ONE STOP FOR ONE-OF-A-KIND

November 8th, 2011

 When artist and entrepreneur Karen Berelowitz visited her friends in Kingston’s Rondout, she thought it would make a great place to open the first retail store to sell her unique line of Karmabee products. Unlike other areas she had considered, she found Rondout to be, “A village.  It is a community in the middle of a larger city.  It has all the conveniences of city living but it has the feeling of a small town.”   When she saw the space at 73A Broadway, with its original tin ceilings above a lofty storefront, Karen knew that she had found the perfect home for her “new” store.

The storefront location is new, but Karen has been retailing her unique line of  Karmabee products since 1997.  If the simple, yet evocative, black drawings on t shirts and note cards seem very familiar, it is probably because we have seen them at the Kingston Farmers’ Market Craft Fair (and over 100 other craft fairs), at the Omega Institute, at the Cornell Studios” “Wild About Butterflies” exhibition, and on line on Etsy and at Karen’s on-line sites at karmabee.com.

People who attended the jam-packed November 5th opening got to see the wide range of available Karmabee products. The storefront features original black & white drawings printed on clothing for babies, kids and adults, as well as notecards, dog tees, winter hats, framed prints, jewelry, and other unique gifts. There are coloring books that are just the right size for tucking into a stocking, with Karen’s bold drawings to inspire original coloring combinations from young artists. For those who would like to send a holiday card that did not come in a pack of 25 identical cards from the department store, Karen’s most popular holiday themes are available in a specially priced packet.  There are also stocking caps and home decorative items.

Now that she has a retail space, Karen is also going to feature framed works and crafts by other carefully selected artists.  The shop will also feature classes, workshops, and special events.  Visitors to the store’s website can sign up for a monthly newsletter listing all the upcoming events.

Karen was born in South Africa and has traveled around the globe, and has lived in California, Costa Rica, and Washington DC before settling in the Hudson Valley, NY.  She received her Master’s Degree and spent 12 years in the field of International Development, with emphasis on development in Central America.  In 2006, she took a “short vacation” to the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck…and she never left!   In fact, she lives at the Institute during its open season!  It was at the Institute that she was finally convinced that her intricate and expressive “doodles” that she’s been doing since her school days might have a commercial future.  As an experiment, she printed a few designs on postcards, and was amazed when they sold out, at the Institute’s craft events.  Karen began retailing on Etsy in 2007.

While some designs, like a gleefully ornate elephant and a festively howling coyote, have become customer favorites, Karen is unlikely to ever run out of new designs, or new ideas for products.  Having a retail store as a “home base” is a new experience she is relishing–her operation has been developed to be portable, since she has been living at Omega from April through October, and then moving to a temporary studio, or traveling around the United States from craft fair to craft fair.  As long as she has music, and “coffee in the morning, chocolate in the afternoon, and wine at night,” she can “doodle” a seemingly endless stream of her unique images of the world around her.  Fortunately she also enjoys the production part of the business, scoring note cards, silk-screening stocking caps, and  filling computer orders.

Shoppers in the Rondout can now have the instant gratification of stocking up on Karmabee originals for the holidays without having to boot up the computer or visit a craft fair.  Karen can even accommodate special orders, for those whose gifts have to be absolutely unique!  Karmabee will be open  Tuesday to Sunday from 11am to 7pm for the holiday season!

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Kingston’s Bailey Pottery Re-invents the Wheel

October 19th, 2010

In an echo of Kingston’s glory days as a manufacturing center, a cluster of companies have developed a flourishing niche as artisan producers of highly specialized goods.

Locally, almost everyone’s heard of R&F Handmade Paints, located at 84 Ten Broeck Avenue, which manufactures encaustic paints and oil paint sticks in a former brick Standard Oil Building. However, there’s another very successful, nationally known company located across the railroad tracks at 62 Ten Broeck Ave., in a former brick Nabisco warehouse building: Bailey Pottery Equipment Corp., which has become a household name among potters from New York to California.

Founded by potters Jim Bailey and his wife,  Anne Shattuck Bailey, the company manufactures and resells equipment and tools to universities, school programs, professional potters, and serious amateurs. Originally selling through a catalog and now almost exclusively an e-commerce company (www.baileypottery.com), Bailey Pottery has 26 employees and owns a second building on Foxhall Ave., where wheels, kilns and other pieces of equipment designed by Jim—sold only through the company—are produced. Customers include the ceramics departments of most US universities. “We have everything a university or potter would want,” said Jim. “Over 400 universities have our gas kilns.”

Besides being a comprehensive supplier, Bailey Pottery Supply delivers superior customer service. “We really take care of customers who have problems and technical questions,” Bailey said. “We have the ability to advise them because of our extensive knowledge of clay. We know our products inside and out.”

