The Red Apple Rest was a

cafeteria-style restaurant A cafeteria, sometimes called a canteen outside the United States, U.S., is a type of Foodservice, food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a lar ...

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States. It begins at the Pennsylvania state line in Mina and follows the Souther ...

, in the Southfields section of

Tuxedo Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element fo ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. It was a noted way station for people traveling to the hotels of the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas c ...

of upstate New York. Before the

New York State Thruway {{Infobox road , state = NY , type = NYST , alternate_name = Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway , maint = NYSTA , map = {{maplink, frame=yes, plain=yes, frame-align=center, frame-width=290, type=line, stroke-width=2, type2=line, from2=New Yor ...

was built, the travel time from New York City to the Catskill Mountains was often four or five hours, especially during weekends. The Red Apple Rest, located almost halfway, became a major roadside stopping place. The restaurant was opened in May 1931 by Reuben Freed.

History

The Red Apple Rest had a great deal of business during the 1940s and 1950s. It was open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, and was patronized by so-called "

Borscht Belt The Borscht Belt, or Jewish Alps, is a colloquial term for the mostly defunct summer resorts of the Catskill Mountains in parts of Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties in the U.S. state of New York, straddling both Upstate New York and the north ...

" comedians and professional athletes as well as families traveling to campgrounds and resorts. Although the Thruway (which was built beginning 1953) bypassed the restaurant, and vacationing in the Catskill Mountains became less popular after the 1960s, the restaurant remained very busy until the 1970s. In 1965 the Red Apple Rest served one million customers. In his book on Jewish comedians in America, ''The Haunted Smile'', author

Lawrence J. Epstein Lawrence Jeffrey Epstein (born 1946) is an American author who writes and lectures about American culture and society, Jewish life, and mystery fiction. He is best known for his book ''The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America'' a ...

said that comedians would stop at the Red Apple Rest late at night and "would go over the acts, describe the audience, and gather gossip about the other comedians and about routines ripe for buying or 'borrowing.'" The Red Apple Motel, which is sited on the hill to the west of the restaurant, was used by performers late into the 1970s. Several Rock and Roll musicians stayed during their bookings in New York City. The location was secluded and the staff was either 'cool about it' or uninformed. Many well known performers roamed through nearby Sterling Forest while waiting to travel to their nighttime venues. One hotel guest that can be named now is George Carlin, who stayed in room 102 during his Saturday Night Live opening week. He required silence during the morning hours to allow for rest, but was very active with the staff during the night. It was common for him to trial material with the night shift desk clerk. After 53 years under the Freed family management, the Red Apple Rest was sold in 1984 to a Greek businessman who ran it for another 21 years. At that point it was mostly catering to locals due to the fact that the Catskills had dwindled away as a destination. It closed in September 2006—purportedly for various reasons. The restaurant was featured in several movies such as

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

's ''

Deconstructing Harry ''Deconstructing Harry'' is a 1997 American black comedy film written, directed by, and co-starring Woody Allen, alongside Caroline Aaron, Kirstie Alley, Bob Balaban, Richard Benjamin, Eric Bogosian, Billy Crystal, Judy Davis and others. The film ...

'', ''

A Walk on the Moon ''A Walk on the Moon'' is a 1999 drama film starring Diane Lane, Viggo Mortensen, Liev Schreiber and Anna Paquin. The film, which was set against the backdrop of the Woodstock festival of 1969 and the United States's Moon landing of that year, wa ...

'', '' Tenderness'' and ''

Oliver's Story ''Oliver's Story'' is a 1978 American romantic drama film and a sequel to '' Love Story'' (1970) based on a novel by Erich Segal published a year earlier. It was directed by John Korty and again starred Ryan O'Neal, this time opposite Candice Be ...

'', and the November 28, 2013 installment of

Bill Griffith William Henry Jackson Griffith (born January 20, 1944) is an American cartoonist who signs his work Bill Griffith and Griffy. He is best known for his surreal daily comic strip '' Zippy''. The catchphrase "Are we having fun yet?" is credited to ...

's comic strip '' Zippy''.

Possible redevelopment

On August 25, 2011 the

Times Herald-Record The ''Times Herald-Record'', often referred to as ''The Record'' or ''Middletown Record'' in its coverage area, is a daily newspaper published in Middletown, New York, covering the northwest suburbs of New York City. It covers Orange, Sullivan ...

ran an article about the town of Tuxedo and a group of British entrepreneurs looking to find a location for a new Ace Eatery. Inspired by a YouTube video, the Red Apple Rest was nominated as a potential place to open a new-eatery meant for bikers. Tuxedo town supervisor Peter Dolan mentioned that about 17,000 bikes go through Tuxedo during the summer. However, the building also needed major renovation work and was up against many other possible locations. If the Red Apple Rest had been chosen, the new restaurant would have opened in 2012.

''Stop at the Red Apple'' book

Founder Reuben Freed's youngest daughter, Elaine Freed Lindenblatt, published ''Stop at the Red Apple'' (

SUNY Press The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

, 2014), a memoir chronicling the 50-plus-year history of the original Red Apple Rest in its heyday and beyond.

References

{{Coord, 41, 14, 26.5, N, 74, 10, 34.5, W, type:landmark_region:US-NY, display=title Defunct restaurants in New York (state) Landmarks in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Orange County, New York 1931 establishments in New York (state) 2006 disestablishments in New York (state) Restaurants established in 1931