History

While on their honeymoon in France, Rickie and James Tamayo fell in love with the French country restaurants and wanted to create a small, family run restaurant of their own. In the spring of 1987 they started building towards their dream and opened Café Tamayo in November of that year. Café Tamayo's atmosphere is comfortable and friendly, an oasis of fine food and wine for both the traveler and those that call Saugerties home.

James Tamayo is a 1981 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He then worked in a variety of fine hotels and restaurants, including the Whitehall Hotel in Chicago, and in New York City the Plaza Hotel, Greene Street Cafe, and The Russian Tea Room. James had the opportunity to work with chefs from many countries, which is reflected in the food and the wine at Café Tamayo.