Bailey was originally an artist, who made the shift to equipment design some 34 years ago. Shortly after attending the Kansas City Art Institute, he designed his first piece of equipment—a machine that formed clay into slabs—while spending the summer in a studio in the Adirondacks that was a former art center, stocked with clay, mixers and potter’s wheels. “I started small and decided to continue to design more equipment. I never have a shortage of ideas,” said Jim. One of his heroes is industrial designer Raymond Loewy, who designed everything from corporate logos to streamlined locomotives to the space center Skylab. He has taken to heart Loewy’s saying, “Never leave well enough alone.” “I get new ideas for products that increase efficiency and save energy,” he said. “Also products that improve on ergonomics, which save time and money.”

In the beginning, Bailey had sub-contracted a machine shop in Kingston to build his equipment. When it couldn’t keep up with the demand, he apprenticed at the shop to learn about steel manufacturing techniques, subsequently using that knowledge to design more machines. He rented space for his company in the city before buying his building in 1986.  Anne Bailey, who graduated from Harrow School of Art in England and studied with some of the most important potters of the 1970s in England, developed the Ceramic Supply Division of Bailey in 1985. Her love of materials and deep understanding of the tools potters use helped Bailey grow and gain national recognition as a place professionals could find anything and everything a potter might need. Today the Ceramic Supply Division accounts for over 50 percent of sales.

The interior was recently remodeled to create more space for the show room, and next year Bailey Pottery plans to begin hosting workshops. The workshops will be geared both towards technical training—for example, on how to operate some of the company’s specially designed kilns–and artistic techniques, with high-profile national artists brought in to share their methods of working in three-dimensional design. Bailey will thus join the tiny cohort of companies—they include R&F Handmade Paints and Fleisher’s Grass-fed & Organic Meats, in Uptown—that are boosting the local economy be bringing newcomers to town, who eat in local restaurants, stay in Kingston’s bed and breakfasts, and get out the word about what a great city this is.

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Kingston Hospital Is Broadway Central

August 20th, 2010

Midtown Kingston would be a much quieter place if it weren’t for three key anchors—Kingston High School, City Hall, and Kingston Hospital. The hospital, now consolidated with Benedictine into one organization called Health Alliance, has 1,033 employees, a big chunk of the 2,400 employees that work for Health Alliance, which is the largest employer in Kingston. It’s also a 24/7 organization, a beehive of activity at all hours of the day and night.

The hospital has been an anchor of Midtown for more than a century, opening its doors on Broadway in November of 1894 (Benedictine followed in 1901). After a devastating fire, the reconstructed hospital reopened in 1926, with numerous renovations and expansions occurring in the 1950s and 60s. It’s now a 150-bed acute-care hospital—Benedictine has an equal number of beds—and home of a new, expanded emergency center (the merger plan called for the EDs at the two hospitals to be consolidated at Kingston). Approximately 50,000 people a year will visit the ED, which is 16,000 square feet and has 35 beds. Kingston Hospital also houses a maternity unit, with a brand new facility on the third floor, and a chest pain center. (Oncology, mental health, detox, the sleep center, and orthopedics are located at Benedictine. Both hospitals house women’s centers, and the executive offices are split between the two facilities. )

While Kingston Hospital has its own cafeteria, many employees patronize neighboring restaurants, such as Top Nosh, Stone Soup, and, if they’re on the graveyard shift, the Broadway Lights Diner. The hospital is a nexus of activity, accessible to walk-ins and with a bus drop. “The impact on the surrounding businesses is quite great. It’s a very active spot on Broadway,” said Greg Howard, vice president of human resources at Health Alliance. Being right smack in the city is an advantage: “You can walk to many Broadway businesses for lunch or a snack, and the high school, fire department and city offices are all nearby. Although it is an old facility, it has kept up with the changing times, making it a place for which our community can be proud.”

Both Kingston Hospital and Benedictine have foundations whose fund-raising events are mainstays in the community, including two golf tournaments—Kingston’s is in August, Benedictine’s in June. Kingston also will host a fashion show and dinner in October, while Benedictine will hold a September bike-a-thon. The funds raised from the events help pay for facilities improvement, new equipment, and other costs not covered by Medicare. The Kingston Hospital Foundation also sponsors free walks around the city that are designed to get people to exercise more and build appreciation of the city’s historic streetscape.

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Tour Boats Abound in Kingston’s Waterfront

July 20th, 2010

There’s lots to do in Kingston, and many of the activities right now are centered along the waterfront. From early May to the end of October, Kingston has several tour boats that take people out on sightseeing cruises or can be chartered. The largest is the 300-passenger Rip Van Winkle, owned by Hudson River Cruises, followed by the 80-passenger Teal, owned by North River Cruises. Blue Dolphin Cruises’ 1962 Hatteras cruiser and Hudson Sailing’s trimaran sailboat are both available for private charters, for groups up to six.

