In Ludlow, Homestyle Hostel Adds Bar and Motel

Ludlow’s Homestyle Hostel has a full restaurant but not much room to sit and have a drink. So owners Eliza Greene and Justin Hyjek, who opened the hostel in 2013, decided to open a bar and 13-room motel across the street at 112 Main. Mid-December, the crew at Main and Mountain Bar + Motel shook up its first drinks. Rooms in the new motel will be opening this week.

So far, bar manager Matt Farkas, the Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing’s 2016 bartender of the year and a Mule Bar alum, has been changing the drink menu weekly, Greene said. Drinks have included classics — think Moscow mules and margaritas — and unusual specials, including one called #rumAF, made with a blend of rums, sherry, “burnt cinnamon, salt H20” and bitters. “He’s been lighting a lot of stuff on fire at the bar to make smoky drinks,” noted Greene.

As for the food to go with those smoky drinks, “We have huge visions,” Greene said. “We want to have a motel-inspired menu.” That could mean soft pretzels with beer mustard and beer cheese, hot dogs with homemade toppings, and “fun desserts inspired by vending machines.” Some snacks will be available this week, and the menu will grow as the owners have time to add to it.

Both Greene and Hyjek grew up in Ludlow, but it wasn’t until the couple started traveling the world, Greene said, that they were inspired to return to Vermont. Their travels convinced them their hometown needed a hostel that could provide affordable accommodations in the otherwise pricey home of Okemo Mountain Resort.

Now Main and Mountain is ready for the après-ski crowd. “We have great seating,” Greene said. “It’s very lounge-like, so it’s inviting to stay for as long as you want.”

The original print version of this article was headlined “Room and Bar”