Casa Susanna in Hudson Valley has never been afraid of acclaim, the Mexican restaurant from Efrén Hernández that has pulled tourists and locals alike to Camptown Hotel in Leeds. Fewer people realize that a 14-minute drive away is the team’s second restaurant, Rivertown Tavern in Hudson’s Rivertown Lodge, which is also a good option, also run by the same chef. However, that will shutter on Tuesday, March 31, to make way for Hernández’s revamp of the space as a new Mexican restaurant, Pez, with a focus on seafood, on track to open in early May.
“It’s been a longtime dream of chef Efrén to serve mariscos,” Rivertown Lodge co-owner Ray Pirkle writes to Eater. He adds that it’s “a shared vision of ours to do so with sustainable, East Coast ingredients.”
Pirkle teases Pez dishes like aguachiles made with hay-smoked black bass in a beet-habanero sauce, trout roe, and crema, served on house-made tostadas; littleneck clams with garbanzo en amarillo, saffron, and salsa criolla; whole-grilled Maine lobster with mushrooms, chile morita, and house-made sourdough tortillas; and seafood towers.
Since the hotel opened 10 years ago, co-owners Pirkle and Kim Bucci have been itching to do something different. “While we are very happy to have so many good places to eat and drink in close proximity, we do wish there were more variety,” Pirkle writes. “Following the fantastic success of Casa Susanna, and feeling the need for more choice, and obviously wanting to give chef the opportunity to realize his vision, this just felt like the right moment to make a change (and in time for summer!).”
Rivertown Tavern’s renovation into Pez is happening in April, and when the new restaurant opens, it will offer dinner and weekend brunch.
Originally, Rivertown Lodge was the Warren Inn Motel and, before that, a movie theater. Pirkle and Bucci took over the property in 2015, turning it into a stylish hotel with the Rivertown Tavern restaurant. Hernández took over the kitchen in 2020.
Before Casa Susanna opened in 2023, Hernández worked at dine-in Williamsburg theater Nitehawk Cinema, West Village Bistro Mimi, Greenwich Village wine bar Babs, and Italian restaurant Faro in Bushwick.