It’s really fun when you get the chance to document an establishment’s transformation over 250 years, but we’ve found another one in what was once known in the Vealtown area of Bernards Township. With all the ups and downs over the centuries, it’s great to see a hotel that began as a stagecoach stop, a hotel, a tavern, then a nightclub, a brewery, and now a centerpiece restaurant, as the borough of Bernardsville has changed with the times. But it also brings along its history…. let’s look back.
From “Bernardsville, NJ Historic Downtown Walking Tour”
THE OLD STONE HOTEL was established in the center of town and served as an inn and tavern. The hotel opened in 1849 under the ownership of John Beck, who died the following year. Its original footprint was smaller than what exists today, but it is one of the few remaining structures in Bernardsville from the mid-1800s that has retained its historic fabric. The rear frame addition was made in the 1890s, and the dormers and porch in the early 20th century. Under several names, most notably Doty’s, Freddy’s, and the Bernardsville Hotel, this landmark has continued to operate as a hospitality establishment with little disruption since the mid-1800s.
Source: Mr. Local History rendering
Let’s Dig In
The Revolutionary War Period and the Property
Local History researchers uncovered several intriguing connections to the Boylan family while investigating the recent demolition of the historic Boylan property, which is tied to the new Palmer redevelopment project in Bernardsville. Historical records show that the Boylan brothers acquired property from Captain John Parker, whose Vealtown Tavern served as an important gathering place during the Revolutionary War. Additional references and local tradition suggest the Boylans may have later operated what became known as Bullion’s Tavern, possibly intended to rival or complement their other taverns in Liberty Corner during the war.
While many details remain uncertain, the discoveries point to a potentially deeper and older history of hospitality in the center of Vealtown than previously understood. Although direct evidence connecting Bullion’s Tavern to the later Old Stone Hotel property has not yet been fully established, the overlapping ownership history and the area’s longstanding tavern culture raise compelling questions about how Bernardsville’s earliest gathering places evolved into the stagecoach inns and hotels that defined the community in the 19th century.
Railroads and Guests Bring Bernardsville New Hotel Choices
John Beck’s Old Stone Hotel – 1849
Built in 1849 by original owner John Beck, the Old Stone Hotel was established as a 21-room inn and tavern at 1 Mill Street in Bernardsville and quickly became one of the village’s principal hospitality landmarks. Constructed by the same workmen who built John Bunn’s nearby mill and distillery, the three-story structure was built using yard-thick stone from local quarries and remained in continuous hospitality service for more than a century.
By the early 1900s, Bernardsville had evolved from a quiet Somerset County village into a growing railroad and resort community with multiple hotels serving travelers and visitors of different classes. The Old Stone Hotel, operating by then as the Bernardsville Hotel, remained one of the town’s oldest and most established hospitality properties, tracing its roots back to 1849, when John Beck owned it. Unlike the newer railroad era hotels that followed, the Old Stone property had originally served the stagecoach era long before the railroad arrived in Bernardsville in 1872.
As Bernardsville grew during the late 1800s, additional hotels emerged to serve the expanding community. The Claremont Hotel opened in 1878, directly across from the railroad station, as a practical commercial hotel catering largely to traveling businesspeople and rail passengers. Higher on Bernardsville Mountain, the grand Somerset Inn emerged around 1887 to 1888 under George Seney’s development vision, becoming one of New Jersey’s most exclusive resort destinations before its destruction by fire in 1908. Finally, the elegant Bernards Inn opened in 1907, developed by brothers Fred E. and Frank A. Ballentine as Bernardsville’s premier upscale downtown hotel. Together, the Bernardsville Hotel, Claremont Hotel, Somerset Inn, and Bernards Inn reflected the remarkable transformation of Bernardsville during the railroad and estate era from rural village into one of the Somerset Hills’ best-known destinations. Built from stones from the nearby quarry, John Beck gets the credit for the look you can still recognize today.
The Bernardsville Hotel
By the early 1900s, the Old Stone Hotel had entered another important chapter in its long history, operating under the name the Bernardsville Hotel as the Somerset Hills railroad era was fully transforming the community. By this time, trains had been serving Bernardsville for roughly 30 years following the arrival of the Passaic and Delaware Railroad in 1872. What had once been a stagecoach-centered inn now found itself serving a new generation of travelers arriving by rail, including estate visitors, business people, summer guests, and commuters drawn to the rapidly growing Somerset Hills region.
Governor Wilson and the Old Stone Hotel
On October 20, 1911, Governor Woodrow Wilson visited Bernardsville during a statewide Democratic reform campaign tour promoting what newspapers called “Wilson reform” legislation. Arriving by automobile with a political delegation, Wilson was welcomed by local Democrats and headquartered at the historic Old Stone Hotel, where proprietor Boudreau hosted a luncheon attended by nearly 50 guests from across Somerset County and neighboring communities.
Following lunch, Wilson addressed a large crowd gathered around the village fountain, including local schoolchildren carrying small American flags. The Bernardsville News described the governor as having “a fine presence and a good flow of language,” while noting that the crowd responded enthusiastically with cheers. Contemporary accounts also suggest Wilson and members of his party stayed overnight at the Old Stone Hotel following the Bernardsville stop. Just over 1 year later, Wilson would be elected President of the United States.
