Serevan, the restaurant in Amenia has been sold recently by Serge Madikians to new owners, Chef Jacob Somers and his fiancée Kendum Namgyal. The restaurant located along Route 44 West, is targeting an opening date in early July. Its new name is Panacea.
Residents of greater Amenia and a wide radius beyond have a penchant for world-class food served in country ambiance, a reason that Serevan, hosted by Chef Serge Madikians, became a destination for so many. In recent months, Madikians decided it was time to retire and the important restaurant closed.
Before long, new owners saw the potential and purchased the restaurant. So much about it was right. The new owners from Manhattan would open a new restaurant to be named “Panacea.”
The enthusiastic new owners are Chef Jacob Somers and his fiancée Khendum Namgyal. Pausing the hard work of preparing to open a restaurant, Somers took the time to provide some details on Wednesday, June 12, just days following the purchase. The couple will be married soon, and at that point, the two will co-own Panacea, Somers said.
One of Namgyal’s talents is fresh house-made pasta, although her duties will be varied, as needed to align with her talents.
The couple met in 2019, serving as chefs at Union Square Café, the landmark spot in Manhattan. Somers said that Namgyal will run the front-of-house operations in addition to kitchen work.
“In short, we’ll both be doing a lot of everything,” Somers said.
Eager to open, Somers said they are aware that this is peak season, both for diners and for garden-fresh produce. Namgyal has past tenure at Natoora, a Brooklyn-based distributor of seasonal produce from local farms directly to restaurants. Seasonality is a key word indicating that the freshest of ingredients will drive the menu.
Asked to categorize the Panacea cuisine, Somers resisted a broad label because the emphasis will be on seasonality.
“If I had to generalize, it would be ‘New-fare, eclectic, Americana Continental cuisine’,” Somers said, adding, “similar to Union Square Cafe.”
“I’ve been cooking professionally in NYC for around 14 years now,” Somers said. He began as a line cook at Clinton Street Baking Company on the Lower East Side and moved on to a few other spots before traveling to Alsace, France for an internship that was life changing.
Returning to Manhattan, he worked for Chef David Burke and then the Hudson Clearwater where he immersed in seasonality. From there he moved on to the Union Square Café, gaining lifelong friends, colleagues, and fellow chef, Khendum.
“I am so excited to become part of Amenia,” Somers said, having first visited the area in late October and been drawn to it. Then he saw the Serevan property in Amenia.
“My jaw dropped,” Somers said. “It looked so similar to my Alsace experience. I knew from the moment I laid my eyes on the property that I had to make it a reality.”
Clearly, there is a love story embedded, as Somers said, love of cooking well, love of the setting, and the love he has for Khendum, all coming together in Panacea.
On to the present, Somers reported that he and Khendum are unpacking, repairing and getting ready to open Panacea’s doors to diners, probably in July, maybe by July 4.
Somers was delighted to report phone calls from people already seeking reservations but they are not quite ready yet.
The property was listed for $890,000 and sold on June 6 for $800,000. Listed for sale in July of 2023 according to First Key MLS. 7 acres with restaurant equipment and 2,645 square foot building.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office Harlem Valley area activity reportSept. 18 to Sept. 30.
Sept. 23 — Deputies responded to 1542 State Route 292 in the Town of Pawling for the report of a suspicious vehicle at that location. Investigation resulted in the arrest of Sebastian Quiroga, age 26, for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle in the third degree. Quiroga to appear in the Town of Pawling court at a later date.
Sept. 30 — Deputies responded to Woodside Street in the Town of Pine Plains for a past-occurred verbal domestic dispute between a stepfather and stepson.Matter resolved without further police intervention.
PLEASE NOTE:All subjects arrested and charged are alleged to have committed the crime and are presumed innocent until proven guilty and are to appear in local courts later.
If you have any information relative to the aforementioned criminal cases, or any other suspected criminal activity please contact the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office tip line at 845-605-CLUE (2583) or Emaildcsotips@gmail.com.All information will be kept confidential.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.
