about the
red rose
the history
Located along the banks of the Beaverkill River, The Red Rose Motel and Tavern was built in 1938 by New York City prizefighter Constantine J. Lambrigger and his wife, Julia. Originally called The American Switzerland, Joe and Vera Pelc changed the name to The Red Rose when they purchased the building in 1952, creating a local landmark that has welcomed fly-fishers, hunters, thirsty neighbors, and city escapees ever since.
WHO WE ARE
We are a team of unlikely innkeepers who found each other in the Great Western Catskills of New York State. Marrying our vastly different skills, we re-opened, renovated and now operate the beautiful and historic Red Rose Motel & Tavern.
JP Frenza Partner / Owner / Jack-of-all-Trades
JP was the one who found The Rose and wondered what it would take to restore the building to its former glory as a classic Catskills roadside motel — fortunately for him his wife of 25 years, Kris, was up for the challenge. He spent 16 years working at IBM and currently works in the technology sector. When he is not working, he spends his time listening to opera and obsessing about making the perfect Detroit-style pizza with their son, Jack.
Kris Kiger Partner / Owner / Designer
Ever since she was a little girl, Kris was obsessed with making things in every possible medium — felt, fiber, embroidery, fabric, paint and glue. She created her first published illustration for a bridal boutique when she was 7. For more than 20 years, she worked as a creative lead at R/GA, one of the world’s premier design agencies working with brands such as Google, Illy, Nike, Samsung and Verizon. She currently runs her own design studio and continues to be an avid knitter, sewer, and overall curious creative. When she’s not designing or making, she loves to go on crazy adventures with her family.
OUR STORY
The Beginning
JP Frenza and Kris Kiger first visited Roscoe in 1999 and were quickly smitten with the community — its friendly neighbors, bending rivers, cool mountain air and, of course, the fishing.
After fixing up a tiny 1870s farmhouse, they set about opening a small business in the area as a way to show support for the community that had been so helpful in renovating their house and sharing their favorite hikes, swimming holes and the most coveted of local secrets — the best fishing spots. They looked at a grocery store, almost partnered on a taco stand, considered opening a knit shop, thought about building a fishing camp and checked out a motel right on the Beaverkill River. Then they saw The Red Rose.
They had been driving by The Red Rose for years when they noticed a “For Sale by Owner” sign and stopped in to take a look. What they saw was a building in disrepair — ceilings had collapsed, wildlife had moved in and the wood façade had begun to rot — but the bones were there. The place was well-worn but also well-loved.
While they thought about purchasing the motel, they talked to people in the community about the old red building across from the Beaverkill. There were so many stories about The Red Rose and they are still deciphering which of them are true! The Andrews Sisters were regulars. Marilyn Monroe stayed at the Rose on her way to filming the movie Niagara in 1953. One professor and fisherman told the story of John Lennon drinking unbothered at the bar in the Seventies when Yoko Ono owned a farm in nearby Livingston Manor. Fly fishing legend Lee Wulff was a frequent guest. And, The Red Rose Regulars met there for breakfast in the morning and for drinks in the afternoon after a day on the river (The Regulars have a commemorative plaque at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum down the road).
The Purchase
Their first attempt to buy The Rose failed (someone beat them to it). Several months later, it was back on the market and they closed in April of 2016. The realtor who helped make the purchase possible was Bob Lambrigger, the son of Connie and Julia Lambrigger, the original family that built the tavern and named it The American Switzerland in 1938 (it was known as a rowdy drinking spot and dancehall for the workers in the nearby bluestone quarry and tanneries).
In 1952, Joe and Vera Pelc bought the building, changed the name to The Red Rose and ran it for decades as a German-style chop house and bar with cabins for let on the property next door. Some of the original cabins can still be seen standing on the adjacent property today.
Members of the Lambrigger and Pelc family have visited the Rose and shared stories of their five decades operating the classic Catskill roadside tavern and motel. One of their favorite recounts the existence of “the excuse list” which Joe Pelc kept behind the bar. The story goes, that workers coming in for a drink after work would put their name on the list and write down an excuse next to it — flat tire, helping push a car out of the snow, making a quick run with the volunteer firefighters. If their wife should call looking for them, Joe could pull out the chart, read the excuse, relay the message, and help keep the story straight.
The Restoration
Prior to signing the papers to purchase the Rose, JP and Kris met with their friend and contractor, Rob Eggleton. Rob had grown up in the area and knew a lot about the history of the Rose (He is also an accomplished outdoorsman who runs the Catskill Mountain Guide Service). Rob was considering retirement but agreed to stay on to oversee the extensive renovation required to restore the Red Rose to its iconic status.
Nearly all of the work on the Rose was managed and done by an outstanding team of local independent woodworkers and contractors, including Jeff Yaun (plumbing), Paul Miesner (electrical), Hal Klinger (excavation), Gary Stulmiller (mason), Dahlman and Sons (landscaping), Robert Eden (flooring), Phil Guzzo (framing), the Roscoe Lumber Yard and many more. Without Rob’s efforts, the entire project simply would not have been possible.
The initial goal of the project was to buy The Rose, renovate the building and save such a cherished community landmark. In short, saving The Red Rose for the next generation of owners. Kris and JP knew restoration and renovation, but also recognized that they would need to partner with someone to help manage the project on the ground.
