Peabody's reopens with a new spin on downtown staple

PLATTSBURGH | If there is one thing that is repeated countless times by visitors of the North Country is that the North Country has beautiful scenery. For Amos and Daria Owen that was one of the reasons why they decided to move to the North Country, the other was an opportunity that they could not pass up. "We were looking to come back to somewhere in the Northeast but we hadn't picked a specific state or location, but we were looking at opportunities and this was a very unique one," Amos explained. After a 40 year-long run, Peabody's originally closed around 2019, before it was bought by the Owens in November of 2020. After buying Peabody's the Owens made a decision not every business owner would make. They decided rather than taking Peabody's and turning it into something new, that they would give the pub with so much history and local memories a second chance. "It was the nostalgia. We looked into all options as business owners, but the love the town has for it, it would've been a shame to let it go out. Especially the way it kind of ended its run last time, it needed a better story. It did work so well for so long, since 1975. You can follow the footprints of what worked before and follow that blueprint to sort of bring back what people loved about it," said Amos. Getting Peabody's into the shape it is today, wasn't a simple task. Although the building didn't sit vacant for very long, during the time that it did a lot of things fell into disrepair. The Owens put in a lot of work to get Peabody's back into running order. Amos said, "It did have a reputation for smell and sticky floors and things. We wanted to make sure we gave it the maintenance to keep it a place where people could hang out more comfortably." Most of the appliances have either been repaired or replaced, heat has been installed, the rotten spots on the floor have been replaced, and the lighting and electrical issues have been fixed. While a majority of the repairs have been completed, the couple is still trying to get the upstairs of Peabody's into working order. The upper level of Peabody's contains a stage, dance floor, and a second bar. Amos, who has already joined and made connections in the local theatre scene has hopes of using the upstairs for more than just a bar he said, "...connections there to do some small shows up there cause it would make a great black box theatre for some of those to host or use as rehearsal space if I don't have any other events up there." Amos hopes to have the upstairs ready to open during the spring. Peabody's has been reopened for just over a month now and business is going well so far, as the couple is still trying to get a feel for their demographic. "Retro has the dance crowd, Bono has their thing going, but the ones that come here are kind of [looking for] this little more laid back atmosphere," Amos explained. Unfortunately, Peabody's opened right before the latest mask mandates came out, which made businesses decide whether to enforce masks or only allow vaccinated people in. "It's been a mixed bag. Some people are very appreciative that they can come in and it can be, once you get the vaccine check at the door, that they can come in as business as usual. We've had a few anonymous letters dropped off about how we're discriminating and things, and politics and public health aside, when the mandate came out there was no way we could enforce masks because once people come around the corner, we'd have to have people monitoring what's going on at all times to make sure people are wearing the masks," stated Amos. Despite this new challenge, the Owens are working on bringing back some more Peabody's classics that worked in the past, as well as some events and specials. To keep up to date with what's going on at Peabody's visit their Facebook page Peabody's Plattsburgh.

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Peabody's reopens with a new spin on downtown staple

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