The Rip Van Winkle goes out twice a day six days a week for three-hour narrated tours to the Vanderbilt estate, in Hyde Park, and back. When it isn’t being chartered, the Teal takes one-and-a-half hour tours of the Hudson during the weekend. Both boats do weekend evening music cruises, featuring a live band or DJ. The boats of all four companies are available for charter to celebrate a special birthday, anniversary or other event, or to impress a client or reward staff if you’re a business. Some of the companies also partner with local restaurants, which either rent out the boat or cater the food.

Sandy Henne, owner of Hudson River Cruises, has been in the Rondout for 30 years, before there was even a dock. “We tied up to a guard rail at the end of the parking lot,” she said. She purchased the 300-passenger Rip Van Winkle cruise boat in 1986. In July and August it goes out on scheduled tours twice a day six days a week, in addition to a Friday evening cruise with live bands. The company also schedules four murder mystery cruises over the summer, and the boat is available for private charters.

Last week the passengers included people from the Netherlands and Australia. On one music cruise, an Australian Aborigine—he was a friend of a band member—played his didgeridoo during intermission. Henne operates a second boat, the Lark, a launch that’s taking people Thursdays through Sundays to the Rondout Lighthouse for tours (a docent from the Hudson River Maritime Museum, which manages the lighthouse, is onboard). Although she hasn’t done much marketing, the tours are picking up.

Henne also hopes to be operating service on the Lark between Kingston and Rhinecliff soon. She’s waiting to get approval from Rhinecliff two officials. On August 6 there’s a big event with Obama for which she hopes to be transporting dignitaries across the river.

The cross-river service would be mostly geared to tourists. In general, she said the Rondout could use more focus, to maximize its potential. “The new walkway is helping a lot. If you build it, they’ll come,” she said. Parking, however, remains a problem. On a weekend, “between the Teal and our boat and everybody at the restaurants, there’s no place to park. We tell people to come early.”

Teal and Blue DolphinThe Teal, which is owned by Joe Thomas—he and partner John DeForest own parent company North River Charters –does mostly charters, for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, Sweet Sixteen parties, and the like. Businesses also charter the boat, although the economic downturn has led to a falloff in company picnics. The 80-passenger vessel also does sightseeing tours on weekends when it isn’t being chartered and evening music cruises; call 750-6024 for times. The boat has a full bar and serves snacks on the public cruises.

Thomas, who’s owned the boat for five years and worked on it for eight—it’s been docked at the Rondout since 1993—said the walkway has brought a lot more foot traffic to the area (although on the downside, there have also been more incidences of vandalism). Local restaurants such as The Steelhouse and Ship to Shore also on occasion rent out the boat, catering all the food, selling tickets, and conveying customers from their establishment to the boat, benefiting both businesses. “I’d love for the businesses to know we’re down here,” said Thomas. “The restaurant trips are going very well.” One of the biggest challenges is the limited season. “It’s just a matter of bringing more people down there and maximizing those couple of months,” he said.

Scott Herrington, owner of Blue Dolphin Charters, takes up to six people out on the Hudson for private trips on his antique, 34-foot Hatteras Sports Cruiser. It has a small cabin with a galley and a head (toilet), and the boat has been chartered for a special birthday or anniversary celebration. It’s also popular with sightseeing tourists and even book authors. The longest trip was eight hours—down to New York City—though Herrington has taken the boat on his own as far as Montauk and Massachusetts. Sometime a family will bring along fishing rods, though Herrington doesn’t do official fishing trips anymore. Meals can be catered from a local restaurant.

Herrington also charters to businesses, for example an insurance company that’s rewarding a client or staff. “We do lots of trips with the Maple Ridge Bruderhof,” he said.

Herrington also owns the Kingston City Marina. “I believe very strongly in the waterfront,” he said. “We have tried to work with the city to build a park that’s for everyone. People are now coming in much greater numbers.” He’s made improvements to the marina and collectively advertises and markets the area with other businesses. “It’s a very cooperative business group.”

Dan Feldman, owner of Hudson Sailing, does charters on his racing 28-foot trimara, a three-hulled sailing boat that can accommodate up to six passengers. The standard trip is three hours, and clients often enjoy a swim and picnic on the cruise. Because the boat is so light, it can sail even in the slightest breeze. If the weather is bad, he’ll reschedule a trip.

Many of his customers are celebrating a special event, and many are people from the city up for the weekend. He’s listed in a couple of travel guides but many people find him simply by Googling “sailing on the Hudson.” A couple of times he’s picked up people from New York City arriving by train from the dock in Rhinecliff.

