The Old Turnpike Inn in Ghent Is a Farm Tavern Now. In November, Sundays Change.
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
The building at 1440 Route 66 in Ghent used to pour Genesee Cream Ale and serve the Big Bad Don Burger, topped with pepperoni and tiger sauce. It ran as the Turnpike Inn, a roadside bar, until it closed sometime in the 2010s. These days the burger comes from cattle raised a short drive away. The dining room tables are covered in butcher paper, the lights are kept low, and the dinner menu has only four entrees.
The new place is The Tavern at Liberty Farms, and it launched its full menu on October 13. The bigger change comes next month. Starting November 8, the Tavern adds Sunday Brunch and a Sunday Roast every week. With that, a restaurant joins a group of Columbia County kitchens and counters whose November is set by what the farm has ready and when. Turkey pickup windows, the last market Saturdays and now a farm-run Sunday table all work on that schedule, and planning November around those dates keeps you from arriving at a stand that has already closed for the year.
Mark Cheffo owns Liberty Farms. Chronogram's profile of the opening describes 600 acres of certified organic farmland with pigs, sheep, cows and thousands of free-range chickens. The farm also runs farm stores in Ghent and Brooklyn, has year-round booths at farmers' markets in four New York City boroughs, and offers a 20-week CSA. Cheffo moved to the Hudson Valley in 2005 and bought Liberty Farms in 2009.
Chef Tom Ellis met Cheffo through dinners at The Barn, a renovated stallion barn on the farm that now hosts weddings. Chronogram reports that the pandemic, permitting and construction caused several stops and starts before the Tavern opened. Cheffo told the magazine the goal was a place neighbors could visit regularly:
"We wanted people to have high-quality, food-focused experiences in a way that wasn't so inaccessible it could only be done once every few years."
The building is split in two. The bar is brightly lit with colorful wallpaper, banquettes and a British-pub feel. It serves a bistro menu, including a smash burger made with the farm's organic beef, caramelized onions and Sweet Willie's garlic sauce for $18, and "meatballs on a stick," listed as Spaghetti and Meatballs en Broquette, for $11. Polished Pilsner and Farmer's Daughter rye pale ale are $7 on draft. The dining room is the quieter, more formal side.
Those two prices put the Tavern's bar in the range of a regular weeknight stop. The menu also follows the farm's calendar closely. Chronogram quotes Cheffo explaining that the menu has only four entrees because the kitchen cooks what is in season on the farm, which this fall means carrots, turnips and potatoes.
The opening dinner menu, as Chronogram listed it:
| Dish | Price |
|---|---|
| Roasted leg of lamb, turnips in tomatoes and greens, Johnny cakes | $45 |
| Half chicken, glass potato, carrot, jus | $40 |
| Rack of pork | $36 |
| Charred cabbage romesco, butternut squash spaetzle, apple, mashed greens | $30 |
Starters are $14 each. They include chicken liver mousse with housemade matzoh and delicata squash in a cranberry-apricot agrodolce. Cheffo told Chronogram that vegetarian and gluten-free options are always on the menu, even with so few dishes. Because the menu follows the harvest, this list is a snapshot of mid-October and will change as the season does.
Every Sunday from November 8, the Tavern serves Sunday Brunch followed by Sunday Roast. Chronogram describes the roast as a take on the traditional British pub lunch. It is served family style with Liberty Farms meats, several seasonal sides and dessert, at a fixed price with two seatings. Cheffo told the magazine, "It's like Thanksgiving every Sunday, and there's always seconds."
The roast price and seating times haven't been posted yet, so check them on Resy before you go. The reservations page recommends booking but says walk-ins are always welcome. The menu page says the regular menu is also served in the bar on Sundays. The homepage and reservations page list dinner Tuesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. An older FAQ on the same site still says Tuesday through Saturday, so call ahead to confirm Sunday evening hours.
The first roast lands on the same Sunday as a 3 p.m. recital at Hudson Hall by countertenor Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen with pianist John Churchwell. Lunch in Ghent and an afternoon concert in Hudson fit in one November 8.
If you want to cook the farm's meat at home, Liberty Farms lists two Ghent farm stores, at 114 Ostrander Road and 170 Bartel Road. Its posted hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., closed Monday, though the table doesn't say which store those hours apply to. The farm sells beef, pork, chicken, lamb and seasonal produce, and asks customers to get in touch about preorders and what's available.
Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. If you want a turkey from a farm counter, the date that matters is your pickup window, and each counter sets its own.
| Where | What's offered | Pickup | How to order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawthorne Valley Farm Store, Ghent | Feather Brook Farm turkeys, $6.99/lb; Mary's Organic, $5.99/lb | November 20–27 | In-store at the registers or by online form, with a deposit |
| The Chatham Berry Farm | Murray's regular domestic, Northwind regular domestic, Northwind heritage | Monday, November 23 through Wednesday; none on Thanksgiving Day | By phone or in person |
| Samascott's Garden Market | Frozen local turkey; specialty meat orders with advance notice | Ask the store | In store |
According to Hawthorne Valley's preorder page, Feather Brook Farm is in Fort Plain, NY, and Mary's Organic is in California. That makes the $1 difference per pound the price of a New York bird over a West Coast one. On a 15-pound turkey, that comes to $15. Neither Hawthorne Valley nor The Chatham Berry Farm lists an order deadline, so ordering early protects your pickup slot. The Chatham Berry Farm hasn't posted turkey prices.
Hawthorne Valley is also hosting Cow Care Commons on November 19 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., with advance registration requested. That's the day before its turkey pickup window opens.
Most dates below come from a farm, a market or a single venue's own schedule. Several of them close for the year, so they come in order:
For everyday shopping between those dates, the farm counters keep long hours. The Chatham Berry Farm's store lists 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, Samascott 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, and Golden Harvest Farms' roadstand in Valatie 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Hawthorne Valley's store page lists daily hours of 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and says the store closes on Thanksgiving.
The Tavern's first Sunday Roast at 1440 Route 66 is November 8. Hawthorne Valley's turkey pickup opens November 20, and the Copake-Hillsdale market closes November 21.
The Tavern is a roadside bar building, empty for years, that reopened once a local farm saw a use for its kitchen. At Berardi Realty, we work with owners of buildings like this across the Hudson Valley, from street-level restaurant spaces to rural commercial properties with working kitchens. If you own one in Columbia County and want to know what it could be worth to the next operator, request a consultation and free property valuation.
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