Fordham Preparatory School - Ramview Ramview Spring 2018 | Page 24

Spotlight
Dave Hunt ’67 and Coogan’s
At first glance, Coogan’s appears like many other
restaurants throughout the city - kitschy decor, friendly
staff, tasty menu. But like a stream that is calm on the
surface, Coogan’s is much more. It is a community staple
that has established itself in Washington Heights for
nearly four decades due in no small part to the owner,
Dave Hunt, Class of ’67, who points to his Fordham Prep
education as a key tenet in his success.
He navigates the place with an ear-to-ear grin, an easy,
but hurried step, and wisps of white hair that belie his
years. An easy-to-like man with a strong memory and a
sense of what is right. For Hunt, the diversity of the place
is what makes it unique.
“The Prep had a big influence on me and this place.” he
said. “The social consciousness of the Prep really
nurtured me and stayed with me forever.” That sense of
right and wrong is evident in the very fabric of the bar.
When New York Presbyterian Hospital (Coogan’s landlord)
wanted a restaurant on the property, they had 124
restauranteurs reject them before Dave Hunt came
along. He described the area as “intimidating and crime
ridden,” but it was Hunt’s commitment to community that
he learned at the Prep that caused him to take a chance
and open the bar in 1985. “The need to serve my
community was ingrained in me from my time at the
Prep. But it also made good business sense. If it didn’t
make good business sense, we wouldn’t have done it.”
Little did Hunt know that those Prep lessons would ripple
across the bar to the customers. “I had a music teacher at
the Prep, Mr. Estevez. Well, we got into a discussion of
music, and my classmates and I were arguing about
which is the better music, rock or classical, and he
stressed the importance of appreciating both genres.
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That was a lesson I learned at the Prep. Our differences
should be embraced.”
It is the spirit of welcome and diversity that is reflected
inside the walls of Coogan’s. Doctors and nurses from the
hospital sit alongside local residents chatting with
runners from the armory.
“We’re a meeting place,” he started. “Everyone may have
their own agenda when they enter, but when you come
in, you get to know people on a personal basis. We are
very good at bringing people together.” He harkened back
to the Prep, “I think it was something Father Parkes said
about diversity. Diversity isn’t about bringing together
rich white kids and poor minority kids. It’s about bringing
rich, middle class and poor white kids together with rich,
middle class and poor minorities. It’s about what
encapsulates us and not what divides us.”