After 90 Years Favorite Cohoes Neighborhood Bar Closes

With a new restaurant opening in Halfmoon, a neighborhood bar has closed its doors after 90 years. Joe's Tavern, which has been a staple at 16 Division Street in Cohoes for nearly nine decades just shut down. There is hope that someone will buy it and reopen but since February 18th, it is closed.

Why Did Joe's Tavern Close?

The former owner of Joe's Tavern is opening a brand new restaurant on Route 9 in Halfmoon called Emma Jayne's. The building used to house another restaurant called Romanos and was once a meeting place for the NXIVM cult. The new restaurant is named after the owner, Mike Fortin's daughter. Mike Fortin also owns Max410 restaurant on Van Schaick Island Country Club in Cohoes. Fortin owned Joe's Tavern for a little over a decade according to the Times Union.

What Can We Expect From the New Restaurant?

The new restaurant, Emma Jayne's, is four thousand and ten square feet with ninety parking spaces attached. Because it was once a restaurant, the layout is efficient for what is needed. They have renovated and increased the square footage by turning a former office to add more kitchen space. Fortin's plan was to renovate the bar, a back bar, upgrade furnishings and build a deck. The deck won't be built until late spring.

Emma Jayne's is slated to open on March 3rd. The tagline for the new eatery according to Emma Jane's website describes it as "simple elegance redefined". We haven't gotten a sneak peek at the menu but we can't wait to try it out.