Unexpected but comfortable. Intriguing — yet always consistent. Sophisticated ... but never pretentious.
That's not a diagnosis of split personality, but the polymorphous pleasures of the Public Lounge, with its chic, colorful interior, cross-cultural music mix and eclectic video offerings. "Cocktails may be the medium, but creating a good time you can always count on is really what the Public Lounge provides," says the Public's new proprietor, Jill Healy.
After two overwhelmingly successful years under its founder Andrew Williams, the lounge and restaurant on Roxbury's Bridge Street was purchased by Healy and her lifetime and business partner, Trish Adams, this fall.
"It was a very difficult decision to sell the Public," said Williams. "It was an enormous emotional and creative investment and more than a business, I tried to make the Public a gift to my friends here in the Catskills. To be able to hand that over to Jill, who wants to build and grow everything we started, that's terrific."
Healy already enjoyed the Public's colorful, inclusive atmosphere, but she also identified with the Public's Latin-inspired menu and hopes to build on it. "We are planning to expand the kitchen and our menu by the spring," said Healy.
Open at 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, the Public offers specialty cocktails, an open-ended wine list and beers including the Cooperstown Ommegang brewery's line of Belgian-inspired ales. Food is offered on Friday and Saturday evenings with authentic South American empanadas, quesadillas, pizzas and sandwiches de miga.
"Roxbury's business community is going through an interesting transition right now, but the Public Lounge has become a reliable point of fun and relaxation, so all of us regulars were thrilled to learn that Jill and Trish were going to keep the Public in the public domain, with its signature class," said Roxbury's Parks Director Peg Ellsworth. "The Public leads an interesting double life: it welcomes visitors from around the world and it keeps us locals company. Jill and Trish and their crew, Tammy Allison, Alice Iaciovelli and Hope Tone-Pah-Hote, are the ideal team for that job. " Joe Piasek of Bridge Street Roxbury LLC (the Public's landlord), also welcomes the bravado of his new tenants. "We're all about growing Roxbury, and Jill sees potential at every turn. She's joined a strong, well-knit business community that's behind her 100 percent — the more creative, the better."
Greg Henderson and Joseph Massa, owners of the award-winning Roxbury Motel next door, will continue their close collaboration with the Public, which was originally designed to compliment the Roxbury's chic but comfortable welcome. "Jill and Trish truly get the 'where worlds collide' aspect of this little mountain community — Roxbury is quintessentially local and global at the same time, and that microcosm can be a happy and rich experience for us all. Like Joe and myself, Jill and Trish were willing to stake everything they had on developing that happy mix." Public Lounge will soon be offering room service to Roxbury guests on Friday and Saturday nights.
Healy previously spent more than 25 years successfully managing car dealerships in the metropolitan area. Like many other transplants, she had to think out of box to move upstate because her partner was determined to live in the Catskills. "Trish and I and our corgis have lived many places together, from Riverdale in the Bronx to suburban New Jersey, where I grew up," said Healy. "But once she finally got here, Trish was not leaving Delaware County, so I had to figure out how I could fit in," said Healy. "Andrew was incredibly generous during the long transition and also taught us both the basics of the business. The most incredible moment so far has been when a young man came to the Public to propose to his bride with his very own video this November," said Healy. "We were all in tears."
"This is a business where being successful requires connecting with our customers about the movies love, the music they're exploring, the kind of food they'd like, and the nuances of the perfect drink or the perfect Catskills day," said Healy, adding, "What could be more fun?"