Word of mouth is helping spurring his business, which is growing, despite the fact Feldman does little advertising.  “Someone who leads a stressful life comes up from city, has a drink, eats, relaxes on the trampoline and goes to sleep. They’re in heaven,” he said. “People have told me it’s like a mini vacation. All you hear is the wind and waves. A family came out this season and e-mailed me to thank me. They said the kids said it was the best thing they did as a family.”

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Kingston Nuts and Bolts

July 5th, 2010

Looking for a computer part, wiring device, plumbing joint, low VOC paint, or pottery kiln? If you’re wiring, replumbing, or redecorating your house or business, you’ll find everything you need in Kingston. Artists can also find specialty supplies here, be it handmade paints–encaustic, oil, or oil stick—at R&F Handmade Paints or everything they need to set up a potter’s studio, from the wheel and electric kiln to ceramic supplies, at Bailey Pottery. Both companies, which are located next to each other on Ten Broeck Avenue, are nationally known.

Some of these nuts and bolts businesses have deep roots in the city’s history, harking back to the day when Kingston was a manufacturing center. Industrial supply company Fowler & Keith, located in a four-story building at 104 Smith Street, started out down in the Rondout in the early 1900s. Besides plumbing and power tools, the store, which is owned by real estate developer Steve Aaron, still stocks an array of historic hardware.

Ulster Electric Supply Co., located at 9-15 Cornell—it also has an Ulster Lighting showroom at 572 Broadway, plus a location in Poughkeepsie—also started out in the Rondout and has been in business over 50 years, according to president and owner Barry Gruberg. Gruberg’s grandfather was the first licensed electrician in Kingston, and the supply company was started by his son—Gruberg’s father–in the back of a pick up.

Ulster Electric wholesales anything you can think related of to lighting—pipe, wire, wiring devices, commercial lighting. “We have 25,000 electrical supply products,” said Gruberg. The company sells to municipalities, hospitals, schools and other large entities in the commercial market. It delivers up to a radius of 70 miles and also has customers in Manhattan.

Gruberg said its retail store on Broadway has developed a niche in high-end lighting, offering a free layout service. “We can send our lighting retail specialist to your home, do the layout for free, and collaborate with the builder or architect,” said Gruberg. He said the company has had to lay off workers due to the economic downturn. “We’re surviving. We’re profitable, and are hanging in there, hoping for some upturn,” he said.

Herzog’s True Value Home Center, located at Kingston Plaza, is a fourth generation company owned by brothers Bradley and Todd Jordan. It has 100 local employees, with annual sales more than $20 million. The store has successfully competed against the big box stores by expanding: it became affiliated with True Value Company, a member owned co-op that gives it more buying power, in 1995 and added a state-of-the-art Kitchen and Bath Design Center, with free design consultations, in 2006. It acquired a paint supply company in Albany and has locations in Poughkeepsie and Wappinger’s.

Besides hardware, paint, lumber, plumbing and other supplies, Herzog’s has a garden center as well as a service center for power equipment. Its green products are particularly popular, according to Julie Jordan, marketing and advertising director. “Especially with the government rebates, there’s a lot of demand for green products in all departments,” she said. Herzog’s sells organic soils, fertilizers, and composters; Benjamin Moore eco-paints, which have low or no VOCs; energy efficient windows, doors, lighting, and insulation; and energy efficient a/c, heaters, humidifiers, and fans.

Herzog’s celebrated its centenary last year. Founder Matthew Herzog opened the first store on Wall Street, and his son Robert greatly expanded the company, developing a flourishing wholesale business in the 1940s. Robert developed the Kingston Plaza shopping center in the early 1960s, with Herzog’s relocating to the plaza in a new building in 1971.

Tim at P&T Surplus

P & T Surplus, located at 190 Abeel Street, started out in 1968, buying mainframe computers from IBM, each one delivered in fire tractor trailer loads, according to Tim Smythe, who has owned the business with his father since 1997. The company still breaks down machines, selling high-tech parts online to the semiconductor industry in Europe and Asia, as well as in the U.S., which Smythe said is about a quarter of its business.

At the other end of the spectrum, it sells surplus hardware and exotic metals, such as copper, brass, aluminum and stainless steel, locally, numbering among its clients many artists, including Judy Pfaff, whose large-scale assemblages gained her international fame. The art departments at Bard and SUNY-New Paltz regularly visit P & T with their students, said Smythe. For seven years straight, the company hosted an annual art show consisting of works crafted from its supplies, and Smythe said the store is planning another show this fall.

P& T is the place for that “hard to find metal angle or widget part, which is not standard,” said Smythe. The store also sells new items, including hardware, gloves, rope, hand tools, and tarps. It has three employees and a truck on hand to pick up business surplus, which has become harder to find: “It’s become more competitive,” said Smythe. “Scrap metal has caught on a lot, and now businesses sell their excess inventory on line.”