Source: Bernardsville Walking Tour Program, c1904. It was Alton B. Parker for President
and Henry G. Davis for Vice President. They ran against incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt in the 1904 election. Roosevelt won in a landslide.
Still searching for an actual photo of the 1911 Governor Wilson rally.
Again, in 1912, Woodrow Wilson stayed at the Old Stone Hotel during a campaign swing through the area, and the townspeople turned out to hear him speak. A water trough replaced a Spring in front of the barn, and later a Town Pump, which was a source of water for travelers and locals alike.”Images courtesy of the Bernardsville Public Library Local History Collection.”
Woodrow Wilson of Princeton, who also served as governor of New Jersey.
As we were looking for more about Governor Wilson’s visit to Bernardsville, we found this little tidbit in the Bville News. In the context of the article, it was being used sarcastically to criticize Woodrow Wilson for constantly giving speeches. The writer was joking that Wilson had a “disease” of nonstop talking and that people would just have to endure it “until it runs its course.” Ouch. Wilson was Governor of New Jersey from January 17, 1911, to March 1, 1913, and President of the United States from March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1921.
First Major Hotel Renovations
The 1912 postcard of the Old Stone Hotel below captures the building during this important transition period. The original 1849 stone structure still stood prominently at the center of town, while additions and architectural updates reflected Bernardsville’s growing prosperity during the railroad and estate era. Even as transportation evolved from horses and stagecoaches to steam locomotives, the building continued to operate as one of the town’s central hospitality and social gathering places, maintaining the role it had already filled for generations.
Under the ownership of Kilian Reusser, the Old Stone Hotel underwent a major 1924 renovation that modernized and repaired both the interior and exterior of the longtime Bernardsville landmark while preserving its role as one of the town’s principal hospitality establishments.
Following World War II, owner Roswell Reusser modernized the Old Stone Inn by removing the longtime horse-and-buggy sheds behind the hotel to create parking for automobiles, symbolically marking the end of the building’s centuries-old horse-and-carriage era and its transition into the age of the automobile.
In 1966, even Bernardsville’s legendary Old Stone Hotel wasn’t immune from pressure, when the “Old Stone Hotel Gals” bowling team found themselves slipping in the standings after leading most of the season. Long before craft cocktails and dinner reservations at MV, the real drama at the old hotel apparently involved five-pin victories, league rivalries, and the very serious business of Somerset County bowling bragging rights.
1971 – Old Stone Hotel Gets Modernized Under New Ownership
When Donald and Olivia Messmer and John Winzenried acquired the Old Stone Hotel in 1971, they launched a major restoration and modernization effort to preserve the building’s historic character while preparing it for a new generation of guests and diners. The owners carefully removed false ceilings to expose the original hand-honed wooden beams from the 1849 construction, restored the long oak bar, repainted the exterior columns and windows, and renovated the lobby into a lounge and game room with antique décor.
Plans included a new dining room, dance floor, improved lighting designed to resemble old gas lamps, and renewed attention to the building’s historic atmosphere. Even small former coachmen’s cubicles were preserved as reminders of the inn’s stagecoach era roots. At the same time, the owners emphasized that the Old Stone would continue serving Bernardsville as both a hospitality landmark and a living piece of local history.
The Freddy’s Era
When the Lyons family moved to acquire the Old Stone Hotel in 1977, the proposed change in ownership immediately sparked concern among Bernardsville officials and residents. The buyers, connected to Farmers Inn, Inc., already operated Dizzy Dunkin’s Restaurant in the Morris County Mall and the popular Sneaky Pete’s in Springfield, both of which were known as entertainment-driven restaurants and bars. Borough officials worried that the aging Old Stone property might once again become primarily a crowded bar scene rather than a proper restaurant and hotel operation, particularly given Sneaky Pete’s reputation for attracting large youthful crowds and live entertainment audiences. The township committee had a similar concern back in 1972 when Frank Petrozzo applied for an entertainment permit for his Town House Tavern. That license, after vigorous debate, was passed 5-0, setting a precedent for what would become Freddy’s.
At the same time, local officials raised serious concerns about the deteriorating condition of the historic building itself, including the unused upper floors, possible fire hazards, poor exterior appearance, and a failing retaining wall behind the structure. Before approving the liquor license transfer, the Borough Council demanded detailed renovation and restaurant plans from the Lyons organization. Ironically, many of the same concerns voiced in 1977 about preserving the Old Stone’s “former charm” would soon lead to the extensive restoration and reinvention that transformed the property into Freddy’s.
In 1978, Bernardsville residents were introduced to one of the town’s more unusual new personalities — a fictional frontier entrepreneur named Frederick T. Fasbuc, better known simply as “Freddy.” Created by proprietor Michael Lyons, Freddy became the imaginative centerpiece of the newly reopened Freddy’s restaurant and bar inside the historic Old Stone Hotel. Lyons leaned fully into the western-themed humor and storytelling, surrounding diners with paintings of Freddy’s imaginary exploits while transforming the aging landmark into one of Somerset Hills’ most memorable nightlife destinations.
