Sloatsburg Has Fed People Passing Through Since the 1700s. Its Newest Tavern Kept the Habit.

The building at 40 Orange Turnpike is bright yellow now. It's hard to miss from a moving car, and that's the point. Cooper's Tavern co-owner Fintan Seeley told Hudson Valley Magazine that some people find the color loud, "but we wanted that." He added, "We don't want them to pass by without stopping in, and it certainly accomplishes that."

That is a sign painted for drivers. Sloatsburg has been painting signs like it for more than two centuries.

A Road That Started With Innkeepers

The village grew up along a route to Albany that didn't exist yet. The Sloatsburg Historical Society explains that Dutch settlers, Stephen Sloat among them, saw that an old trail through the Ramapo Pass could be widened into a wagon road. As they did the work, they turned their homes into inns for the people using it. The Sloat home and inn still stands at the village entrance and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Orange Turnpike Association formed in 1800. Until the New York State Thruway was finished in 1957, the Orange Turnpike, now Route 17, was the only major route upstate. According to the Society, thousands of passengers came through "Downtown Sloatsburg" every year. In the early 1900s, the Glenwood Inn, Taylor's Inn and the Henry Inn served them as restaurants and hotels.

Harriman State Park still begins at the edge of the village, reached from Route 17 by way of Seven Lakes Drive.

What Cooper's Kept From Rhodes

Cooper's moved into the former Rhodes North Tavern. Hudson Valley Magazine calls Rhodes "a beloved community staple for decades." When Boozy Burbs reported the opening on December 29, 2025, it described the spot as one that had "long served as a rest stop for travelers through the area."

The owners are two restaurateurs from Ireland who already run pubs in Bergen County. Seeley owns Hearth & Tap in Montvale, and Philip Quilter owns The Craftsman in Fair Lawn. The name honors the tradesmen who built the wooden barrels that held a bar's beer. In Ireland, the magazine explains, coopers were rewarded with the best pints, and any pub that poured for them was known as a "cooper's tavern."

Here is what they kept and what they added:

• The beach. The Ramapo River runs through the property, and the owners kept Rhodes' old beach area behind the building. They added a tiki bar there for cocktails and small bites.
• The sandwich. The current menu still lists a "Classic 'Rhodes' Pork Sandwich" next to the Cooper's smash burger and a set of pizzas.
• The outdoor space. An area once used for refrigeration and storage is now an open-air lounge, and there's an outdoor raw bar serving oysters and clams.
• The scale. Boozy Burbs reported 6,000 square feet with seating for 300 across indoor and outdoor areas. That's a big room for a village this size, and a sensible one for a road that brings hikers and Route 17 drivers to the door.

The drink list has a nod to the river out back, a cocktail called the Sloatsburg Beach, along with a Cooper's Irish Mule. The menu changes with the seasons. Hudson Valley Magazine reported that summer would bring seafood such as lobster rolls, while the smash burgers and Irish tavern fare stay on year-round.

When Cooper's opened, lunch and weekend brunch were still "in the works." Brunch is on the Cooper's menu now, served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a brunch burger, chicken and waffles, eggs Benedict, an Irish breakfast and a short-rib skillet. The menu doesn't say which days brunch runs, so call ahead before planning a Sunday around it.

The Glenwood Ran This Play First

Cooper's isn't the first owner on Orange Turnpike to buy an old traveler's building and keep what made it work. The Glenwood Hotel, one of the early-1900s inns the Historical Society names, still stands. In 1998, owners Mr. and Mrs. DeMatteis made structural repairs while restoring the building's original look. It reopened that December as the Aldente Italian American Restaurant, and the project won a Historic Preservation Merit Award in 1999. Today the building is Character's Restaurant & Lounge at 94 Orange Turnpike.

The two old buildings keep different hours. Character's posts 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Cooper's opens at the same 11:30 a.m. but stays open until midnight Sunday through Wednesday and until 2 a.m. Thursday through Saturday. Between them, two buildings that served travelers a century ago now cover dinner and the late evening on the same half-mile of road.

The Village Blend, a cafe at 86 Orange Turnpike, sits between the two. Explore Rockland's 2026 dining directory lists it alongside Character's. If you're heading to the trail in the morning, it's the one on this stretch to stop at first.

The Trailhead End of the Road

The other half of today's through traffic is heading to Harriman. Reeves Meadow Visitor Center, at 100 Seven Lakes Drive, is run by the Appalachian Mountain Club. The AMC calls it both a trailhead and "a gathering place," with seasonal community events and programs that are often held outside regular hours. The state's 2026 hiker parking guide lists the Reeves Meadow lot as the access point for the Pine Meadow Trail.

The AMC's May 2026 guidance for this trailhead is short and firm:

1. The hiker lot is small, and overflow is limited.
2. Parking along park roads isn't allowed. Overflow parking across the road is limited to designated areas.
3. Cell service is spotty, so download a map or bring a printed one.
4. Dogs are allowed on most trails but must stay leashed.
5. Alcohol isn't permitted in the park.

The last rule is why the two ends of this road work together. You can't open a beer at the trailhead, but there's a riverside tiki bar a short drive back toward Route 17.

NY State Parks lists Harriman as open every day of the year, dawn to dusk. Its vehicle fees apply only at Lake Tiorati, Lake Welch, Lake Kanawauke and Silvermine during the summer season. The one current trail alert is farther north. In April 2026, the state closed two Victory Trail connections near the northwest corner of Lake Sebago for beach-facility rehabilitation, and expects them to stay closed through the middle of 2027. The notice doesn't mention Reeves Meadow or the Pine Meadow approach. For more routes out of the Ramapo Valley, see our guide to nature trails and scenic hikes around Mahwah.

The Rest of October on Orange Turnpike

The Village of Sloatsburg's own fall calendar and the Cooper's events page overlap through the end of the month:

According to the village's news and events page, contest winners will receive prizes and certificates at the November 10 board meeting.

Upstairs, Something New for the Old Building

The next addition at 40 Orange Turnpike will face away from the road. Hudson Valley Magazine reported in May that Seeley and Quilter hope to open the "Say Nothing" club. It's a members-only room upstairs, reached through a secret door behind a bookshelf that opens with facial recognition. Members would pay a monthly fee for a 1920s-style lounge with leather armchairs, a bar, and a dumbwaiter that sends food up from the kitchen. The magazine described it as planned, and we haven't found any announcement that it has opened. "We're constantly evolving," Seeley told the magazine.

For more on the village around it, visit our Sloatsburg neighborhood page.

At The Molfetta Team, we think a building's history is part of how it should be presented, whether that's an inn on the Orange Turnpike or a house a few streets off Route 17. If you own a Sloatsburg home with a story and want it told well when you sell, Book a Consultation with us.