Westy’s & Highland Falls
As Holly and Mark continue our journey to open a bar, we have been asked a lot of questions. Common questions have been “What kind of food are you going to serve?”, or “Will you provide entertainment?”, or “What is the vibe going to be?”. But, the question we get most often is, “Why would you open a bar in Highland Falls?” There may be more of you out there wondering why in the heck we would open a bar in a little village that has gone through some struggles lately, especially since the Covid pandemic of 2020 and, more recently, the great flood in July of 2023. Before we attempt to answer that question for all you bloggers out there, we want to provide some background.
The Village of Highland Falls is actually part of the Town of Highlands, as is Fort Montgomery and Beat Mountain. The Village, originally known as Buttermilk Falls, was established in 1906. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,684 and, as we all probably know, sits adjacent to the United States Military Academy.
A fun fact: In the mid-to-late 1980s, Highland Falls was in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most densely bar-populated village in the country. Twenty-six bars to be exact. Holly claims she went to every one of them!
Notable people who lived in Highland Falls include television and film actor Charles Durning, daughter of J. P. Morgan and philanthropist Anne Morgan, and world renown musician Billy Joel. Can you guess what our favorite Billy Joel song is? “Summer Highland Falls”! The song begins with one of our favorite verses in any song ever…”They say that these are not the best of times, but they’re the only times I’ve ever known. And I believe there is a time for meditation in cathedrals of our own.”
Perhaps Highland Falls’s most famous moment was when the Village hosted a parade for the return of the 52 Americans who were held hostage for 444 days in Iran. The date was January 25, 1981, and the Village’s main streets were crowded with local residents, visitors, and media personnel from all parts of the country waiting eagerly for their return.
There is a lot of history associated with Highland Falls. Holly has been a part of that history since she was a freshman in high school when her father retired from the Army and chose to buy a home in the Village. She considers herself a townie. When Mark and Holly were stationed at West Point on two separate occasions, we made it a point to eat at Andys, The Park, Schade’s, Tony’s Pizza, and other local establishments to support the economy. We bought our first house in Highland falls in 2002, which we rented, and then our second home that we lived in lived in from 2008-2011. And like their mother and Aunt Marsha and Uncle E.G. , all four of our children attended James I. O’Neill High School in Highland Falls. GO RAIDERS!
So, we are not opening Westy’s to simply open a bar. We appreciate the history associated with Highland Falls and understand the importance of the Village being the “Gateway to West Point.” We know that Highland Falls will never be Annapolis. Heck, Annapolis is the capital of Maryland. However, we want to do our part in helping Highland Falls become the best version of itself. We cannot think of a better place to make our start than 427 Main Street. Talk about history! It was built in 1884 and was recently renovated in 2019. Most of our local and alum friends remember it as Vasily’s, but before back in the 40s it was home to the USO. Imagine the parties! Now imagine a venue today that gives patrons the opportunity to have a great time while honoring the history of Highland Falls and our country. You are imagining Westy’s. We hope to see you there.
Mark and Holly West
Owners, Westy's