JP and Kris reached out to Erin Lindsey and Denny Brownell, the couple who were at the time the duo behind the travel blog, Escape Brooklyn. A note was sent asking "if anyone was interested in working on a Twin Peaks style motel in the Western Catskills.” The answer was ‘yes,’ and the notion of working together took root. The initial plan was to renovate the building, have Escape Brooklyn market the tavern and motel, and search for someone to manage day-to-day operations.
Early on, Escape Brooklyn played a role in starting the interior design style for The Rose. They painted and styled the bar and brought in Jack Decker of Vernacular Design who saved the original 1938 bar base, expertly fabricated a new bar top and built a new back bar with wood salvaged from the old bar.
Escape Brooklyn also began designing the bathrooms with wallpaper made from old fly-fishing books and started a working relationship with Barn Light Electric who supported the project with high quality vintage-inspired light fixtures featured throughout the property. Unfortunately, as it sometimes happens, the potential partnership didn’t work out due to personal reasons and Erin moved on in July of 2017.
All of the vintage barn wood that Rob’s crew expertly installed on the ceiling of the dining room and lounge area was reclaimed from fallen barns in upstate New York. Noted sign maker, Roger Baker, came to the project via a referral from Roscoe Brewery owners Phil and Donna Vallone, and created the new Red Rose sign with an artistic nod to the building’s historic past and an enduring quality rare among sign makers today.
The Opening
Melissa Kawecki, a veteran of the New York City hospitality industry, joined the project as a consultant in August of 2017 and helped the team lock down the dozens, if not hundreds, of details required to move from a space that had been under restoration to a fully functioning tavern.
Her other goal was to manage all of the final styling required to make The Rose customer friendly, including installing lights, hitting local auctions, flea markets and yard sales for the vintage décor that adorns the lounge and bathrooms and pulling from her extensive personal collection of vintage American flags and other memorabilia which helped shape the vintage Catskill style that The Rose has become known for.
Inspired by vintage paint by numbers found on the property, JP and Kris added to the texture with dozens of paint-by-numbers from their personal collection as well as help from contacts they had established through their numerous Craigslist finds; the team also purchased antiques from Denny to complete the styling of the lounge.
The tavern finally opened to the public in early December of 2017 – 20 months after the purchase papers were signed. Running a professional, high-quality establishment in a remote corner of the Western Catskills presented numerous challenges, including staffing. After serving guests for five and a half months, Denny had to leave the project for personal reasons and The Rose temporarily shut down operations in order to regroup and figure out what was next.
The Rebirth
As JP, Kris and Melissa formed a new partnership, the first order of business was to elevate the interior to accommodate more guests while also improving their comfort. In the dining room, chairs were upgraded with the help of CSP in Hackensack, New Jersey, and two vintage farmhouse tables were sourced on Craigslist. In the entryway, a vintage Persian rug was added along with an incredibly comfortable leather and velour sofa believed to have come from one of the guest houses at the Rockefeller Estate. In the lounge area, rickety older leather chairs were removed, replaced with what just might be or most favorite Craigslist find ever — two mint condition leather Ethan Allen reclining chairs. They now flank the fireplace and our regulars know they are the perfect fireside napping spot.
With the main building ready to accommodate more guests, and a refreshed menu, the team turned its attention to the motel’s seven rooms. Plumbing was finished, floors were sanded, sinks were hung and bathrooms were completed. JP and Kris brought in an old friend, Ry Scruggs of Nightwood NY, who created incredible bed frames made of salvaged barnwood from Schenectady, New York.
A partnership with Brooklinen was established to provide high-quality bedding and towels and Public Goods was selected from dozens of vendors for its superb selection of sustainable bath soaps. Eventually, working as a trio with Melissa pulling antiques from her personal collection and completing the styling, the first four rooms opened in November of 2018 and the last three rooms opened several months later.
Today and Tomorrow
The refreshed Red Rose menu features a variety of house made specialties (such as quiche and roasted Brussels sprouts) and a careful selection of local products, including the meat in our ever-popular Smash Burger which is delivered weekly from our friends at Whiting Farm in neighboring Hancock.
Our tavern pours beer from our three local breweries — Roscoe Beer Company, Catskill Brewery and Upward Brewing Company — among others and a small but thoughtful list of wines and ciders. Our seven rooms are available year-round and have been designed for comfort with their own complete bath suite, two separate heat sources for the winter and AC for those hot and humid summer days.
The Red Rose team is not stopping there. As we navigate the notion of what hospitality means in a post-Coronavirus world, we’re focused on providing guests with a safe and comfortable place to stay while offering delicious “distance dining” options in the fresh Catskill air.
We are also sketching out plans to continue to enrich the guest experience at The Rose, including hosting a range of fun and flavorful pop up dinners, building a farm stand to sell flowers and produce from Melissa’s homestead farm, creating an outdoor beer garden and dining area and figuring out how to add a three-season, rustic outdoor dining space to host events and weddings for up to 150 guests.
For eighty-two years the Red Rose Motel and Tavern has served as a destination for locals and travelers, hunters and fly fishers and friends old and new. We started this long and winding journey to save The Red Rose and to restore and rebuild this classic Catskills roadside motel. We are honored to share this long-cherished landmark with you and your loved ones.