“A lot of people that come in here, it ends up being the place they show up to five to seven days a week.”

Foley’s Club Lounge has been in Pleasantville since 1954. Anthony Amato has worked at Foley’s since 2004. And since 2009, he’s been a co-owner. Amato describes the bar as a place where stories are shared, friendships are made, and community ties are strengthened.

Foley’s is known for being a popular place to watch New York Giants games, a tradition that dates back to when the team held practices on Pace University’s Pleasantville campus.

“If you ask Carl Banks, Lawrence Taylor, even Phil Simms about Foley’s in Pleasantville, they’ll actually tell you stories… Lawrence Taylor actually threw somebody through that window over there, once,” said Amato, gesturing toward the bar’s storefront on Bedford Road.

Amato said Foley’s prioritizes giving to community causes, such as through the bar’s annual “Poker Run for Autism.” Teams of four people donate $100 to play. Then, participants go to five bars and get a playing card from each, hidden in an envelope. The final stop is Foley’s, where teams assemble poker hands from the cards they gathered. The team with the best poker hand wins $400.

Amato said the event has raised $2,000-$5,000 in each of the five years Foley’s has organized it. “We give that to local businesses that support or specialize in autism help,” he said.

Foley’s has also been good to Amato. He met his wife, Maria, at the bar after Amato’s then-boss threatened to replace him and his co-workers with “beautiful women.” Less than 24 hours later, Maria walked in looking for a job.

“I absolutely fell in love with her from the minute I met her, and we’ve pretty much been inseparable since,” Amato said.

 

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