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Uptown’s Restaurant Renaissance

June 29th, 2010

The restaurant scene in Uptown is hopping, with two new places opening in the past month: Boitson’s, an American bistro, at 47 North Front St., and the Stockade Tavern, at 313 Fair Street, which specializes in artfully crafted cocktails. The area is definitely having a resurgence, notes Barbara Burns, who has run Stella’s Italian Restaurant, across the street from Boitson’s, with her husband Edward for 36 years. “It’s on an upswing.” The cluster of fine eateries, which serve a variety of cuisines and vary in ambience from friendly family places to elegant French bistro, benefit from a sizable lunch crowd as well as patronage by locals and tourists in the evening.

Boitson’s, whose casually elegant, dark blue and gray décor was the work of Kingston interior designer Brian Early, opened June 4. “It’s been great, really busy,” said owner Maria Philippis. She named the eatery after her Brooklyn landlord, who had always encouraged her to open her own place. Boitson’s has a raw bar, and it’s open for lunch and dinner Thursday through Monday. Burgers, fried chicken, steak, trout, and a beet risotto are served every night, along with five or six specials cooked up by chef Fred Duffus. The prices range from $10 for a burger to $25 for a New York strip steak. Bread pudding, chocolate pot de crème, and lemon tart are among the delectable desserts. There’s a full bar.

Be sure to check out the frescos in the bathrooms, which were inspired by sailor’s tattoos and are the work of New York artist Impala. There’s also a deck in back, with a view of the Catskills. Philippis said she is drawing customers not just from the neighborhood but also Rhinebeck, Stone Ridge, and High Falls—and that’s without advertising.

Giovanna Vis and her husband, Paul Maloney, describe the Stockade Tavern as a traditional American drinking establishment. The federal mantel behind the bar, built- in seating beneath the Tudor windows and vintage frosted glass lights certainly are the perfect setting for a classic cocktail, with a fresh squeeze of lime. Prohibition killed the art of the cocktail, and Vis and Maloney are restoring that tradition. They serve 13 cocktails, ranging in price from $7 to $10, plus have four beers on tap, 20 beers in the bottle, and nine wines. Their Citron Presse—sparkling lemonade—can be served straight or spiked and is a delectable antidote to the summer heat.

The Stockade also has a selection of 15 comestibles to accompany the drinks, including a pickle platter and tin of sardines. Located in the former Singer Sewing Machine retail store—the “S” logo still graces the door—the Stockade opened on Memorial Day weekend. “We’ve had a few big nights,” said Vis. She said the couple love “being on a back street in the heart of Uptown.” The Stockade opens at 4 pm Thursday through Sunday.

Jean-Jacques Carquillat made Kingston a destination for authentic French cuisine when he opened his traditional bistro, Le Canard-Enchaine, at 276 Fair in 1996. The restaurant is open seven days a week, and its prix fixe lunch–$14.95 for an appetizer and entrée—is one of the best values around. Le Canard also added a prix fixe dinner, which is $25 for a three-course meal ($30 with a glass of the house red or white). Specials are available every day. Le Canard is open Sunday through Thursday.

At the Hoffman House, located at 94 North Front in a landmark, 330-year-old stone building, you experience Kingston’s history while feasting on a delicious lunch or continental inspired dinner. “We have a wide variety of appetizers, salads and full course dinners,” said Pat Bradley, who opened the restaurant 33 years ago with his wife, Virginia. “Everything’s fresh, and the menu changes daily.” Dinner entrees are around $22, while lunch is $12.50. Hoffman House is pleasantly intimate, with four dining rooms plus an outside patio and bar.

Pat said the restaurant has a loyal business lunch and city clientele that it’s built up over the past three decades. It also attracts tourists, and word of mouth accounts for many new customers.  Hoffman House is open Monday through Saturday.

Stella’s Italian Restaurant, at 44 North Front, is a family owned and run business, with Barbara and Edward Burns’ five grown children all helping out. They started with Artie’s, the bar next door, eventually expanding to the restaurant, which was named after Barbara’s mother, who was a chef. Sitting down to a meal on its checked tablecloths is like being in the kitchen of an Italian grandmother. “It’s home cooking,” said Barbara. Perennial favorites are the chicken dishes—served sorrentino, marsala or francaise style—lasagna, and eggplant parmesan. Dinner entrees are priced from $11 up. Stella’s is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday through Saturday.

Ugly Gus Café and Bar, located at 11 Main St., across from the County Office Building, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this week, according to owner Chris Seche. The spacious eatery is open for lunch and dinner from Tuesday through Saturday. It specializes in American cuisine, serving homemade soup and specialty sandwiches for lunch and steaks, pasta, fish and chicken for dinner, with specials every night. Particularly popular are the Big Ugly burgers, said Seche.

