"I don't want to be in the restaurant business," Peter Schram told Hudsonvalley360. That came weeks after he placed the winning bid on Frank Guido's Port of Call, the waterfront seafood restaurant across from Dutchman's Landing park in Catskill.
The restaurant served its last meals on September 13, 2026, ending a 27-year run. The building is still there with its view of the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, its glass dining room and its kitchen. Under Schram's plan, the room would become a space people rent for a wedding or a party, so the riverfront table would be booked ahead instead of walked into. Each detail of the building helps explain that choice.
One corner, four lives
The building at Dutchman's Landing has gone through several identities. The Times Union and Hudsonvalley360 give this sequence:
- A pizza restaurant. Schram remembers eating there before Guido's time.
- Mike's Point. This was the restaurant Schram says he grew up visiting.
- Mariner's Point, 1999. Guido reopened it under this name with business partners Matt Michael and Frank Sortini.
- Frank Guido's Port of Call, 2009. This is the name most current residents know, along with the lobster bake sign billed as "world famous" on the side of the building.
The current building is newer than the restaurant's history. According to Hudsonvalley360, it was torn down and rebuilt completely after 2011. The Times Union adds that it also came through a fire over Memorial Day weekend in 2018. Schram told Hudsonvalley360 that little work is needed on the restaurant and credited Guido's management for that.
Under Guido, the menu was built around oysters and clams shucked to order, chilled shrimp by the pound, pasta, salads and loaded lobster rolls. The walls held hundreds of framed photos of friends, family and famous visitors, among them Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, James Gandolfini and Tony Sirico. Hudsonvalley360 reported that Schram bought the business as is, "down to the last fork in the kitchen."
What the room holds
If you only knew Port of Call as a summer dinner spot, you may not have a clear sense of how large it is. These figures come from the two news reports:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total size | 6,504 square feet |
| Glass-enclosed dining room | Seats 100 |
| Outdoor space and rooftop deck | Room for more than 100 additional guests |
| Parking lot | More than 50 cars |
| Upstairs | Three-bedroom apartment |
| Kitchen | About 8 years old, described as a master kitchen |
| Sale price | About $1.1 million, as reported in September 2026 |
That works out to seating for roughly 200 people, with parking for a quarter of that number right next door. Very few venues on the Catskill waterfront can host a full wedding guest list in one place, with a covered room for bad weather and a rooftop for good weather. As a restaurant, though, all that seating has to be filled night after night. Hudsonvalley360 reported that the sale listing said summer business as a restaurant can exceed $70,000 a week. Earning that takes a full kitchen crew, a bar staff and a lobster supply chain every week of the season. An event venue earns from the same 200 seats one booking at a time, and the party brings its own food.
Why the kitchen will stay dark
Schram has said he doesn't plan to run the kitchen. Hudsonvalley360 reported that people who rent the space will need to bring in outside caterers and arrange a bar separately. He has also said he will keep the old seasonal rhythm. Port of Call mostly ran as a seasonal business and closed for three months each winter, and he intends to do the same.
The apartment upstairs is part of the plan as well. Schram told Hudsonvalley360 he plans to use the property as a weekend home, and that his first job after the sale settles is redecorating the three-bedroom unit upstairs. An owner living upstairs part-time, renting out the room below on weekends and closing for winter, is running a very different operation from a restaurant open daily all season.
His history with property in the area points the same way. He told Hudsonvalley360 he has owned about 100 properties in Columbia and Greene counties over the years, renovating and selling them, and that he sees Port of Call as one to keep. The Times Union reported that his Columbia County holdings have included the historic Old Turtle House in Hudson and the former Moxie's restaurant in Hudson, which he later sold and which became home to Wm. Farmer & Sons. He also once ran Homestead Tree Farm in Claverack.
"I don't care if anything else ever happens with it. I just love that property," he told Hudsonvalley360.
When the room could host its first party
Schram's stated timing moved earlier over the course of September 2026:
- Early September 2026: He planned to renovate through the winter and reopen as an event space in the spring, according to the Times Union.
- Late September 2026: He was in no rush to firm up his business plans, and said that if someone wanted to book a party, the first customer could come as early as this fall, according to Hudsonvalley360.
He also had an idea about the water. "You could have tour boats come take people out for photo ops for weddings," he told Hudsonvalley360. "It's just a beautiful spot."
For residents, the practical change is this. A room you could once walk into for clams and a bridge view becomes a room someone books for an evening. If you're planning a rehearsal dinner, an anniversary or a retirement party for spring 2027, it may be on your list of options. On a Tuesday in July, it won't be a place to stop in for a lobster roll.
Where the water-side tables are now
With Port of Call out of the restaurant business, here is the short list of food and drink spots near the Hudson or Catskill Creek within the village:
- Creekside Restaurant, 160 West Main Street. A restaurant and bar on Catskill Creek with patio seating, serving lunch and dinner.
- Left Bank Ciders, 150 Water Street. The taproom calls its location the part of the village between the Hudson River and Catskill Creek. Its annual Apple Bake-Off is on Saturday, November 14, from 5 to 8 p.m. Entries can be sweet or savory, and Rose Hill Farm's Pomona's Gifts apple display is also on the schedule. Details are on the Great Northern Catskills event listing.
- Alicia's Eatery, Dutchman's Landing. A food stop on the Hudson waterfront in the park across from the former Port of Call.
These are small spots, and none of them is a 200-seat seafood room. Winter hours along the water tend to change through the season, so it's a good idea to call or check each business's own page before you go.
If you own a restaurant, banquet hall or other hospitality building in Greene County and are thinking about what it could become next, CENTURY 21 New West Properties works on exactly these conversions, from restaurant to event space and back. Broker/owner Natasha Witka can walk you through what your building's seating, parking and layout are worth to the buyers looking for them today. Request a Free Property Valuation to start that conversation.
