When Richard and Marla Greco made their entrance at their daughter Mary’s wedding reception, they chose to walk out to the theme song from the 1960s TV series Green Acres.
But this isn’t an absurdist sitcom. The Grecos actually bought a farm. And much like the characters in that series, neither Richard nor Marla comes from the farming world. She has a background as an attorney; he’s been a physics, Italian, and Spanish instructor before using his MBA for a successful career in finance and investment banking that led to a position as Assistant Secretary of the Navy. These days, Richard is president of The Montfort Academy, a Catholic high school in Mount Vernon, which he founded, and Marla serves as the school’s director of admissions.
How they ended up buying an 18th-century, 100-acre farm in New Berlin, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, relates back to the restrictions of the pandemic in 2020.
“The kids got sent home from college and we told them to go upstate to blow off some steam and go hiking,” Richard says. “They loved this area. We bought land nearby, but it was too expensive to build on. We looked around and The Beardslee Homestead came up. It was a higher [price] than we intended, but there was something interesting and beautiful about it on the Internet. We saw it in person and fell in love. We made an offer and Mrs. Beardslee accepted.”
Now splitting time between Yonkers and The Beardslee Homestead, the Grecos didn’t think of opening their second home to the public until they made significant renovations, including crystal chandeliers and large, locally made black walnut tables added to one of the property’s barns for Mary’s wedding in 2023.
“We even built a bar,” Richard says. “To use the word ‘magical,’ it’s an overused word, but it really was, in so many ways. Many of the guests said they would love to get married here. We figured why not? We’ve started to get inquiries, and one of the first was the photographer for Mary’s wedding. Someone else asked and I didn’t even have a price list ready for them.”
Jump ahead to the present and the Grecos are ready to host weddings, parties, reunions, and gatherings on their picturesque property, which has no shortage of Civil War-era tools, antique farming equipment, maps from hundreds of years ago, and sculptures (including one by Frank Lloyd Wright) along the 71-mile-long Unadilla River that runs through the property.
Look past those relics and you’ll quickly realize there are plenty of organic ingredients growing all around you: numerous apple varieties, grapes, herbs, beer hops, vegetables, black walnuts, blackberries, plus eggs from the farm’s chickens, and honey from its beehives. Heck, Richard even added a wood-fired pizza oven at the onsite restaurant to create his version of the Italian restaurants his family frequents in Sicily.
If you fancy hosting an event here, bear in mind the Grecos aren’t caterers, but they can steer you in the right direction. Their preferred caterer is Michael Latreille, executive chef at the Hamilton Inn. Latreille’s ethos fits the farm’s: true farm-to-table, as he uses ingredients from The Beardslee Homestead and sources the rest from local farms. Latreille says that he “loved Richard as soon as he met him,” because they aren’t just two peas in a pod when it comes to quality ingredients, but both strive to make any event personal and special.
Food is subjective, so if farm-to-table fancy isn’t your deal, the Grecos have connected with Edsall Hodges, the owner of Columbus Public House in nearby Sherburne (who can easily cater weddings or other events with his specialty charcoal-grilled chickens), or local pizza man, Frank Baio of New York Pizzeria for approachable Italian cuisine.
Long term, Richard has big plans. The farm already has licenses for distilling, winemaking and selling New York State beer and although he’s not planning to brew his own, there’s a chance he’ll obtain some from local breweries for private tastings. What Richard is passionate about, drinkwise, are infusions, so he’s mixing grain alcohol and simple syrup with farm-grown fruits and herbs, such as blackberry sage, hops and bergamot, Sicilian oregano, his own take on absinthe, and a bright, sweet limoncello.
Further down the line, they should be able to produce wine from the farm’s Frontenac grape vineyard, which Richard believes will result in “really nice rosés, reds, and ports,” with the potential for wine tastings at the vineyard, or winemaking at your special occasion.
For this Beardslee Homestead soiree, Michael Latreille of Catering by Michael’s and The Hamilton Inn sourced herbs, vegetable, cheeses, meats, beer, and liquors from local farms in Central New York. The Beardslee Homestead provided many of the herbal liqueurs. Floral arrangements are by Lagoy Farm LLC, in Stockbridge Valley.
But, longer-term dreams? If they can transform the cattle barn into 20 or so rooms, Richard sees The Beardslee Homestead as a home base for people who are looking to soak up all the area has to offer, such as hiking, fishing, skiing, hunting, swimming, golfing, kayaking — and for those touring nearby colleges or Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the homestead would provide easy access to that village’s charming shops and Brewery Ommegang.
Richard also envisions more focus on agritourism for The Beardslee Homestead — something the Grecos do as a family when visiting Italy. “We always stayed on farms and had wonderful agricultural experiences,” he says. “We have stuff like it, but those are hayrides, picking apples, and petting animals. I want it to be like you’re living here and experiencing it. You pick the ingredients to put on pizza, use the wood oven, and make it yourself. True farm to table. Take this mint, put it in alcohol, and it’s farm to bottle. Pick apples, put them in the press, and make your own cider. Living the experience from season to season like we do.”
For now, though, The Beardslee Homestead is the Grecos’ home. But if you inquire, and it’s a fit, you’ll be in welcoming, hospitable hands for your gathering.
“It’s still our home, so we don’t want to turn it into something where we’re hosting a wedding every week,” Richard says. “Maybe one a month, four per season, something like that. But we’re open to parties or reunions.”
Related: Tie the Knot at the Hudson Valley’s Gorgeous Wineries