On Saturday night, Ugly Gus serves prime rib. Tuesdays in the summer it features a lobster bake, and Wednesday is frozen margarita night. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday to midnight (1 pm on weekends). Seche said before opening Ugly Gus he owned another restaurant in Uptown and loves the area. “There’s a lot of business,” he said. “A lot of people who come for lunch are within walking distance.”

Stefan Sanzi opened Maxwell’s @ Community Gourmet at 32 North Front three years ago. The restaurant is offering outdoor seating on the site of the former parking garage, turning a former eyesore into a wonderful al fresco dining experience. It serves lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday, with a great selection of salads, sandwiches, appetizers, and pizzas. Four kinds of pasta are served, and a roasted half chicken, pan seared scallops, and herb roasted salmon are among the regular entrees, which are priced from $15 to $21.

Restaurants Uptown:

Ashley’s Cafe 243 Fair Street 845-331-2043

Gabriels Cafe 50 John Street 845-338-7161

Dallas Hot Wieners 51 N Front Street 845-338-6094

Deising’s Bakery & Restaurant 111 N Front Street 845-338-7505

Dietz Stadium Diner 127 N Front Street 845-331-5321

Dominick’s Café at Dream Weavers 34 North Front Street 845-338-4552

Ecce Terra 288 Fair Street 845-338-8734

Elena’s Diner 51 Schwenk Drive 845-331-2767

Elephant 310 Wall Street 845-339-9310

Gabriels Cafe 50 John Street 845-338-7161

Hoffman House 94 Front Street 845-338-2626

Hudson Coffee Traders Inc. 288 Wall Street 845-338-1300

Kingston Indian Restaurant & Grill 298 Wall St 845-331-3611 & 331-2661

Kyoto Sushi 37 Washington Avenue 845-339-1128

Le Canard-Enchaine 276 Fair Street 845-339-2003

Lucy’s Taco 38 John Street 845-338-2816

Market Basket Deli 308 Wall Street   845-338-2755

Maxwell’s Pizza 31 N Front Street 845-340-1004

Portobella 39 John Street 845-338-3000

Stellas N Front Street 845-331-2210

Ugly Gus 11 Main Street 845-331-5100

Wing Shui Chinese 53 N Front Street 845-339-3397

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In Kingston, the Music Never Stops

May 4th, 2010

On any given night, but especially on the weekends, Kingston resounds with music.  Strolling down the street past that open restaurant or tavern door, one hears the sultry strains of a jazz singer drifting on the air,  the twanging notes of a rockabilly band, or perhaps the throttle of an electric guitar, which sounds darn good. Whatever your taste, you’ll hear something that catches your fancy, making that evening out especially memorable.

Several of Kingston’s restaurants feature live music on weekends, such as The Steel House Restaurant.  Frank Guido’s Little Italy often enlivens its happy hour with a combo. Savona’s features jazz singer Nancy Tierney, newly arrived from northern California, once a month. Mint has showcased well-known jazz singer Rebecca Martin and singer-songwriter Mark Brown. Other businesses are also getting into the act. Half Moon Books, for example, features musicians during the First Saturday gallery openings. Artie’s, the bar on North Front Street, also entertains its patrons from time to time with noteworthy local acts. 

Keegans At Keegan Ales and The Basement, however, music takes center stage. The microbrewery, located at 20 St. James, features music five nights a week. According to Tommy Keegan, who opened the brewery in 2003 (the pub followed four years later), Wednesday is devoted to bluegrass and Americana, Thursday is the same, with a little rock ‘n roll mixed in, Friday and Saturday is “straight up rock and roll,” and Sunday is a mix: the first Sunday of the month is tango dancing, with lessons offered from 2 to 3 p.m., and the third Sunday is jazz, with a 15-piece band playing classic Big Band tunes as well as fusion compositions. There’s usually no cover–though the musicians are tops.

Keegan’s has three beers on tap: Old Capital, Mother’s Milk, and Hurricane Kitty (named after Keegan’s grandmother, who got the nickname from the cops). The brewery also makes seasonable beers—one, Joe Mamma’s Milk, has become so popular it’s being made year round (it’s infused with coffee and brown sugar, to increase the alcohol content and won Best Beer in New York State from the TAP New York festival competition.) Keegan’s also serves food—burgers, salads, nachos. It opens at 4 p.m. on weekdays, 11:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday.

The Basement, a mysterious storefront at 744 Broadway, just before the turn off to Albany Avenue, cooks on weekends. Last Saturday, Pearl, featuring famous 1980s singer Meatloaf (Pearl is Meatloaf’s daughter), took the stage. Guitar player Scott Ian hails from the famous heavy metal band Anthrax. Another nationally known band that recently played The Basement is The SuperSuckers, who play rockabilly.

