18 years ago today, I walked into Terrapin for the first time.

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Eighteen years ago I got the keys to this building. Trusting that if I made good food people would come, I built Terrapin Restaurant on a winding road through the woods of Ulster County. And you came! From a little restaurant in West Hurley to our current location in the heart of Rhinebeck, Terrapin has come a long way in the past 18 years. I couldn’t have imagined then what Terrapin is today. So, to those of you who have been with us through this whole journey, I owe a huge thank you. Thank you for your loyalty, for supporting locally sourced food, and for all the fun we’ve had along the way.

The Original Terrapin on Spillway Road in West Hurley 1998-2003

It’s not only Terrapin that has grown. When I opened the West Hurley location, I was one of the only chefs in the Hudson Valley sourcing local ingredients and cooking with food right out of my on-site garden. Now the Hudson Valley is a farm to table destination, and I love that. Locally sourced food has become the norm in the Hudson Valley.

The dining room in West Hurley. Murals and flowers by my Mom, Louisa, who still brings fresh flowers to Terrapin every week and whose paintings now decorate the dining room in Rhinebeck.

I’ve met so many great people too: all the staff who have been part of Terrapin and worked with me throughout the years, the Hudson Valley’s farming community, and especially our customers. Many of you reading this have been with us since the very beginning, and I love still seeing your faces at Terrapin in Rhinebeck.

Lester & Carol at West Hurley.  Just a couple of the many West Hurley customers who we still see at Terrapin today.

It’s so hard to believe that it’s been 18 years already. All I can say is that I’m thankful for the past 18 years, and I really look forward to seeing what we can do with the next 18.

Thank you for all of this.
Josh

Tam (the co-founder of Terrapin) and I on New Year's Eve in 1999.

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