Add The New York Post on Google New York Mets Hall of Famer Mookie Wilson has slid in to resurrect an iconic Albany watering hole that catered to the state’s powerful political elite.
The War Room Tavern, a bar and restaurant hot spot for lawmakers and lobbyists in the capital, closed in March. But thanks to an assist from the famed baseball player, its doors will once again open this fall — this time as Mookie Wilson’s Legacy BBQ at The War Room.
Wilson and family had started a mobile-catering service called Legacy BBQ three years ago and built a loyal customer base.
Todd Shapiro, a well-known New York political consultant, then pitched to Wilson the possibility of having The War Room become home base for the legendary former outfielder’s BBQ business.
Wilson swung at the idea, and starting in November, customers will now be able to enjoy a menu of slow-smoked brisket, pork spareribs, chicken wings, smoked sausage, baked beans, potato salad, homemade banana pudding and pineapple cake at the reopened establishment.
“The War Room basically has been about politics,” Wilson told The Post. “We have no intentions of trying to change in that. But we want to bring a baseball flavor around, so it will be politics and baseball and barbecue.”
Cooking, as with baseball, has been an integral part of the Wilson family. With Legacy BBQ, Wilson has kept his family’s Southern Carolina recipes and cooking traditions alive.
“This is a real save for Albany,” said Shapiro, a partner in Wilson’s War Room who also owns the Greenhouse Social Club, in a press release.
“The War Room is not closing down. Mookie Wilson and his family are giving it a new life while keeping what people love about it: the politics, the people, the conversations and the feeling that anyone can walk in and be part of Albany.”
The War Room stood out for its political character and decor, which included an approximately 1,000-pound bull-moose head that pays tribute to Theodore Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party, the nickname for the Progressive Party formed by the 26th US president.
The moose won’t be going anywhere — it will be joined at Wilson’s War Room by baseball mitts and Mets memorabilia.
The restaurant plans to open its doors the first week of November, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the 1986 Mets World Series championship that Wilson had a hand in winning.
“Cooking is something that’s in our family,” Wilson told The Post. “Just like baseball. It’s in our family.”
