the bar next thing you know they’re friends at the bar. They come up from the city one night to go hiking or something and the next thing you know they’re chatting with the locals. They just blend in. It’s pretty cool.”
Whistling Willie’s is also known for its vibrant music scene that highlights local musicians.
“Some weeks there’s five nights,” Mr. Koustoueekis said. “We do it every weekend. We do open mic on Wednesday, then acoustical acts on Friday, Saturday. We do jazz on Sunday; occasionally something on a Thursday.
“We got Greg Phillips, plays a lot here. He’s a local guy, he’s awesome. Tony Morando, another great guy who plays often here, local. They’re definitely not amateur acts. Some good musicians have come through here. We had this guy, Mark Von Em. He tours with Rob Thomas.”
Sonny Rebote, a resident of Cold Spring, is very fond of the restaurant and its atmosphere.
“They have great drinks, great price,” Mr. Rebote said. “You can’t beat the tuna tartare. It’s one of the best dishes I’ve had in Cold Spring…. It’s probably the nicest, most lively establishment in town. If you come here late at night or even early in the day you’ll see this is probably the most crowded place in town.
“They make you feel at home here, even if you’re not from Cold Spring. I feel like this town has been the same way for forty, fifty years and you come in here and you feel like you’re at home.”
Whistling Willie’s American Grill is located at 184 Main St., Cold Spring and is open for lunch and dinner.
For more information visit Whistling Willie’s online at whistlingwillies.com.
By Larry Miles
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.