The transformation itself was almost as colorful as Freddy’s fictional biography. Lyons added gourmet soups, cappuccino machines, stained-glass portraits, leather benches, backgammon tables, hardwood floodécorntique décor, and enough of a western-themed atmosphere to make patrons feel as though they had stepped into an old frontier whiskey palace. During renovations, Lyons reportedly opened the building’s original safe for the first time in decades, discovering not buried treasure, but a small ivory monkey figurine quietly staring back at him.
Freddy’s of Bernardsville quickly became one of the area’s best-known taverns and entertainment venues. Located prominently on Olcott Square in the center of town, Freddy’s attracted crowds from across Somerset Hills and beyond for live music, comedy acts, dancing, and late-night entertainment. A 1985 newspaper feature described Freddy’s as “the area’s best kept secret,” noting that live bands performed six nights a week while visitors traveled from around New Jersey to experience the atmosphere inside the old stone building.
In 1982, Michael Lyons sold Freddy’s to Nick Novello Sr., whose family continued operating the restaurant and nightclub through much of the 1980s and into the mid-1990s. During those years, Freddy’s became deeply woven into Bernardsville’s social life, drawing generations of residents, musicians, young professionals, and nightlife crowds into one of the town’s most recognizable gathering places. Long before today’s MV restaurant era, Freddy’s carried forward the building’s hospitality tradition in a completely new way, adapting the historic Old Stone Hotel once again to fit the culture of a new generation.
By the early 2000s, the historic Old Stone Hotel property had once again reinvented itself, this time as Rudolph’s Steakhouse under the ownership of restaurateur Rudolfo Hisena. Following the high-energy Freddy’s nightclub era of the 1980s and 1990s, the building transitioned into a more upscale dining destination focused on steaks, seafood, cocktails, and fine wines. The transformation reflected changing tastes in the Somerset Hills, where longtime tavern culture began to give way to sophisticated dining experiences at restaurants aimed at both residents and affluent regional visitors.
Between 2006 and 2021, the historic Old Stone Hotel property entered one of the most unstable and transitional periods in its long history as a series of ambitious restaurant concepts struggled to gain a lasting footing. The longtime Freddy’s and brewery era faded as the property cycled through multiple identities, including the Bernardsville Stone Tavern and Brewery under Nick Novello Sr., the upscale Equus Restaurant under Paul Viggiano beginning in 2007, the Mediterranean-inspired Caballo under Angel Varela from 2014 to 2016, and finally Rudolph’s Steakhouse under Rudolfo Hisena. Each owner attempted to reinvent the aging landmark for a modern, upscale-dining audience through major renovations, theme changes, refined menus, and evolving tavern concepts, including the opening of a new rear tavern space during Rudolph’s era. However, high operating costs, changing dining trends, and the lingering effects of the 2008 economic downturn made long-term success difficult, and by 2018, the building once again stood at a crossroads after Rudolph’s closure, awaiting its next chapter before MV’s eventual arrival in 2021.
Under Hisena’s ownership, Rudolph’s Steakhouse restored a refined atmosphere to the mid-1800s landmark while preserving much of the building’s historic character and social energy. The restaurant became known for its dry-aged steaks, extensive wine offerings, and elegant setting inside one of Bernardsville’s oldest surviving hospitality buildings. Rudolph’s represented another important evolution in the Old Stone property’s nearly 175-year history, bridging the gap between the nightlife-driven Freddy’s era and the modern restaurant revival.
Ristorante MV Launches and Stands Tall
Then in 2021, the historic Old Stone Hotel building entered a new era as MV and Trattoria MV, with Michael and Pasquino Vitiello, into one of Bernardsville’s most popular dining destinations. Since opening in 2021, the restaurant has brought renewed energy and visibility to the longtime hospitality landmark through extensive cleanup, renovation, and modernization efforts while preserving the building’s historic character. The family transformed the former Freddy’s era property into an upscale Italian restaurant and gathering space that now regularly draws crowds from throughout Somerset Hills and beyond.
MV has developed a reputation for classic Italian-American cuisine, generous portions, and a lively atmosphere centered on food, cocktails, and hospitality. The menu features house-made pastas, chicken parmigiana, seafood dishes, grilled meats, sausage and peppers, fresh salads, homemade desserts, and rotating daily specials. At the same time, Trattoria MV offers a more casual sports-bar setting with pizza, sandwiches, cocktails, and game-day dining. Nearly 175 years after the Old Stone Hotel first opened in 1849, the building continues serving the same fundamental purpose it always has — bringing people together in the heart of Bernardsville for food, conversation, entertainment, and community.
Oh, and one last addition to the building is Trattoria MV – a tavern experience to the rear of the Old Stone Hotel, which once served as the back entrance to Freddy’s a long time ago.
Wearable History
Mr. Local History loves history with a social twist. It’s our motto! So we thought about how fun it would be to share some of the most-loved businesses in northern Somerset County that have disappeared. We started researching and putting our artists to work to recreate a vintage retro clothing and accessory collection that honors the history of these great businesses we all remember.
