The front of the Beekman Ale House. Photo by Andrew Dominick.
The Beekman Ale House in Sleepy Hollow serves up flavorful bar pizza, 20 beers on tap, and so much more.
Patrick and Luke Sheeran will flat out tell you that they had zero kitchen experience prior to opening Beekman Ale House in Sleepy Hollow, where for about a year and a half they’ve been serving craft beer, cocktails, and the star of their small menu: 12-inch bar pizzas.
Despite the Sheeran Brothers’ lack of culinary skills, they brought with them a wealth of knowledge in the hospitality industry. In fact, they quite literally grew up working in pubs.
“My dad had over 30 businesses in the course of his lifetime and was in the industry for about 60 years,” Luke recalls. “We grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, and as teenagers, we would take the train into New York City to go work for him. We both worked at our dad’s bars since we were 13 years old. Most of them didn’t have a kitchen and served no food.”
Their father, the late David Sheeran, showed them the ropes as he had his sons cleaning, busing tables, dishwashing, and when they earned their stripes, Luke and Pat eventually tended bar at his establishments that included Dave’s Tavern, a popular Irish pub on 42nd and 9th.
Take all of that, and it’s no surprise the Sheerans would want to open a bar of their own someday.
Their first idea was to open a spot in the city. They strayed away when the pandemic hit because it simply didn’t seem like a good idea. But it was Luke who found a Craigslist ad for a bar space on Beekman Avenue that formerly housed The Huddle.
“I hadn’t even been to Sleepy Hollow before, but I knew Westchester because my dad lived in Mount Vernon and me and Pat went to Manhattan College in the Bronx,” Luke says. “When we first checked out the space, my brother loved it. I didn’t. But it ended up being perfect for what we wanted to do.”
What they wanted to do was pizza. And the reason why wasn’t complicated. “Everyone’s eating pizza, so it makes sense,” Luke says. “You see pizza boxes everywhere. Bar pies are popular.”
Where some of their bar pie idea came from is easy to guess if you’re familiar with where the duo grew up. Fairfield was the home of the second-ever Colony Grill that originated in Stamford and is famous for its bar pies and bar pies drizzled with chili-infused oil, a.k.a. hot oil. “We grew up eating Colony,” Luke says. “They’re 100% the inspiration for our pizza. We still go to Colony, especially if we’re catching a show at The Capitol Theatre.”
The only hitch now was to learn how to make pizza. Luckily, Luke and Pat have two older half-brothers, one of whom, Dave, actually owns a New York-style slice shop in Whitefish, Montana.
“Dave is older than us; he’s 57, covered in tattoos and has a very New York vibe,” Luke explains. “We asked him to show us how to make pizza, so I went out there and worked at his pizza shop.”
While in Whitefish working at Paisano’s 2nd Street Pizza, Luke washed dishes, made deliveries, and even worked at another restaurant across the street in the evenings all while learning the ins and outs of pizza. Pat would fly out later to take part in what Luke calls a six-week crash course in pizza making.
Now with their brother’s pizza knowledge passed down — and after a major project in ripping everything out of their Sleepy Hollow space and having built a brand-new bar themselves — they were ready to rock out bar pies using New York-style dough that’s cold fermented overnight, stretched into a 12-inch pan, then baked in a double decker gas oven at a temperature “as hot as it’ll go.”
The result? Thin-crust, cheese-up-to-the-crust, charred edges, well-doneness, and crunchy with some chew. By bar pie definition, they nailed it.
And they of course make their own hot oil using Fresno chilis, an ideal bar pie addition, especially when paired with sausage or pepperoni, but you do you. Or you can choose from one of the pizza combinations Luke and Pat have dreamt up. The Hot Honey is a white pie with Franks Red Hot, chicken cutlet, Fresno peppers, and Mike’s Hot Honey; the Roasted Veggie is topped with red sauce, mozzarella, garlic, broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts; plus there are BBQ and buffalo chicken pizzas.
What you should also look out for with Beekman’s bar pies are weekly specials that have included the likes of the Bronx Bomber (pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, garlic, jalapeños); a potato pizza (white pie with bacon and scallions); a spinach-artichoke white pie; and they’re not afraid to take a “chaffier” approach with a basil cream, sausage, garlic, and red onion pizza.
On the menu alongside the pies are a trio of salads, wings, fried mozzarella, the lightest garlic knots you’ve ever had, and sizable meatballs: a blend of beef and sausage that are deep-fried then finished in the oven, served with a thick, spicy, bright red marinara sauce. And for dessert, their mom makes tiramisu that sells out quickly when it’s available.
The “Ale House” part of Beekman is solid, too. There are 20 taps of mostly New York craft beer from Equilibrium, Thin Man, Grimm, and Industrial Arts; plus Hill Farmstead, Foam, and Maine Beer Co. make regular draft appearances. If beer isn’t your deal, Luke makes a pretty damn good cocktail (there are nine specialty drinks offered) as you might expect.
Coming up, Pat and Luke are stoked about Sleepy Hollow’s spooky season, as they anticipate it being busier than last year and are looking forward to serving pizza and pints to new faces.
“Our first October was so busy that we slept in the apartment upstairs the whole month, but we never really had a grand opening,” Luke says. “Our health department certificate came in the mail on a Thursday. We opened the doors quietly the next day. We get a lot of locals and foot traffic since everyone walks here. We know mostly everyone that comes in. Fridays are packed because I guess it’s pizza night.”
Every night is pizza night if you want it to be. Go grab a couple at Beekman Ale House during Halloween season and every season.
Beekman Ale House
92 Beekman Ave, Sleepy Hollow; 845.827.3505
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