If you like your soup and salad served with a side of history, you’ll want to visit Spillian, the former mansion of the Fleischmann family, on Sunday, April 27 when some of the proceeds from the weekly, all-you-can eat Soup Sunday event will go to the Historical Society of the Town of Middletown (HSM).
At 3 pm, Spillian partner Leigh Melander, Ph.D., will share stories and images of the Fleischmann family and the history of the Fleischmanns Park House, newly reborn as Spillian: A Place to Revel, an inn and retreat center, located at 50 Todd Mountain Rd., Fleischmanns.
Leigh has been doing extensive research on the property, working with the NY State Historic Preservation Office to have the property listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. The Fleischmanns were an extraordinary family, and this property has a very special history that both shaped and reflects the history of the village, including being the childhood summer home of Gertrude Berg of Molly Goldberg radio and television fame.
The Great Room at Spillian, the former Fleischmann family hideaway.
Soup Sunday begins at 4 p.m. This is a weekly offering at Spillian, a prix fixe meal with a bottomless bowl of soup, green salad, bread, sweet treat for dessert as well as coffee and tea, served family style. In the spirit of the Fleischmanns bread lines, born at their Vienna Model Bakery in New York City, guests are invited into the kitchen to be served their soup in a ‘soup line.’
This event offers a glimpse into the elegant, eccentric and fascinating world of the family that gave Fleischmanns its name. Entry is $25, which includes a $5 donation for the HSM roof fund.
For more information, please call 800-811-3351 or email play@spillian.com.