The Pine Plains Platter offers community space and home cooking

PINE PLAINS — When the Pine Plains Platter first opened for business about six years ago, owners Jack and Irene Banning were hoping to appeal to their friends in town as well as weekend visitors. With help from their staff and support from the community, the Platter has since shifted into a familiar hub where community and home cooking are always guaranteed.

Jack Banning said it took almost two years of thinking about what was needed to create a successful dining spot before Amy Benack-Baden came into the picture. For three years, Benack-Baden ran the Platter as manager, and to the Bannings’ delight, the business was well-received.

“Now it just runs like a dream. It’s exactly what we want it to be,” Banning said. “It’s a home for everybody where everybody feels comfortable, the food is terrific and the staff is out of this world. People genuinely like it and it’s become a fixture in the town.”

Located at 2987 Church St., the Platter’s doors are open from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesdays; 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays; and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. The Platter is run by a cheerful staff of 11 people with Christina Smith-Hedges as manager.

Whether stopping by for breakfast, lunch or a snack in between, the menu offers variety. While waiting for their orders, customers can enjoy upbeat music, color in coloring books or play a round of cards or a board game.

“We try to create just a homey atmosphere where you can just be comfortable,” Smith-Hedges said. “I want you to walk out of here in a good mood.”

On top of what’s offered on the menu for breakfast, lunch and brunch, the Platter hosts Burger Fridays every Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Additionally, the Platter opens its kitchen once a month for a guest chef to serve dinner. In the past, customers have been treated to wood-fired pizza by Pine Plains resident Al Haight, waffles by Nathaniel Hedges (the Platter’s own baker and Smith-Hedges’ husband) and a special meal prepared by local private chef Jeremy Spesard.

The Platter supports the local school district by delivering lunches to Seymour Smith Intermediate Learning Center and Stissing Mountain Junior/Senior High School whenever the schools want to include another meal option. When the Stissing Theatre Guild starts rehearsing for the spring musical, the Platter delivers bagged dinners twice a week.

Now, residents can enjoy a range of fun activities at the Platter. Every month, an Open Mic Night is held; once a season, the Platter serves literary-themed cocktails at the Pine Plains Free Library’s Boozy Book Club. Once a month, the Platter also switches between hosting Beer and Board Games and Craft Night.

“We just try to offer things that are not already offered to encourage people to come,” Smith-Hedges said. “We’ve got 10 people out and doing something they wouldn’t do at home. I try to create a welcoming and homey atmosphere where we try to treat everybody like family.”

By that same token, the Platter also helps community members in need. When the Miller family in Ancramdale lost their farm to a fire in the fall, the Platter worked with Schapira’s Coffee and Tea Company to help the family, raising a little more than $4,000 in total. This spring, Smith-Hedges said the Platter will be collecting money from customers to buy fixings for breakfast sandwiches and then working with the Pine Plains FFA to make breakfast sandwiches for the people working to reconstruct Millerhurst Farm.

Smith-Hedges hopes to start partnering with other organizations for community events and fundraisers. Kicking off 2019 on a sweet note, she was pleased with the success of the Platter’s first New Year’s Day Hangover Brunch. 

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, she announced the Platter will be partnering with Home on a Mission to present GALentine’s Day — a craft night to benefit homeless women, women in recovery or women in abusive relationships —  on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.

“It’s just going to get bigger and better,” she said.