Welcome to EverythingCroton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.
INTRODUCING CROTON MEMORIES, a new series that will focus on Croton from the 1940's through the 1970's, more or less.
AS PROMISED, MORE ON THE CROTON STEAK HOUSE, PART TWO, COURTESY OF CROTON’S OWN ROBERT SCOTT
Memories of the Croton Steak House
The recent piece mentioning the Croton Steak House brought back fond memories. My family and I moved to Croton in 1963 and soon discovered that little gem of a restaurant. We made it a practice to eat their regularly.
The Croton Steak House was a family-operated venture. David Sanft was the chef, and his wife, June, was the drink mixologist, server and cashier. It had a remarkably small seating capacity. The formula for its success was simple: a short, tightly focused menu and top-grade ingredients masterfully prepared and presented.
It was not uncommon for the chef to come out of the kitchen and join lingering late-dining regulars over a cup of coffee. I learned that he had operated restaurants in Florida, and, if memory serves, at resorts in Bermuda or the Bahamas. He died suddenly in 1973 at the age of 60. The restaurant business must have been in June Sanft’s blood. In later years I recall seeing her working as a waitress and cashier at Pete Tsagarakis’s Croton Colonial Diner. She died in 2001 at the age of 76.
The earlier piece neglected to mention that the Croton Steak House occupied the former home of Dr. Thomas Jefferson Acker. Originally a simple house believed to have been built around 1830, the building’s Victorian details (including the addition that became the restaurant’s dining room) were added by Dr. Acker, a general practitioner who graduated in 1865 from New York City's Bellevue Medical College.
Dr. Acker not only kept Croton residents in good health, but treated workers on the Croton Dam around the turn of the last century. His charge for a visit was fifty cents. He was born in the village of Sing Sing on July 27, 1837, and died in Croton on February 15, 1914, at the age of 76.
Dr. Acker was a member of the building committee that in 1883 built Croton’s Asbury Methodist Church in High Victorian Gothic style. Appropriately constructed of local red brick artfully used to decorative advantage, it supplanted the Bethel Chapel.
Special thanks to Mr. Scott for rounding our history of this wonderful old house and it's assorted lives.
Stay tuned for more Croton Memories. To see past editions of this series, click:
INTRODUCING CROTON MEMORIES, a new series that will focus on Croton from the 1940's through the 1970's, more or less.
AS PROMISED, MORE ON THE CROTON STEAK HOUSE, PART TWO, COURTESY OF CROTON’S OWN ROBERT SCOTT
Memories of the Croton Steak House
The recent piece mentioning the Croton Steak House brought back fond memories. My family and I moved to Croton in 1963 and soon discovered that little gem of a restaurant. We made it a practice to eat their regularly.
The Croton Steak House was a family-operated venture. David Sanft was the chef, and his wife, June, was the drink mixologist, server and cashier. It had a remarkably small seating capacity. The formula for its success was simple: a short, tightly focused menu and top-grade ingredients masterfully prepared and presented.
It was not uncommon for the chef to come out of the kitchen and join lingering late-dining regulars over a cup of coffee. I learned that he had operated restaurants in Florida, and, if memory serves, at resorts in Bermuda or the Bahamas. He died suddenly in 1973 at the age of 60. The restaurant business must have been in June Sanft’s blood. In later years I recall seeing her working as a waitress and cashier at Pete Tsagarakis’s Croton Colonial Diner. She died in 2001 at the age of 76.
The earlier piece neglected to mention that the Croton Steak House occupied the former home of Dr. Thomas Jefferson Acker. Originally a simple house believed to have been built around 1830, the building’s Victorian details (including the addition that became the restaurant’s dining room) were added by Dr. Acker, a general practitioner who graduated in 1865 from New York City's Bellevue Medical College.
Dr. Acker not only kept Croton residents in good health, but treated workers on the Croton Dam around the turn of the last century. His charge for a visit was fifty cents. He was born in the village of Sing Sing on July 27, 1837, and died in Croton on February 15, 1914, at the age of 76.
Dr. Acker was a member of the building committee that in 1883 built Croton’s Asbury Methodist Church in High Victorian Gothic style. Appropriately constructed of local red brick artfully used to decorative advantage, it supplanted the Bethel Chapel.
Special thanks to Mr. Scott for rounding our history of this wonderful old house and it's assorted lives.
Stay tuned for more Croton Memories. To see past editions of this series, click:
CROTON CHRISTMAS MEMORIES PART ONE, 1938-1950 http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/10/croton-christmas-memories-1938-1949.html
MORE CROTON MEMORIES, THE WOMEN WHO SERVED, WWII http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-wwii-women-who.html
COMPAGNIE PARENTO - http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-perfume-factory.html
VARSITY CHEERLEADING THEN AND NOW http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-varisty.html
CROTON FOOTBALL MEMORIES: THE 1940’S http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/croton-football-memories-1940s.html
THE CROTON STEAK HOUSE A.K.A. COUNTRY KITCHEN A.K.A. PEWTER HORN A.K.A. VICTORIAN MANOR A.K.A. COBBLESTONE INN – http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-croton-steak-house.html
ELLIOTT’S DEPARTMENT STORE http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-elliotts.html
CHIMNEY CORNER CABIN http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-chimney-corner.htm
GINO’S POST INN http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-ginos-post-inn.html
OTTO’S COFFEE SHOP http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-ottos-coffee-shop.html
THE STARLIGHT DRIVING RANGE http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-croton-memories-starlight-driving.html
HARMON SWEET SHOPPE http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-croton-memories-special-request_29.html
CARVEL A.K.A. CROTON CREAMY http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-croton-memories-special-request.html
POP BERGER’S http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-croton-memories-pop-bergers.html AND POP BERGER’S, EPILOGUE http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/09/more-croton-memories-pop-bergers.html
SCOOP ‘N JUDY’S http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-croton-memories-scoop-n-judys.html
THE STARLIGHT DRIVE-IN, parts 1 & 2 http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/croton-memories-starlight-drive-in_15.html AND http://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-croton-memories-more-on-starlight.html
