Richardson’s Canal House, an upscale historic restaurant on the Erie Canal in Bushnell’s Basin, will serve its lst meal on Sept. 27, owner Matt Hudson confirmed via text. He declined to comment further on the closure.
Richardson’s Canal House opened on Valentine’s Day 1979 and it quickly became one of the area’s most acclaimed restaurants. Favorable mentions in television programs and in such publications as The New York Times, Toronto Globe and Mail, Country Living, Bon Appetit and more made it a tourist attraction. The property also was a subject of an 18-foot-by-60-foot Kodak Colorama photograph displayed in Grand Central Station in New York in 1989.
The building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, dates back to 1818, when it was a stagecoach stop. When the Erie Canal opened in 1825, it was one of the first taverns and inns along the way; rowdy boatmen visited for a rollicking good time. It served as a public house for over 100 years; it was also a private home, apartments and briefly a nudist colony until it was abandoned in the 1960s.
By the 1970s, the building was dilapidated and its site overgrown with weeds and brush. In 1978 it was purchased by newspaper publisher Andrew Wolfe. It was restored under the direction of his wife, Vivienne Tellier Wolfe, who ran the inn for decades. She sold Richardson’s and the property in 2000, shortly after the death of her husband.
The building is divided into several cozy dining rooms with low-slung ceilings, some with fireplaces. Over the years it has become a popular place for dining outdoors.
It has had a couple of changes of ownership since the beginning; Hudson led the kitchen for nine years before becoming its owner.
Richardson’s Canal House is at 1474 Marsh Road in Bushnell’s Basin. Call 585-248-5000.
Tracy Schuhmacher has been food and drink reporter for the D&C for the past 10 years. Notice a cool new eatery open near you? Wondering whether something closed? Email her at TracyS@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Richardson’s Canal House to close after decades in business