It may not have been as busy as a normal Saturday night at Tivoli’s Santa Fe or Stoney Creek restaurants, but the owners had to be happy with the crowds that did turn out in the winter storm conditions.

The snowstorm that began early Saturday morning and continued into the evening hours surely scared many people into staying home rather than braving the weather; but in a community like Tivoli, which Cafe Pongo owner Val Nehez described “is so neat with people walking to work,” it was not surprising to see people out dining.

“With Santa Fe and Stoney Creek serving dinner and Cafe Pongo serving lunch, I would think Tivoli has restaurants to cover almost anyone’s appetite,” said Village of Tivoli Mayor Marcus j. Molinaro. “I think it’s a great combination to have here in Tivoli.”

Santa Fe, at 52 Broadway, actually got the ball rolling in the Tivoli restaurant trade eight years ago when original owners David Weiss and Val Nehez founded the Mexican eatery. It was named the year’s best Mexican restaurant in the November issue of Hudson Valley Magazine.

“People often say that Santa Fe started the Tivoli renaissance,” said Weiss, who has since become the sole proprietor of Santa Fe. Although he would not take full credit for such a task, he said “I certainly hope we made a positive contribution. It’s certainly great to see the village become a thriving community.

Weiss said that approximately 90% of Santa Fe’s clientele are regular customers–regular meaning they visit the restaurant at least once per month.

What is more important is where those customers come from, particularly New York City. He credited the restaurant’s success to its ability to draw people from a large geographical area.

“Tivoli has the good luck to be positioned in one of the protected and most beautiful parts in the Hudson Valley,” said Weiss. “The village is in this amazing geographical position where we’re bounded on the west by the Hudson River, to the north by Clermont State Park and to the south by Tivoli Bays. Tivoli was happily passed over by the real estate boom of the seventies and eighties and remains intact as a turn-of-the-century railroad town.”

The style of Santa Fe, according to Weiss, is an eclectic taste in art (there is a large pterodactyl hovering over the bar), a good crew (waitstaff) and fresh, boldly flavored food.

“The best part about Mexican food is that the ingredients are new to the public,” said head chef Mike Hogan. “I can take ingredients that the public isn’t familiar with and put them in a context they may be able to relate to. I can have more fun and not have the traditional barriers of cooking.”

At Stoney Creek Restaurant and Bar, owner Peter Seidman said the answer to two of the most commonly asked questions about the establishment have been printed on matchbooks: “It’s down the road.”

The questions: first, where is it located in relation to the Creek; and second, where is it located in relation to Santa Fe. And on a historical note, Seidman said, “Stoney” is not spelled incorrectly on the restaurant logo–that is how it is spelled on a map of the area dated 1871.

“Tivoli is a very supportive environment where people are interested in supporting local businesses,” Seidman said. “It would be great to expand the local customer base because a lot of people in the area don’t even know we’re here yet. It seems the word traveled farther 100 miles south.”

Opened for business on June 4, 1994, Stoney Creek celebrated its 18 month anniversary at 76 Broadway. While Stoney Creek opened as a partnership, Seidman is now the sole proprietor. He said that approximately half to two-thirds of his clientele are weekend residents from New York City.

“Next to the beach house, this is the second option for people from Manhattan to look for second homes,” said Seidman, who has eight years restaurant experience in New York City. “In the city there’s more competition. Here it’s more neighborly support than neighborly competition.”

Situated in the former “Hershey’s Store,” the building dates from 1895. Although homemade ice cream (and sherbet) is available, it is no longer the specialty.

Stoney Creek boasts a menu with “hearty portions of down home American cooking” with European flair in a comfortable atmosphere (seating 42) at an “affordable” price.

“To cook for a New York City audience, this is a good opportunity to do that in a less hostile atmosphere,” said head chef Maxwell Morrow, who spent eight years as a chef in Denver before moving to Tivoli three months ago. “Jumping right into the city would have been a tremendous task. This is a change and a challenge in the right area.”

With two restaurants currently serving dinner in the village, it only seems natural that at least one would come through during lunch hours. That is the role of Cafe Pongo, which has been serving lunches for approximately eight months.

As previously mentioned, owner Val Nehez co-founded Santa Fe restaurant eight years ago, so she is certainly no stranger to setting up an eatery in Tivoli.

It was two-and-a-half years ago when Pongo opened up as a bakery. Nehez said the transition from bakery to luncheonette was gradual, and that perhaps next year would even prefer to begin serving dinner.

“We’re really hoping next year will be our year,” said Nehez. “We initially opened as a bakery for the community. Without ever intending, it sort of evolved into a restaurant on its own and we decided to go with it. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s been a lot of fun. People are actually excited about Pongo.”

Nehez, Weiss and Seidman agree that more competition in the market will bring more business to Tivoli, and that will lead to an even higher quality of food and service.

“A restaurant that opens in Tivoli is competing against restaurants in Rhinebeck as well,” said Nehez. “Customers drive on the average of 20 minutes to half-an-hour to get to you. It makes the game a whole different barrel of fish. I think Tivoli is a destination community; people have to sort of seek you out, she said

All three acknowledge the importance of Manhattan to their rural Dutchess (county) restaurants. “What keeps Tivoli alive is New York City,” Nehez said. “We’re most lucrative on weekends, that’s true of any restaurant but particularly to us. The nice thing about it is there is a really nice charm about running a business in Tivoli.”

Santa Fe is still thriving in Tivoli.

The other two restaurants; Stoney Creek and Cafe Pongo (now under the ownership of chef Rowland Butler, and now serving dinner) keep the competition alive and well.