By Justin Bigos, Staff Writer
Woodstock’s historic Elm Street Press Building, located at 24 Elm Street, has been sold, former owner Don Bourdon confirmed to the Standard last week.
The building sale was completed on Jan. 13. “The property was sold, and it was sold to Zöe Zillian,” owner of Woodstock’s Au Comptoir cocktail bar, said Bourdon. Zillian was not available for comment.
Bourdon told the Standard that the building had been in the Bourdon Family since 1942 and that his father had established a law office on the second floor. “Change is one of the things that occurs, but it’s been in the family for 83 years — up until last week,” said Bourdon.
Liz Schwenk, who with her husband Spencer has co-owned The Prince & The Pauper (P&P) restaurant since 2019, currently leases the restaurant’s space in the building. She confirmed to the Standard this week that the new owners have asked them to vacate the premises by April 1 when their lease expires and will not be renewed.
Liz Schwenk spoke to the Standard from the front parlor of the restaurant, the walls of which feature copies of historic photographs of the Elm Street Press Building from the Woodstock History Center, an article about the building when it housed New York Dry Goods (owned by the Dana Family, whose Dana House stands right next door), and one of P&P’s vintage signs.
“It sounds funny, but we bought it with the goal of not changing anything,” Schwenk said, noting that her goal for the last seven years was one of consistency and longevity — in terms of atmosphere, menus, and overall dining experience — and continuing the legacy of the local institution, which was founded in 1974. As a former, loyal customer of P&P herself, Schwenk said she was well-positioned to carry the torch.
“The past owners [Vincent Talento, Heidi Talbert, Laird Bradley] wanted to retire, and they had approached us,” said Schwenk. “They knew I had a hospitality background and business background, and they asked if we would be interested in buying the restaurant, because we loved it. It was our favorite place for a date night, and we had a rehearsal dinner [there].” Ultimately, the Schwenks said yes.
Schwenk credited a previous owner and chef, Chris Balcer, who owned the restaurant immediately before the group she bought it from, with the restaurant’s longevity. “He was very creative, and he and his team developed some of our longtime dishes that our customers have loved over the years — our Lamb Royale, which is on our menu every night, and our salmon. We used to call it Bistro Salmon, but it’s now the sesame-seared salmon that people really love, with peanut noodles.”
It is the staff that make the restaurant, said Schwenk. “I always say, the staff are what make this special. I want to pat them on the back. They’re the ones that are doing it.” Schwenk says that since the staff received news of the building’s sale, the team has begun gathering after work to share memories. “Now we’re at the point where we’re talking about all the things we love about the restaurant, and the customers that make it so special, which we do anyway, but it’s on a little bit of a grander scheme. We were talking about how customers just sometimes want that sort of hug — not literal, but yes, that too — but sort of coming in and being able to sit down. We know that certain customers like certain dishes, or they like their cocktail in a certain glass.” That kind of shared intimacy between customers and staff is what Schwenk and her team have kept warm as a hearth throughout their tenure as proprietors of P&P.
Customers have already begun sending messages of support and appreciation to Schwenk, who shared one with the Standard. “I have been a part of the P&P for almost 50 years! My husband, Ed, has 20 years of wonderful service, food, and friendship. We have been a part of leadership change and menu offerings change. Throughout all this change, the staff has remained loyal to you and the restaurant. Ed and I have spent many enjoyable occasions at the P&P: birthdays, anniversaries, evenings out with friends. We will always cherish our fond memories of the P&P,” Woodstock resident and restaurant patron Susan Chiefsky wrote in a recent message to Schwenk.
When asked what comes next for The Prince & The Pauper, Schwenk was honest: “I don’t know.” That’s a sentence she said is hard to say, as someone who loves being in the hospitality business and is used to always having an answer or a solution for a need. “We’re in the transition together,” said Schwenk of her and her staff, “we’re a team together.” While she does not yet know the future of the business past April 1, she says she has been open to ideas from her staff about next steps. “A lot of ideas have gone through my head, and some of the staff and I have talked about different options out loud, because I think it’s good to have that team conversation, too.”
Schwenk says that whoever ends up taking tenancy at the Elm Street Press Building will make their home in a building rich in history. “The history of the building is great. When we expanded in this space, we really wanted to give respect to the building and talk about it, because customers love talking about the history of the building, too,” she said.
According to a Historic District nomination form shared by the Woodstock History Center, the building was constructed in 1820 by Charles Dana, who operated a dry goods store there until 1907. Dana’s grandsons Edward Cushing and Joseph Loomis, and later Frank Teagle, operated the Elm Tree Press there. The building was eventually sold to Paul Bourdon.
The two-story Federal-style building was constructed with “an asphalt-shingled, front-gable roof with a molded wood cornice and shallow returns; brick walls; and a stone foundation,” according to the document, which added that “the facade openings have elliptical brick relieving arches, and there is a fanlight centered in the gable peak.”
Bill Emmons, proprietor of Cloudland Farm in Pomfret, and whose mother was a Dana, told the Standard, “I think for a lot of people in Woodstock it’s probably one of the more beautiful architectural structures in town. It’s got a unique, simple and elegant look.”