Our Story
You know the place. Now meet its next chapter.
For more than two centuries, the corner of 285 Main Street has been where Bedminster gathers. Travelers have rested here, neighbors have celebrated here, and generations of hunt-country families have raised a glass here. The Bedminster Tavern carries that tradition forward, with a fresh perspective and the same open door.
A Crossroads Tavern Since 1786
Our story begins in 1786, when local farmer and tanner Aaron Melick built a hotel at the Lesser Crossroads for his son John, newly home from service in the Continental Army. In 1800 it passed to Captain William Fulkerson, another Continental Army veteran, and by the late 1800s it was a familiar stop on the carriage route between Morristown and Somerville.
Many Names, One Address
Local historians describe the building as a place "with many names and even more owners." Over the years it has been the Bedminster Hotel, Bedminster House, the Howard Hotel, the Bedminster Inn, The Cock and Bull, The Inn and Willie's Taverne. The names changed, but its role never did: a welcoming table at the heart of the village.
The Howard Years
In 1898, Willie and Bertha Howard bought the hotel and gave it their name. Willie had come to the area as huntsman for the Essex Hunt Club, and his horse, Ninette, threw him so often that he earned the nickname "India Rubber Man." The Howard family ran the inn for about 65 years. During that time Governor Woodrow Wilson stopped here on the 1911 campaign trail, indoor plumbing arrived in 1912, and the Prohibition years left behind a few colorful stories best told at the bar.
Rooted in Hunt Country
From the Essex Hunt to the Far Hills Race Meeting, horses and hospitality have always shared this address. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the inn even took on an equestrian bistro style, and our bar, The Stables, nods to that heritage today. The Township Committee has long held its annual January reorganization meeting here, a reminder that this has always been a true community house.
The Next Chapter
Today, as part of the Celtic Hospitality Group, The Bedminster Tavern is a neighborhood gathering place for weeknight dinners, celebrations, Sunday meals and a quiet drink at the Main Bar. Executive Chef Christopher Albrecht, a Culinary Institute of America graduate whose career includes Gramercy Tavern, Craft and The Ryland Inn, leads a Farm-to-Fork kitchen inspired by the farms and countryside of the Somerset Hills. Our promise is simple: every guest should feel genuinely welcomed, not merely served.
Come be part of the next 200 years.
Visit Us
285 Main Street, Bedminster, NJ 07921
(908) 234-1596
Monday: Closed
Tuesday - Wednesday: 12:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Thursday - Friday: 12:00 PM - 12:00 AM
Saturday: 11:00 AM - 12:00 AM
Sunday: 11:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Historical details are drawn from the New Jersey History Project, "Bedminster Has A Tavern Serving Over 200 years of History," Mr. Local History Project (2022), mrlocalhistory.org/bedminstertavern.