It never hurts to solicit a famous band, said Kevin Rowe, who does the booking and marketing. “We send an e-mail to the band or tour manager, and if we get a reply, we work with them,” said Rowe. The Basement rents out office space across the street at Seven21 Media Center, where Rowe does the bookings. Bands also rent out rehearsal space at the center. (Rowe has long-term plans to establish a recording studio at Seven21.)    

Sometimes the headliner is featured on a Tuesday or Wednesday. “A lot of times we’ll get a touring band coming through the middle of the week,” Rowe said. Most nights feature both a touring band and a local act. Admission ranges from zero to $12, with $5 the standard. The Basement serves wine and beer and “top shelf liquor,” according to Rowe. Most shows start at 9 p.m.

Rowe said the March 19 show for Murphy’s Law, an old punk band, sold out. But local bands can also hold their own. Nightmares for a Week, for example, is an up-and-coming band that “just got into the alternative press as one of the top 100 bands of the year,” according to Rowe.

Owner Robert Stango opened The Basement three years ago. Rowe, a native of Cleveland who was living in Georgia, spent three days in Kingston while traveling with a band from Detroit. He liked Kingston and asked Stango if he had a job. Stango hired him, and the 25-year-old Rowe has been loving his life in Kingston ever since. “Everyone I’ve met has been the kindest, nicest people ever,” said Rowe. “There’s a lot of history in this town, and I want to see it do well.”

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Brick and Mortar, For Real

April 13th, 2010

When we say we support brick-and-mortar businesses, we thought we’d be literal. Here is a small sampling of masonry and construction companies located within the boundaries of Kingston, all helping keep the infrastructure of Main Street in sound shape:

 Windsor Masonry, located at 5 Sharon Lane in Uptown Kingston, has a unique niche: renovation of old buildings using a traditional lime mortar that’s very similar to the original, locally made lime used two hundreds ago. Imported from France, the hydraulic lime, as it is called, is a “self-healing” material, meaning that when it develops a crack, the crack automatically fills up, according to Keith Boyd, who founded the company ten years ago. “Before 1870 people built with lime,” he said. “A lot of masons today use cement mortar to repair these buildings, which doesn’t hold up; they have to be repointed with lime. We’re one of the few upstate companies that do this.” One example of a local building with deteriorating mortar due to cement repointing is the Senate House, he said. 

Boyd learned his trade in his native England, where he bought and renovated houses before immigrating to the states a decade ago, after meeting and marrying his American wife. He restored an old brick coach house on St. James Street, although Boyd’s business normally takes him far afield from Kingston: projects include a church in Catskill, a farm in Hyde Park, and several buildings in Westchester County. “The challenge Kingston faces is it doesn’t have enough employment,” he said. Finding employees for this specialized trade is also difficult, which requires “a four-year apprenticeship. It’s physically demanding and you’ve got to have an artistic flair.” Boyd currently has one worker.

Re-creating and restoring a historic building using authentic materials is also expensive. Hydraulic lime costs roughly five times the price of Portland cement.  “Very few local people who own houses can afford the renovation cost,” he said. “It’s why I go all over the Northeast.”

LaTorre Construction Company, located near the railroad trestle over the Rondout Creek at 7 Dewitt St., has been in business 38 years, building custom homes as well as high-end and historical renovation work, along with some commercial construction. The company has a large brick warehouse and shop at 117 Broadway, in the Rondout. Owner John LaTorre said its clients are within a 50-mile radius of Kingston, with a lot of work across the river, where many people live in older homes and “want to keep their house historically correct.” He said high-end customer renovation “has been keeping us going” during the economic downturn.

“We enjoy being in Kingston and enjoy the people,” LaTorre said. “I wish we had a little more industry around here,” such as existed 100 years ago. Now, with none of that manufacturing left, “you’ve got to be a history buff” to live in the area.  (phone number: 845-338-4982)

Also based in the Rondout is Kizer Stonework, which specializes in dry-laid bluestone sidewalks, patios, walls, walkways and steps, according to Kizerowner Gary Kizer. located in Kingston for last 9 years. We’re primarily bluestone specialists, we have expertise dry-laid bluestones, sidewalks, patios, walls, walkways and steps. “Some people are interested in maintaining a local heritage,” he said. “A lot of clients want us to design unique spaces using stone, in keeping with that tradition.”

