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About The Owners

Dana Wegener started working in a restaurant kitchen about 11 years ago. Friends had encouraged her to do what she had been doing for them for years as a professional. After making dinner for big groups of friends 2 to 3 times a week, somebody said - “You know, you can get paid for doing this” so she went in search of a job. Hired as a dishwasher and very quickly moved up in the ranks, Dana was trained in the kitchen by Chef Larry Chu at the Gilded Otter in New Paltz, NY. Preparing the restaurant for lunch and dinner for 2 years before moving to Catskill, she was hired to open a restaurant on the Catskill Creek as Head Chef. There, she and her partner Mary DiStefano ran the restaurant until the opportunity came about for them to open their own place, MOD Gourmet Cafe in Catskill. After a very successful 5 year run on Catskills' historic Main Street, Dana and Mary decided to venture across the river to Hudson, where they are now open at 20 S. Front Street.

Mary DiStefano has been in the kitchen ever since she can remember. “I used to sit on the counter in my grandmother's restaurant, watching her make pizza,” says Mary. That was many years and many kitchens ago. A very dedicated foodie with an equally voracious appetite for reading and food, Mary loves to research food origins and different recipes and making them her own. “I remember sitting around my grandma's huge dining room table every Sunday. Our whole family would be there. My family has owned a meat market since they came to the United States from Sicily, so there was always tons of pasta, bread and meat. There was always enough for everybody to take home left overs. That's my style: always make enough food for everybody, plus extra. You never know who is going to come over.” Mary's organic style of cooking translates seamlessly into dishes she will prepare with the utmost care and love like her famous Meatloaf and more than satisfying Chicken Pot Pie. Fresh herbs and vegetables taken right from her garden complement each and every dish she makes for you.