Alana Hauptman

This interview was conducted with Alana Hauptmann, at the Red Dot in Hudson, NY, on June 15, 2015.  The narrator grew up and attended college in New Jersey, worked in Manhattan where she met her husband, and moved to Hudson in the late 90s to start the Red Dot Restaurant and Bar. Topics discussed in the interview include:  life in a blue-collar, Roman Catholic German family; the fashion business; life in New York City; real estate values, building codes, and financing a business; gentrification; importance of the train; the gay community in Hudson; the wedding business in Hudson; owning the Red Dot and relationships with employees and customers; partnership with her husband; social and community networks; community activism and fundraising, particularly fashion shows and the fight against the cement factory; navigating the vicissitudes of life.

This interview would be of interest to people who want to hear about changes in Hudson from the late 90’s to the present, specifically from 4th Street down; the life path of a successful Hudson female business owner; the community of New York city transplants; the sixteen year history of the Red Dot and its reputation as the “Cheers” of Hudson.