BEARSVILLE, N.Y. — The owner of The Little Bear, a popular Chinese restaurant on the same property as the Bearsville Theater, said Friday that she must relocate the business she’s owned and operated for more than 40 years and that her “heart is broken.”
Marlee Koo said in a phone interview that she hopes to find a new location for the restaurant, hopefully in the town of Woodstock. She said the restaurant will close at its current location, in the Woodstock hamlet of Bearsville, on Sept. 30.
The Little Bear said on its Facebook page that it “has been forced out” of the space at 295 Tinker St. (Route 212) “that we have been thriving at for 42 years.”
“The landlord has decided to no longer allow this landmark restaurant to operate on the premises. … She has other ideas for the use of this building,” a press release signed by Koo and her staff stated.
“The good news is we are not retiring,” the release said. “We are planning to relocate in the area to serve you for many years to come.”
Koo said she will keep the public posted as she looks for a new location for The Little Bear.
Lizzie Vann, the owner of the property since 2019, could not be reached for comment Friday. Vann, the British-born founder of an organic baby food company, recently carried out a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Bearsville Theater at the site.
In May, radio station WDST-FM, which had operated on the Bearsville property for about 20 years, moved to a former church on Route 28 in West Hurley. WDST principal owner Gary Chetkof said at the time that the station’s lease was about to end and Vann wanted to raise the rent.
