Ho-Ho-Kus Inn

It took me over 40 years before I first stepped foot in this historic Inn. I must have passed it literally thousands of times but never had an occasion to eat, drink, or have a look inside. This all changed on the night before my wedding in Ridgewood when I entertained my family there and had a wonderful evening.

I am not too sure my parents had ever eaten there either before my wedding. They were like many parents of the day in Ridgewood and didn't eat out much and instead feverishly saved for their childrens' college education. They also didn't take their kids out to dinner much, which is quite different from today. I often wonder if kids today are dine out more because both parents have to work, or both parents have to work because they dine out more than we did. All I know is that eating out was a special moment and our table manners had to be precise. We were shown what to do with our napkins, elbows were kept off the table, and we buttered one small piece of bread at a time and not the whole piece. I still laugh thinking about the bread whenever I dine out with clients and they reveal their complete lack of table manners by picking up a piece of bread and slathering it with butter. Seriously, does anyone really want to watch them do this? We were taught that it was the small things which counted and that dining out should be enjoyable for everyone, including the people sitting next to you in the restaurant.


The Ho-Ho-Kus Inn is currently being renovated and various announcements have stated that it was to re-open in the spring of fall of 2009. I hope they make it but am well aware of how difficult it is to run an upscale restaurant in a down economy.

This tidbit is from Wilipedia and sounds fairly accurate but you never know.

Ho-Ho-Kus Inn was oringally a private residence built for John “Jake” Zabriskie in 1790. After his death the house was converted into a private church and served as a parsonage for the Christ Episcopal Church in Ringwood. During this time Ho-Ho-Kus Inn had been referred to by several nicknames such as Zabriskie House, the Villa Inn, The Mansion House, the Wayside Inn, and the Washington Inn.

The building later became a resting house for the New York elite until 1920 and was referred to as Mansion House during this time. In 1920 the house faced demolition but was saved by Mrs. H.T.B. Jacquelin. In 1941 the house was purchased by the town and became a landmark and was leased to several people. In 2007 the restaurant was bought by Chris Kelly. Kelly had asked George Zahakos and Catherine Stauch, formerly of the Bicycle Club in Englewood Cliffs, to take over the restaurant however this deal has fallen through.