Born and raised in Newburgh, NY, by Italian immigrants, Ralph Risio, the owner of Gully’s, went through life with a little idea to open a floating bar and restaurant.

He even asked his friends to chip in and buy an old ferry boat for $2,000 to start one, and THEY TOLD HIM HE WAS CRAZY.

Ralph went through life with this little idea trailing behind him.

It followed him through the Marines, through a tour in the Korean War, through a career as an electrician, as a dock builder, as a real estate broker, and as a pilot and flight instructor.

Ralph just couldn’t shake this idea of his and he knew that one day it would become a reality.

After raising six children with his wife, Louise, and facing various setbacks and adversities including his home being destroyed by fire twice, Ralph kept on truckin’…

The time to turn his idea into reality finally arrived in the 1980’s and Ralph didn’t hesitate to seize the opportunity.

He purchased a seemingly useless piece of property in a run-down industrial district on the Newburgh waterfront.

The waterfront was once bustling with railroad and manufacturing enterprises, but this particular piece of property was just a desolate piece of weeds and gravel at the time.

Putting the pieces together, he acquired an old barge, named the ‘Glenwood Echo’,  that formerly hauled distilled water to Con Edison generating stations for 46 years. 

He got some close friends together to begin work on what would eventually become Gully’s– the Hudson Valley’s floating bar and restaurant.

Ralph faced opposition from city officials and forged on against the nay-sayers.

After countless hours of hard work and dedication, a quaint old water barge turned into THE SUMMER FUN PLACE.

It was an IMMEDIATE HIT.

People lined up down the ramp with hopes to get into the HOTTEST PLACE IN TOWN.

His determination to stick to his idea had paid off for Ralph.

Gully’s success brought a NEW ATTITUDE towards the Newburgh waterfront.

What was once seen as a downtrodden and worthless area was now primed for business.
Bars, restaurants, and several other businesses began lining the Newburgh waterfront…

but Gully’s remains the PLACE TO BE

COUNTLESS MEMORIES have been made at Gully’s over the past 20+ years that we’ve been open.

Gully’s ALWAYS features the area’s BEST BANDS nightly.

From our LEGENDARY Two for One Tuesdays with K104 to Thursday’s with LIVE SOCIETY: where there’s consistently a PACKED HOUSE.

I think it’s safe to say that Gully’s is HERE TO STAY.

We have become a LANDMARK of Newburgh and the Hudson Valley over the years and we strive to provide our customers with an INCREDIBLE, UNIQUE, and BREATHTAKING dining and social experience.

MAKE SOME GREAT SUMMER MEMORIES TODAY with Gully’s—THE SUMMER FUN PLACE.