Meet the dynamic family creators of among the most renowned hotel and restaurant businesses in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski • Photos by Amessé Photography

One visionary and very busy family is behind a growing number of the most famous names in the area’s restaurant and hospitality sectors, hosting 10,000 brides and grooms and countless celebratory dinners in their venues. Frank and Jeanne Cretella, now joined by their daughter Madeline, make a business of scouting landmark properties, in some cases monitoring for years prior to acquisition, then turning them into sites of events enhanced by expertly prepared food, some from their own gardens.

Their venues include the Liberty House Restaurant in Liberty State Park, Stone House at Stirling Ridge, Warren, Celebrate at Snug Harbor in Staten Island, Hotel Du Village in New Hope, Pennsylvania, and The Ryland Inn, Whitehouse Station, and the renowned Boathouse in Central Park.

“My father Ernest owned the Dairy Queen on Willisman Street in Elizabeth for over 40 years and later led a group of 35 stores into a concept called Magic Fountain Ice Cream,” said Frank Cretella, whose first brick-and-mortar business acquisition was a Magic Fountain in Linden. Before that, he sold flowers, plants, pumpkins, and Christmas trees during holidays. His encounter with food began with push carts in the late 1970s, from which he sold hot dogs at his local golf course as well as to those waiting in car lines during the gasoline crisis. Fate stepped in when his neighbor, president of the Staten Island Zoological Society, told him of complaints about the zoo’s snack bar concession.

“The next thing I knew, Jeanne and I were running the concessions on an interim basis…that turned into a 20-year run,” he said. “I got the bug for the business in a big way.” He eventually ran concessions at the Prospect and Central Park Zoo, Wollman Ice Skating Rink, Mineral Springs in
Sheep Meadow, the Boathouse in Central Park, American Park Restaurant in Battery Park, and
Lundy’s in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn.

“Like the Staten Island Zoo, we got the Boathouse contract because of dire circumstances with the previous operator after the facility was closed by the IRS,” Cretella said. “The Parks Department, impressed with our operations at Mineral Springs—one of the first healthy fast food concessions—asked if we could run it for the season.”

The Cretellas re-opened the restaurant the next day after gathering what Frank described as “every friend and relative I could find to help.” After that first summer, they were awarded a long-term contract. That and all projects since have been accomplished by Black Dog Construction, a Cretellas’ company begun when they couldn’t afford to hire a general contractor for the Boathouse. Frank gave himself that job with guidance from three uncles in the construction business. Thirty years later, many of the same craftsmen who worked on those early projects are still on Black Dog’s team. With 40 employees, the construction business has become generational, as many descendants of the original team now work there. Landmark Hospitality, for its part, now employs 700, a number anticipated to rise to 1,000 by the end of 2018.

All Landmark operations serve farm-to-table, local, sustainable food, and special attention is paid to landscaping and architecture. Liberty House is known for its waterfront views of New York City; Stone House has a modern, rustic feel; Celebrate at Snug Harbor has Chinese and Tuscan gardens and a Great Hall; The Ryland Inn boasts country elegance, while the Hotel du Village is an historic French country venue and boutique hotel on land originally granted by William Penn in the 17th century.

Landmark has added a division, Crave Caterers, along with Landmark Destination Events, for off-site events. Exotic, international locations are available through their Landmark Destination Weddings division. Cretella said Landmark’s business today is based more in real estate ownership, expanding into mixed-use development projects and hospitality venues.

“Many feel that the name of our company was selected because we renovate, restore, and activate historic structures, but it was actually because we had a talent for making our restaurants into iconic landmarks in their communities,” Cretella said. “Our selection process is not necessarily finding the best locations with heavy traffic; we are more in tune to adaptive reuse of interesting structures that allow us to create an oasis, leading us to owning and restoring many national and state landmark properties.”

The firm’s success, he said, is also attributable to, “listening and understanding the people we work with—team members and guests. If you treat people with respect and work toward achieving their goals, the business thrives.”

The company automates and outsources mundane tasks so the team can focus on creativity, and strong local management teams are created at each venue. A centralized concierge system has been developed to assist current and prospective customers; valuable in gathering information as well as informing clients of all available options. That led to the creation of a travel agency for clients to plan events in the U.S. and abroad.

Even the couple’s home is a landmark—the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home in New York City, where they moved in 2003, undertaking a painstaking restoration in the process. Married over 25 years, Frank and Jeanne met in their teens while living across the street from each other.

“Working with my wife has always been easy, as we have a natural separation in responsibilities,” Cretella said. “Jeanne is more in the present of what needs to get done and the everyday operations of hospitality, whereas my view is more of strategy and the long game.” Their daughter joined
Landmark at age 22, after working in another family restaurant business.

The clan also makes time for a range of charitable endeavors. Their corporate giving program, Help Us Give (H.U.G.) was established in 2001 to host community events and aid local organizations. Fundraising has included hosting an event for victims of Hurricane Katrina and for NJ Sail, a program dedicated to teaching valuable skills to youth. (H.U.G. has been recognized by American Express and the National Restaurant Association.) Liberty House was awarded the “Good Neighbor Award” from the state, as well as the Governors Diamond Tourism Award. Jeanne was recently awarded the Gold Plate Award from the New Jersey Restaurant Association for outstanding service in the industry and community.

“Our selection process is not necessarily finding locations with heavy traffic; we are more in tune to adaptive reuse of interesting structures—including restoring national and state landmark properties.”

Awards for school children supporting arts programs, an annual Spring Egg Hunt, free Movies in the Park, and Art in the Park, In-house community events include The Snowflake which encourages local artists to display their work in Landmark’s gardens. Frank serves on the board of Hudson County’s 200 Club as well as Saint Patrick’s and All Saints Schools in Jersey City. He was also recently nominated to the Executive Board of the Hudson County Alliance to End
Homelessness.

Jeanne serves on the boards of the Sandra and Glen Cunningham Foundation, Hudson County Community College Foundation, and the New Jersey Restaurant Association. She is a member of Senator Sandra B. Cunningham’s Women’s Advisory Group, and active with the Regional Day School for Autistic Children in Jersey City. She recently joined the American Cancer Society’s Leadership Council and is on the advisory group for Casa Belvedere, an Italian Cultural Center on Staten Island.

“We have become an extension of many company’s marketing departments when it comes to entertaining,” Cretella said. “Our growth has been self-funded with debt from various banks. That has yet to be an obstacle to growth, but the lack of projects that excite us has been. We don’t want to grow for the sake of growth. Every project is personal, and an expression of our team. My dreams for the future include a hotel on the cliffs of the Amalfi Coast as well as a beach resort in the Caribbean.”

Landmark Hospitality
76 Audrey Zapp Drive (Inside Liberty State Park), Jersey City / 201.761.0025
landmarkhospitality.com