Drinking Town: A Brief History of Imbibing in Nyack

I have been reading quite a bit about the drinking problems around Nyack, and I certainly can side with those who are annoyed.

But drinking problems are certainly nothing new to our area. Almost since its inception, the consumption of our favorite stimulating beverages has been a staple of our economy. Even my family made a living selling booze: my great-grandfather William Hegner ran Hegner's Cafe at 87 Main Street from 1890 to 1924. (The place backed up to the Nyack Hotel on Burd Street.)

When I came of age to drink legally in the early 60s  there were a whole lot of places one could stop for brew on the way home from work. Back then Nyack was more of a "blue-collar" town with several factories and businesses around the area. The following is a list of the drinking establishments as I remember them:

• Alfred's on 9W
• Bartell's on Main Street
• The Blue Flame in South Nyack on the corner of Franklin & Cornelison (now the OVI)
• Demartini's Tavern on Park Street, opposite Central Station
• Fiesta Bar on 9W in Upper Nyack
• Hi-Ho Tavern on Main, run by the Marsillio's
• Hilltop Restaurant on Rte 59, owned by the Donato brothers
• Luau Nyack on 9w in Upper Nyack (about where the Italian Restaurant is today)
• Mac's Inn on Franklin St. (The old Opera House on the corner of Franklin and Depew)
• Nolan's Bar & Grill on the end of Franklin Street in South Nyack; Eddie Nolan ran a class joint
• Nyack Bowling Alley on Upper Main Street; Ray and Betti Malice sold a lot of beer here
• Nyack Hotel at 87 Main; the remnant's of Pop Hegner's cafe
• O'Donoghues on Main; Paul was a master host, and everybody stopped at ODs and still does
• Park Tavern on Bridge St. The "PT" was a dangerous place
• St. George Hotel on lower Burd St. Mrs. Jersey operated a lovely hotel, restaurant and bar. We had our wedding reception there
• Steve's Bar & Grill on Main Street; five men died in a fire in 1970 that destroyed the building
• Bar (name?) on N. Broadway & SE corner of High Ave; for quite a while it was a topless joint

So ya see, drinking kind of come naturally to the folks around Nyack. For those who drank at home there was also four wine and liquor stores around town. Bottoms Up!