A small kitchen may have been added as well. To fulfill the need for a large banquet room for larger events, some of the rooms on the second floor were combined into one large banquet room, and a bar. This may have been the time when changed were made on the second floor. Finally, a potential buyer, Frederick Weber saw its possibilities and bought the property, fixed it up and opened his restaurant, Webers Wayside Inn, in 1967. It was put back onto the real estate market to be sold “as is” and remained closed for five or six years. In 1960, another fire did extensive damage to the building. Over the years and under the ownership of several people, the rooms were converted into spaces for rent, providing places to live and work in a small village with not many apartments. The inn did very well during the 1940s and 50s, becoming a favorite watering hole for locals and travelers alike, a great place to enjoy a meal with friends, the place to hold a social event, to spend the night with a loved one, and to rest from a long journey. William Houston bought The Cross Keys Inn in 1941, and changed its name to The Wayside Inn. Longcoy rebuilt the hotel to be even better, with more modern amenities, “finest decorations and the latest technologies,” but still in a grand Italianate style. Luckily, guests and staff escaped just ahead of the flames by jumping out the windows into the arms of the townspeople, or sliding down the side of the building with people ready to catch them. In 1913, a disastrous fire burned the original 1830 building to the ground. Other patrons included hardy travelers on horseback, and soldiers on leave. Throughout the 19th Century, the owners came up with new ways to encourage support from the locals, such as offering space for social events, which kept the place very popular with town and farm people. When the stage coach lines were replaced with trains and the business from the Erie Canal, new patrons arrived to help keep the doors open and funds flowing into the coffers. It was a three story, Italianate structure, quite a nice hotel for the time, giving relief and creature comforts to travelers who had endured bumpy stage coach rides on hard seats while exposed to the elements, as there was no glass in the side windows. Munro eventually sold the building to Charles Stevens, who became the proprietor and host. There may have been a bar in the basement for the local folks, reserving the first floor tavern for guests, who were served meals and drinks. There has been an establishment on this property since 1830, when Squire Munroe built his Munroe Hotel and Tavern for stagecoach travelers on the Jordan and Skaneateries stagecoach lines. This establishment is a beloved institution where folks have a blast, and have many stories about their experiences with the spirits who also love the positive energy that flows everyday and night, up through the first and second floors and down to the basement as well. People were very friendly, the waitress was friendly, and the food was great. They were preparing to have a group game of Pub Quiz. We managed to find the last table available. Tom and I arrived in Elbridge around 5:30 PM on a Saturday night, and business was booming! We walked into the pub and found it full of happy local folks in a jovial mood. They are open until 2:00 AM, and the locals make the most of it. There are still handsome wooden floors and walls, and a grand bar, but fewer bells and whistles, making it a nice, everyday comfortable place to enjoy a meal, have a beer or drink, and enjoy community activities. It is no longer an upper class Italianate style structure, but instead a less formal and very popular place to relax and spend some down time. The first floor was renovated to offer a more relaxing atmosphere. Mannequins of ghosts, when not in use, are stored here.Ī fire in 1960 badly damaged this once grand structure. While the floors and walls are restored, the bathrooms are not, but they are usable space for storage and Wayside’s annual Halloween Scary House event. The third floor isn’t completely restored or renovated yet, but is in decent shape. The second floor bar is just across the hall. The banquet room is on the second floor, a large space for receptions, seminars, meetings, events and any other big gatherings. The second and third floors look very much like the 1913 building, inside and out, with the exception of renovations done for the second floor large event spaces. On a weekend night, people of the town come in for a meal and a group game or some other fun event! The Wayside is a three story structure with a restaurant and pub with party rooms for small social events on the first floor. The Wayside Irish Pub is the social center of this village’s entertainment life, and has been so for many years. “The Most Haunted Restaurant in New York” ()
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