New Owners, Same Franklin Avenue: Millbrook's Downtown This Fall

Millbrook's downtown changed a good deal this fall, and almost none of it involved anything new opening. Three longtime businesses passed to new owners in September. Work crews started replacing the sidewalk on Franklin Avenue on October 5. The library is replacing its HVAC system and part of its roof. The biggest project on the avenue, the Thorne Building, is holding a community update in a building that still has no heat. Taken together, the village is keeping what it has, and it is doing so in the open, one storefront and one block at a time.

Elsewhere in the region the fall news has been about openings. Chronogram's October roundup listed five new food and drink spots around the Hudson Valley, and none of them is in Millbrook. In Millbrook, what changed this season was who runs the places that were already here.

Three handoffs, one ribbon

The new owners of Babette's Kitchen, Village Wine & Spirits of Millbrook and the Millbrook Antiques Center held a joint ribbon-cutting in September with Mayor Peter Doro, according to The Millerton News. Two of the businesses are on Franklin Avenue and one is on Front Street.

The buyers have one thing in common. Each new owner had already been part of the business or was firmly committed to continuing it. The Burgens had worked at Babette's for several years before taking it over. Michelle Del Valle had worked at the Antiques Center for about five years before former owners Tom McGeady and Richard Del Valle brought up passing it on. Nobody in this group arrived from outside to remake a storefront.

That comes through in what they said about their plans. Babette's opened in 2005 as a lunch spot and catering company. It became known for buttermilk biscuits, frittatas and seasonal menus, which made the 20-seat café a weekend favorite. "We're not doing any changes for the first couple of years," Burgen told The Millerton News, adding that in the long run the couple would like to bring in family recipes. The Burgens are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America, the same Hyde Park school Babette's founder Buffy Arbogast attended in 2004.

At the Antiques Center, which sells vintage clothing and furniture and offers jewelry repair, the Del Valles described the same approach. "We're continuing everything that they did, but we're introducing new things too," Michelle Del Valle told the paper. She mentioned a planned sip and shop and a Halloween party, and said they want to work with other businesses on Franklin. Village Wine & Spirits has been in the village since the 1980s. Rick Kumar said he and Shreya look forward to continuing its legacy, and he called Millbrook "a really nice neighborhood."

Mayor Doro described the transfers in terms of continuity:

"Taking over an established business is a wonderful way to invest in one's local community. You get the opportunity to respect what came before while bringing your own ideas and energy to the future."

He also called new ownership "a sign of confidence in Millbrook."

The sidewalk under the storefronts

A Village of Millbrook alert dated October 1 said sidewalk work would begin Monday, October 5, on Franklin Avenue between Front Street and Friendly Lane. The Village said to expect limited parking, pedestrian detours and traffic delays for three to four weeks. If the work holds to that estimate, it should wrap up between late October and the first days of November.

This is the last stretch of a longer effort. The Village's projects page lists the sidewalk replacement as a 2023 to 2026 project. The village Shade Tree Committee is also reviewing a list of candidate replacement trees. Babette's and the Antiques Center are both on Franklin Avenue, the street getting the new sidewalk.

The library is in the same position. Its 2026 funding proposition says it is replacing its HVAC system and part of its roof. The project is estimated at more than $2 million and is being paid for through grants and an authorized trust withdrawal. Separately, for operations, the proposition asks Town of Washington voters, including Village residents, to raise the library's annual operating support from $349,000 to $399,000. The vote is November 3 at the Millbrook Firehouse from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and early voting runs October 24 through November 1.

The one new thing is still years out

The only truly new project on Franklin Avenue is the Thorne Building at 3323 Franklin Ave. Its official timeline shows how slowly a project like this moves. Asbestos abatement is listed as "Substantially Complete." Renovation and construction, including the auditorium and the proposed cultural and community spaces, make up Phase 2. The target is to start construction in 2026 and finish in 2028 or early 2029, and the timeline says that depends on reaching the required funding. In July, The Millerton News ran the story under the headline "New and improved Thorne arts center expected to open by 2029." The project describes a community center with performance, technology, coworking, culinary, gallery and arts space. All of that is still the plan, and none of it is built yet.

The next update is close. Oakleigh Thorne and the Millbrook Community Partnership are hosting a community gathering on Sunday, November 15, at 4 p.m. at the Thorne Center, with what the invitation calls "exciting updates on The Thorne Building." Everyone is welcome. The invitation asks guests to "dress for cool temperatures in the unheated building." For now, that note says more about the building's condition than anything else on the website.

The same partnership's earlier project is already open. Bennett Park covers 35 acres on the former Bennett College grounds and is open to the public. It has paved walking paths, benches, lamp posts, a restored Greek Theatre, Halcyon Terrace, a great lawn and an allée of trees. In early August, The Millerton News reported that the park's restrooms and Woodland Trail were nearing completion. The park's own site hasn't said whether either one is open yet, so they may not be ready on your next walk.

What's on the calendar while the concrete cures

The fall schedule follows the same pattern. Most of these are familiar places running their usual end-of-season programs:

1. Saturday, October 17. Last day of "The State We're In" at the Millbrook Arts Project gallery.
2. Friday, October 23, 6 to 8 p.m. Opening reception for "The Pattern of Life," with work by Shari Diamond, Rich Garrison, Paul Lewandowski and Jim Morris. The show runs through November 28.
3. Saturday, October 24. Forest bathing at Innisfree Garden, 362 Tyrrel Road.
4. Weekends through October 31. Food trucks at Millbrook Vineyards & Winery, including Valia's Wood Fire, Oyster Party and BBQ Crew. November dates are still listed as TBD.
5. Saturday, October 31. Innisfree's last curator's tour of the season.
6. Sunday, November 1. Forest walk at Innisfree with Tom Wessels.
7. Tuesday, November 3. Library funding vote at the Millbrook Firehouse.
8. Saturday, November 7. Woodland terrarium workshop at Innisfree.
9. Saturday, November 14. Autumn ecology walk at Innisfree. That evening from 7 to 9 p.m., the Millbrook Fire Department Paint & Sip takes place at the firehouse, 20 Front Street. Tickets are $35, and proceeds benefit the department.
10. Sunday, November 15, 4 p.m. Thorne Building community update at 3323 Franklin Ave.

Innisfree is open only on weekends after mid-October, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its season runs from mid-April to mid-November, and the garden hasn't announced an exact closing day. The garden's last weekends and the Thorne update fall within about two weeks of each other. Not long after, the village settles into winter with new owners behind three familiar counters and new concrete along Franklin Avenue.

When a property changes hands well, someone who knows its history makes sure what matters carries over. Debbie Allan has been licensed since 1994 and has helped Dutchess County owners through hundreds of sales. If you're thinking about your own next step, start with a clear sense of what your home is worth. Request a free home valuation.