Serving food, drink since 1880s

Richard Tedesco

They have been serving food and drinks in the building that houses the Walk Street Tavern since the 1880s.

“I think there’s something really cool about that,” said current co-owner Jimmy Tubbs. “Doing the renovation of the building, we were very aware of the past and the history. It was very nice to take building that was so legendary and that was falling apart and to restore it and improve it.”

Tubbs and partner Robert Kloepfer Jr. renovated the building shortly after purchasing what was then known as Henry’s Inn in 2008, and sought to carry on the location’s long history as a New Hyde Park dining and entertainment place.

Kloepfer said the location had a personal history for him.

He had worked, he said,, for Henry Poleker for six years at Henry’s Inn, starting at age 15 while he was attending Sewanhaka High School. Kloepfer then went to study at the Culinary Institute of America. 

Kloepfer’s father, Robert, an ex-chief in the New Hyde Park Fire Department, knew Poleker as a fellow firefighter and also worked at Henry’s Inn, as a bartender.

“I have a little bit of history there,” Kloepfer said. “It was a little bit of nostalgia to buy something where I really started out.”

Eight years before purchasing Henry’s Inn, Kloepfer had opened Walk Street restaurant in Garden City after gaining restaurant experience in New York City. He had done an apprenticeship at Window on the World and held executive chef positions at the Pierre, Drake and Regal Royal Hotels in New York City.

Tubbs was a customer at Walk Street and he and Kloepfer developed a relationship over time.

The original building located where Walk Street Tavern now stands dates back to 1884 or 1885, according to Tubbs, who said it was an inn and general store that rented rooms to travelers in its 19th century incarnation that continued into the 20th century.

The tavern became Walter’s Place in 1943 and then became Henry’s Inn in 1971 when Poleker took it over, Tubbs said. 

Tubbs, a Mineola resident who graduated from Mineola High School, had been in several businesses before he Kloepfer, bought Henry’s Inn from its prior owner Tommy Rubin,.

Tubbs, who also works as a realtor with Laffey Real Estate in Williston Park, had worked as a bus boy, waiter and bartender at the Rusty Scupper in Westbury in his early 20s. 

“It was a business I liked working in,” Tubbs said.

The two men said they had attempted to buy Tin Pan Alley in Carle Place, but were unsuccessful. They then heard that Henry’s Inn was for sale and they moved to buy it. 

When Kloepfer worked for Poleker, American Airlines and Sperry still had offices in Lake Success and the place drew a large crowd every day. He said lunch service started at 11:30 and by 12:30 “you couldn’t get a seat.”

“He had a great lunchtime,” Kloepfer said.

Blanche Cochrane, who’s been working as a waitress at Walk Street now and in its previous incarnation for the past 40 years, said it was a different time when Henry’s Inn had the lunch business in the ‘70s and ‘80s. She said there was always a line for lunch and Henry’s served 200 to 250 lunches a day.

“There wasn’t that much competition and [Henry] was fast,” she said. “Those were the days of the three-martini lunch.”

It was a limited menu then, Cochrane said. 

These days. Walk Street offers a modestly priced selection of burgers, wraps, pulled pork sandwiches, salads and appetizers, which customers can peruse on its Facebook page, another requisite change from the tavern’s former days. 

The lunch business isn’t  as lively as it once was but Tubbs said that catering has now become a “significant” part of the business.

The dinner business features live music, with jazz on Tuesday nights and rock bands on Friday and Saturday.

“It’s always exciting to help people put on special occasions,” he said. “And we do a lot of fundraisers.”

Tubbs said Walk Street is a popular venue for PTAs’ soccer leagues and Little Leagues to raise money. Last year, Walk Street’s side yard was the site of a barbecue fundraiser for the New Hyde Park Girls Softball team that competed in the Little League Softball World Series in Portland, Ore. 

Tubbs also piped in the team’s games from Portland for local supporters to enjoy. 

Carrying on the Henry’s Inn tradition, he said Walk Street also hosts functions for the New Hyde Park Fire Department.

“That’s always great to do. The fundraiser for the softball team last year was a blast,” Tubbs said. 

As a Mineola High School alumnus, Tubbs said he took satisfaction in playing host to the family of June Hylton for a luncheon after funeral mass and burial of her 15-year-old son, Matthew Hylton, after his sudden death three years ago.

“It was a nice afternoon,” Tubbs said. “My partner and I really love to do those sorts of things when we can.”

Tubbs said he and Kloepfer are sensitive to people’s budgets when they customize parties for special occasions.

“The patio outside is a really nice draw. It’s got a nice little vibe to it back there,” Kloepfer said. 

Tubbs took a circuitous career route to co-owning the Walk Street Tavern. 

In the ‘80s and ‘90s he worked as Brent Musburger’s business manager at CBS Sports and ABC Sports.

“It was 130 nights a year in a hotel for 12 years covering the best sporting events and having a great time doing it,” he said.

He segued in a sports representation firm, briefly ran an Internet company and then went into the real estate business before partnering with Kloepfer.

“It’s a people business. It’s dealing with regulars and new customers. You’re constantly meeting new people,” Tubbs said.

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