Housed in what is believed to be the oldest surviving building in Manhattan, Fraunces Tavern serves colonial style food, including “George Washington’s favorite” pot pie, along with almost 2 dozen craft beers on tap. It also doubles as a museum stocked with Revolution-era collections.
Here are the facts you ought to know:
Fraunces Tavern is open seven days a week from 11AM-2AM serving lunch and dinner on weekdays, and serving brunch and dinner on weekends.
The bar menu offers over 200 whiskeys, 130 craft beers and ciders, and a handful of signature and classic cocktails.
The building that houses Fraunces Tavern was built in 1719 as a private home for wealthy merchant Stephen Delancey.
It is believed to be the oldest surviving building in Manhattan.
It was sold at auction in 1762 to Samuel Fraunces, a successful businessman from the French West Indies.
Since the nineteenth century, there has been an ongoing dispute about Fraunces’s racial identity. There is a number of indications that he was a white man, but at the same time there are multiple “…references to Fraunces being described as “Negro,” “coloured,” “Haitian Negro,” etc….”. Also, during the Revolutionary era, Fraunces was commonly referred to as “Black Sam”.
“Black Sam” Fraunces (1734-1795), who was renowned for his good food and business savvy, was also a spy and loyal friend to Washington, who lauded him as a patriot. When Washington moved to New York and then Philadelphia as the nation’s first president, he chose Fraunces to be his chief steward.
Fraunces Tavern is one of America’s most important historical sites of the Revolutionary War and a reminder of the great importance of taverns on the New York way of life during the Colonial era.
Originally called the Queen’s Head, it was a popular hangout spot for the Sons of Liberty. During the American Revolution, George Washington gave his goodbye to the Continental Army at this Tavern, and the restaurant has been frequented by political figures ever since.
The building operated throughout much of the 19th century, but suffered several serious fires beginning in 1832. Having been rebuilt several times, the structure’s appearance was changed to the extent that the original building design is not known.
A bomb was exploded in the building on January 24, 1975, killing four people and injuring more than 50 others. The Puerto Rico nationalist group FALN, the Armed Forces of Puerto Rican National Liberation, which had other bomb incidents in New York in the 70s, claimed responsibility.
Currently, the it’s owned by a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation, the Sons of the Revolution (SR), which is a hereditary fraternal organization which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution.
OFFICIAL WEBSITE:
https://www.frauncestavern.com/
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