The Hoot Owl Restaurant in Pine Bush reopened its doors last weekend after over a year of being closed due to the pandemic. Loyal customers who most likely were waiting for this day for quite some time flocked to the popular eatery, filling the space to capacity.

Arif Khan, who runs the restaurant with his wife Sabeen, was happy with the reopening turnout. “Opening night was great for us. We had a lot of our regulars come back, and there was a great vibe. In fact, there were three couples waiting at the door 15 minutes before we opened!” he exclaimed. “We were busy, but everyone seemed to enjoy their meals and drinks and reconnecting with old friends and neighbors. There were some new folks who had moved into the community in the past year and had heard about us. We, unfortunately, had to turn a lot of customers away because we were full.”

Last July, the Khans announced that they would close “until further notice,” citing COVID-related safety concerns. “We do not want to be in a position where we jeopardize the health of our staff or customers, or our own families,” the couple said at the time. “Honestly, we are not sure what our next steps will be, but that is all part of the mystery that is life.”

During that time, they took up other work. Sabeen has experience as an architect and Arif is a strategic planner and project manager who helped advise a local environmental non-profit. And they were both working on a plan to preserve the historic Borden Farm in Wallkill. In addition to their day jobs, they also had some renovations done to the restaurant to spruce it up.

Reopening was no easy feat. For one, they have yet to become fully staffed. “We are grateful that four of our previous staff returned, including our chef, two bartenders, and our dishwasher. Like every other restaurant in the country, we have had trouble finding staff,” Arif explained.

But they were still able to get some surprising assistance for their reopening. “The amazing thing is on opening weekend, we had three of our regular customers offer to help us fill our bartender/server shifts. They all have regular day jobs, but they are willing to help us out,” said Arif. “We are still looking for a line cook.”

Of course, things still remain a little uncertain. Arif noted, “Like many others, we were not sure what the future held when the pandemic hit. And we are still not sure! But with the vaccine availability this spring, we assumed the pandemic was behind us, so we decided to re-open. Now, things are not so clear, so we will just follow health department guidance. Our first priority is our staff and customer health and safety.”

Despite the many uncertainties that still remain, Arif said he and Sabeen were happy to be able to open back up.

“It feels great to be back. Many of our customers told us how important we were to the community and how they missed us. We love how many different kinds of people come into our restaurant,” he said, adding that his staff is also happy to be back, and that their chef has come up with a lot of “great ideas” for the restaurant.

So what’s next for the Hoot Owl?

“We are looking forward to hosting special dinners and events. And we are open to collaborations with others who have ideas. Right now, we are open Fridays and Saturdays, but as we add staff, we will open on Thursday and Sunday, and then for special events on Wednesdays.”

The restaurant is located at 26 Awosting Road, Pine Bush. For questions, call 845-670-4668. For more updates, follow Hoot Owl Restaurant on Facebook, or visit their website at hootowlrestaurant.com.