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Robert & Michael McFadden team up with Hudson’s Mill chef Peter Muller to bring dining, dining and entertainment to Patriot Lounge
Tina Trast
Robert McFadden lost his wife two years ago. Distraught, he returned to Samsung’s sales and marketing department to deal with the tragedy. McFadden’s son Michael, who is mourning his stepmother, has spent long days at Grant Thornton International looking for a partner on the firm’s fast track. Peter Muller, acclaimed executive chef and part-owner of Garnerville’s Hudson Mills, continues to run a restaurant built from a single piece of cloth at the Garner Arts Centre.
After individual and collective deliberation, multiple iterations of the business plan, and negotiations with the town of Stony Point to lease the facility, the trio opened the Patriots Lounge last May, a dining and entertainment venue at Patriots Hill Golf Course place. This imaginative concept combines a sports bar, restaurant, virtual golf, axe throwing, live music, event space and the soon-to-open 50-seat Italian Ribs House. Offering diverse services under one roof is a well-designed effort to develop the former dining hall into a hub for entertainment, events, company outings and dining, with the exception of the prestigious town-owned 18-hole golf course.
The McFaddens are both digitally minded and have tight control over the mechanics of business. In October 2020, still deep in the midst of a pandemic, the older McFadden was numb with grief, working but restless. Michael, then 31, encouraged his father to consider a new adventure. The couple considered opening a small virtual golf center in Killington, Vermont, where they have a home. When the deal fell through, they started dreaming bigger.
“That was when I was doing a lot of soul searching,” McFadden said. “My wife had passed away. I looked in the mirror and said I wanted to do something fun. Life is short.”
McFadden credits his son for turning the conversation into calculations and business forecasts when they came up with the idea of running a then-closed dining facility at Patriot Hill. For two years, many believed the restaurant would be part of a town contract to sell the golf course, dining hall and part of Letchworth Village to Stony Point local Raj Amar. Voters narrowly defeated the sale in a referendum in November 2021, opening the door for the McFadden family to join.
But there is a not-so-small stumbling block. Despite all their collective skills in business – and their shared knowledge of the golf business – none owned or operated a restaurant or food establishment. Instead of going it alone, they teamed up with a seasoned restaurateur notorious for Hudson Mills.
“At first, we didn’t see Peter as a partner, we were family friends,” McFadden said. “Michael and I were strict about picking his brains. We made a 24-page PowerPoint with a five-year income statement, a balance sheet, a staffing model, and start-up costs.” Mueller, who had been restless, approached him the next adventure. He saw that the McFaddens had done their homework. He signed on as the third partner.
From the outset, the goal of the facility was to go beyond the food and beverage hall. The partners faced two challenges: creating a hybrid product that would appeal to a wider population than the estimated 30,000 golfers who play each year. Essentially a rebrand. And bring this facility back to life that was closed for two years, and let the world know that this won’t be the 2.0 version it once was.
“With the help of Patriot Hills golf director Dave Fusco, we let people know we’re back in business,” McFadden said. “Over time, golfers can’t have breakfast or lunch. No golf outings. Charity moves elsewhere. It’s invisible, out of mind.”
Six-figure renovation of the 20,000-square-foot facility, including light meals at The Revolutionary Grille, including burgers and salads, modern American farm-fresh cuisine and spirits, craft beer and cocktails at Patriot Hills Battlefield, and serving cocktails and BBQ food between holes 9 and 10.
An Italian chop shop is under construction, McFadden said.
Partners are counting on indoor entertainment to diversify their revenue streams. They invested $250,000 in four Trackman golf simulator bays to suit all skill levels. These simulators give you access to over 200 golf courses, club try-ons and demos, lessons from certified Trackman coaches, and weekly leagues.
To give the facility a real advantage, there are two axe throwing ranges with multiple lanes, and HDTVs in each bay to watch live TV and track scores and stats.
A dimly lit mid-century modern lounge with a TV and mobile sportsbook completes the entertainment.
McFadden, 57, who worked at Pearl River Blue Mountain Golf Course and served on Patriot Hill Golf Course’s advisory board, has taken on the heavy lifting. But he felt as if all the work and risk was worth it. Following the death of his wife Dolores Bauman McFadden, he thanked his son Michael for the necessary push.
He is hopeful about the prospect of housing developments proposed for the village of Letchworth and Haverstraw in Stony Point, as it would bring a huge influx of residents. The redeveloped Stony Point site will also help the golf course and his business, as many who come to the golf course or facility wonder about Letchworth’s ghostly remains.
“Really, my day job is to be an evangelist,” he said. “Having handshakes with a lot of people, taking the lead from customers and learning about their experiences and seeing what we can do better. This is a life-changing moment. We think what we can do compared to investing in the stock market over the next five years Better. It’s an investment in ourselves. In Stoney Point.”
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