Kizer, who founded the company nine years ago and works out of his home, gets his material from various local stoneyards.  He has “one and a half employees.” Last year was “horrible” for business, but in 2010 “things are picking up quite nicely,” he said. Kiser said he learned his trade from his grandfather, a stone mason who hired him in the summers when he was growing up.  (phone number: 845-338-9180)

 

 James McGowan & Son Masonry Inc. located at 5 Railroad Ave., in Midtown, does large-scale masonry construction projects for municipalities, government agencies, hospitals, and commercial companies, including the Walgreens in Kingston Plaza, the medical facility building for Benedictine Hospital, and the Hudson Valley Federal Credit  Union. Founded in 1992, the company hires as many as 40 workers depending on the work load. Brick and stone veneer, concrete masonry, glass and clay brick, marble, limestone, granite and precast concrete are among the specialties listed on its website, www.mcgowanmasonry.com

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La Mexicana on Broadway Kingston

March 29th, 2010

La Mexicana, at 638 Broadway, is one of at least two Mexican-American grocers in the city. As such, it’s not really a one-of-a-kind retailer, but, as a representative of Midtown, it does sell numerous one-of-a-kind items. If you haven’t been to Oaxaca, no need to board a jet: just check out La Mexicana’s shelves, which include beautifully crafted straw bags, tortilla baskets, blankets, shawls and clay pots and a wide range of CDs playing salsa, banda and other south of the border musical styles.

The family business, which is owned by Aldegundo and Laura Juarez, sells queso Oaxaca, a large ball of white cheese similar to mozzarella. For a change of taste, check out the fruit sodas, aloe verde drinks, and coconut waters, some of which are relatively low calorie, when the weather gets warm. Raw cane sugar is sold in packets, large cans of hominy are excellent for soup, and Abuelita is chocolate in a can, that’s dissolved in milk in Mexico for the traditional breakfast drink. Small plastic bags of spices include flax seeds, $1.99 each, which are a healthy addition to fruit and yogurt, and cacao beans. On occasion, homemade goodies, such as coconut sweets and rice putting, are for sale.

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Forsyth Nature Center, a Kingston Jewel

March 22nd, 2010

Founded in 1936, Forsyth Nature Center is perhaps Kingston’s most beloved institution. The city-owned facility has undergone a transformation in the last eight years, doubling in size, with new fences and animal pens, a heated turtle house, picnic gazebo, and wheelchair-accessible boardwalk around the pond. These improvements wouldn’t have been possible without the support of local businesses, according to caretaker Mark DeDea.

Its interpretative center has more than a dozen animals and gardens and is an important environmental educational resource for school groups. The center also offers a robust program of guided nature walks in the region, as well as kayaking on the Hudson in season.

 In 2005, DeDea launched Friends of Forsyth Nature Center, initially as a way to raise money for the new fence, with silver ($250), gold ($500) and platinum ($1,000 or more) levels. The nature center now has more than 25 partners and sponsors, many of them Main Street businesses.  One is Barcone’s Music, which has donated financially. “My grandchildren, who live in Stone Ridge, love coming there. I think it’s very important for the children of Kingston to have a place to go,” said Janice Barcone. “Forsyth Park when I was a teenager was a pretty sad little place for animals, but now there’s been a total revamp. They’ve expanded a lot. ”

During the fall festival, Artcraft Camera & Digital, owned by the Fitzgerald family, contributes staff and equipment to take pictures of kids with the animals. “They just take out the cost of film, and in the last festival we raised several hundred dollars this way,” said DeDea. The Fitzgerald family’s membership in the Friends program extends to Blimpie’s, located in Kingston Plaza, whose owner donates and helps with the fall festival, as well as donating subs at the events, he said.

Another loyal supporter is Herzog’s True Value Hardware, which has provided the fencing material and other building supplies and products at very competitive prices. “They are a lot about the kids in this community and are our bread and butter,” said Fred Seeger, Herzog’s general manager. “I went there as a kid, and it’s a gem.”

In fact, the nature center has a broad base of support. The most generous donors are civic groups—the Junior League (which donated $20,000), Rotary Club (donated $10,000) and Heart Healthy Coalition (donated $5,000).  Hillside Manor donates their venue for formal fundraisers, while Hurley Avenue Veterinary provided a huge discount on the bill for treatment of a sick macaw. Lucas Avenue Pet Supply “funnels donations from specific local businesses,” said DeDea. Alcoa, the parent company of Huck International, donates volunteers and cash.

DeDea said the center currently has $25,000 of Friends’ donations in the bank, which should cover most of the remaining capital projects. While he hopes the money doesn’t have to go towards operational expenses, if the allocation from the city runs out before the end of the year, as it has in the past, it’s good to have a back up.

Besides donating money and providing discounts on needed materials and services, local businesses also help raise awareness. For example, Forsyth Nature Center sets up a table with a petting turtle at the annual yard sale fund-raiser held by Rondout Savings Bank, according to marketing administrator Gaelen Doughman. “We’ve supported them since 2005,” she said. “They understand the importance of protecting the environment and are one of the cornerstones of our community.”

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