Popular catering hall to become movie studio

The popular catering venue Anthony’s Pier 9 is being sold, and the new owner plans to turn the 70,000-square-foot building at 2975 Route 9W in this Orange County town into a movie-production studio.

The sale by Bonura Hospitality Group is expected to close in mid-June. The buyer’s identity and the selling price were not disclosed Wednesday.

Orange County Tourism and Film Director Amanda Dana said the repurposed building will be “just like a Hollywood soundstage.”

Bonura Hospitality principal Michael Bonura said the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a “crushing blow” to the catering business. He and his brother Joseph Bonura Jr., also a principal in the hospitality company, said the pandemic has cost caterers across New York state 95% of their business.

Joseph Bonura Jr. is part of the development team that hopes to build the mixed residential-commercial project known as The Kingstonian in Uptown Kingston.

Besides Anthony’s Pier 9, Bonura Hospitality also owns The Grandview and Shadows on the Hudson, both on the Hudson River in Poughkeepsie, as well as the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, in the city’s downtown area, The Chateau (formerly

Hillside Manor) in Kingston, and the West Hills Country Club in the Orange County town of Wallkill. Events booked for Anthony’s Pier 9 after the planned sale date will be able to move to one of the company’s other venues, or full refunds will be provided, the brothers said.

Bonura Hospitality, which started its catering business at Anthony’s Pier 9 in the early 1980s, also plans to establish a large outdoor event facility just north of its Blu Point Restaurant on the Hudson River waterfront in Newburgh.

Additionally, the company is planning a $40 million expansion, including 158 luxury apartments, at West Hills.