 Bruce Littlefield and Scott Stewart, budding Rosendale restaurant (and laundromat) Moguls |
Now, three years after launching the Cement Company, the pair is opening a second restaurant, The Alamo ("Mexican food worth fighting for"), in a building just down the road on Rosendale's Main Street that was formerly Zachary's restaurant. "We looked at the space, and it was not our style, but the bones were our style," Littlefield explains.
The building, which they purchased early this year, also came with a parking lot containing around 50 spaces—"a miracle in this town," Littlefield notes—and a laundromat, which unexpectedly came under their purview as well. "Two weeks before we closed, the woman who ran the laundromat backed out," Littlefield says, leaving them with a facility housing nearly 20 washers and 20 dryers. "So we made lemonade out of lemons, and made a laundromat."
 The Alamo, opening May 5 |
"A disco laundromat," Stewart adds. "It's a lot of fun. It has an arcade room and we've installed an Internet station, so people can come and do their laundry and their work at the same time." The Last Wash, as it is called, opened in mid-February and offers tailoring and washing services as well. The laundromat has also cut down on the Cement Company's expenses, an added benefit. The cloth napkins that used to cost $800 a month to launder are now being washed at the new site.
Littlefield and Stewart, who've been a pair for "12 going on 13 years," first found the area on a day trip from New York City in 1999. "We had rented a car for a day and we stopped at Li Daniels' [realty] office," Littlefield recalls.
  Inside the Alamo |
After settling in their Stone Ridge home, Littlefield, who coauthored the best-selling If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails with real estate diva Barbara Corcoran, helped found the Marbletown Arts Association. Stewart, who sells luxury real estate through the Corcoran Group, has been commuting over the years, but hopes The Alamo will be his ticket to staying here full-time.
Though they were restaurant novices when they began, Stewart and Littlefield have created a very successful venture. They purchased the building initially from a longtime Rosendale resident, Jack Walsh, who happened to be the brother-in-law of good friends of the pair. As Littlefield recalls, he and Stewart were invited to dinner with the entire family. "We went down to the basement with Jack and his wife and made a handshake deal," he says.
According to Stewart, the Rosendale Cement Company, which features contemporary cuisine with a homey touch as well as a garden and outdoor bar overlooking the Rondout, served 25,000 customers last year. "We had a great year last year, and this year we are 40 percent ahead of last year already," he adds.
Stewart says the restaurant has assisted in revitalizing the Main Street strip as well. "Since we opened the Cement Company, 12 new businesses have opened in Rosendale," he notes. The town is also increasing the number of parking spaces in the municipal lot by 70 "as a result of all of this growth," he says.
After they purchased the new building, rumors spread that they were buying up more of downtown Rosendale, including the movie theater and the town hall, but Stewart and Littlefield say there is no truth to them. "How could we take over Rosendale? It's impossible. We want other people to invest in Rosendale," Littlefield says. "The area between the bridge and the bridge is pretty fantastic and has so much potential."
 The Last Wash |
Littlefield admits that he and Stewart never work with a business plan, but says they tend to see the big picture—and notes that they have been writing a lot of checks. "We're probably approaching the million-dollar mark," Littlefield says with a shudder. Not that that's going to stop them. "You just go with your gut and hope people will come," he says.