Jericho's Milleridge Inn won't host annual Halloween village; aims to reopen by the holidays
The Halloween village will not open at Milleridge Inn this season. Credit: Danielle Silverman
The Milleridge Inn of Jericho is working on making a comeback. On Aug. 20, the historic restaurant, which dates back to 1672, experienced an electrical fire that damaged the bar, an adjacent dining area and an office above the bar. Since that time, owner Butch Yamali of the Dover Group has been gearing up to reopen.
"I’m thinking it’s going to take at least a month or two," Yamali says. "The area that caught fire is the hub of the whole place. That’s where the drains run through, where the internet comes in from and where the telephone system is. There’s no power in the building. The whole property is shut down temporarily until we figure it out. This is a big hit."
The fall leading into the holiday season is the busiest time of the year for the Milleridge Inn, which typically kicks off with an array of Halloween activities.
"This would have been our 11th year doing Halloween. We usually have a haunted house, an escape room, tarot card reader and live actors scaring people," Yamali says. "The Town of Hempstead has a fall festival at Lido Beach, so we are going to bring a lot of those attractions people love down to that event. It will be very similar."
The Town of Hempstead’s inaugural fall festival takes place in the parking lot of Maliblue, located at 1500 Lido Blvd. in Lido Beach, on Oct. 9 through 12, featuring a haunted house, an escape room, tarot card reader, hay maze, pumpkin patch and haunted hayride as well as an Oktoberfest with a beer garden, oompah band, dancers and German fare.
Yamali’s goal is to have things at the property ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, which is part of many Long Islanders’ family holiday traditions.
"We have every type of inspection completed. But there’s a lot of different steps," Yamali says. "Now we are ready to start figuring out what exactly has to be done. I’m hoping to get some answers by early next week, then we can start construction right away."
Those who had parties booked at the Milleridge Inn or Milleridge Cottage are being moved to their sister location, Coral House on Milburn Lake in Baldwin.
"We do whatever we can to make people happy," Yamali says. "If someone wants their money back, we refund them. We don’t want anyone to be upset."
Yamali is touched by the feedback he’s been receiving from his customers and surrounding community.
"People are calling me offering help, which I appreciate. The outpouring of support is insane," Yamali says. "But I’m just happy nobody got hurt, that’s the most important thing. We are going to make every effort to return bigger and better."
For more information on the Milleridge Inn, visit: milleridgeinn.com or for details on the Town of Hempstead’s inaugural Fall Festival, check out: townofhempsteadevents.com.
David J. Criblez is a reporter for Newsday's exploreLI, covering entertainment-related events from local music to stand-up comedy to festivals.
