Black-Eyed Suzie’s Upstate is an indoor/outdoor spot that offers unique bites inspired by global fare executed with local ingredients.
Business partners Cheryl Paff and Juan Tzitzimititila moved into a storefront location in Saugerties in 2015. The duo have roots going back to 1996. Tzitzimititila worked at Paff’s original Black-Eyed Suzie’s, which was located in the East Village of New York City near Tompkins Square Park.
“I got a travel fever and I sold that business and took a year off and travelled around the world,” said Paff. “While I did that, I was studying cooking in all of these areas in different countries. The menu today reflects those travels and lessons I learned on that trip.”
When she returned from her travels, she settled into the Hudson Valley. The upstate rendition of Black-Eyed Suzie’s started as a catering company in 2013 with a production kitchen in Woodstock. Paff and Tzitzimititila catered parties and “operated a traveling food stand with an ever-changing local, seasonal menu all over the Hudson Valley.”
Paff didn’t imagine a restaurant revival for the business. However, it naturally evolved to become such with the storefront offering a 17-seat indoor dining space and large patio dining for the warmer months. The Saugerties business continued to offer catering, as well as dining in and takeaway.
“I wasn’t planning on doing the restaurant, but it kind of just happened,” said Paff. “It worked out great.”
Lately, the customer favorite is Black-Eyed Suzie’s meal programs. “Family Style Takeaway” offers wholesome prepared foods that are meant to be stocked in your fridge at home. In January, the restaurant began a “Winter Wellness” program featuring healthy, nutrient-dense meals.
“The menu is really a cross between comfort food and healthy food,” said Paff. “So we take a lot of comfort foods and make them healthy.”
The Family Style Takeaway program offers everything from jumbo shrimp cocktail and wellfleet oysters to ahi tuna poke bowls and lettuce wraps. The program also offers kids chicken tenders, pigs in a blanket and mac and cheese. A number of dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian options are included.
The Winter Wellness menu features broth and other hearty options. It is in partnership with Jade Path Healing Arts, which allows customers to add on essential oils, bath salts and even crystal healing jewelry.
What do the customers say?
Woodstock residents Staci Strauss and Craig McCord are fans of Black-Eyed Suzie’s “streamlined takeaway system.”
“We were very excited with the Family Style Takeaway program and we’ve been having it delivered pretty much since she started doing it,” said Strauss. “It’s so great not to cook three nights a week and have those meals.”
The pair’s go-to order includes a number of vegetable sides including beets, carrots, brussel sprouts among others, beef tenderloin and of course, the buttermilk fried chicken – which Paff said is the most popular menu item. It is made with local gluten-free cornflour from Wild Hive Farm in Dutchess County and all natural chicken.
“You can throw a dart and get something good from the menu,” said McCord. “What we really appreciate is how clean their food is from a production standpoint. It’s all local people. It translates to the flavorful food that comes our way once we order.”
One benefit is having everything portioned out properly, said Strauss, which is ideal for the pair who have struggled with cooking for just two in the past.
“It’s not take-out food or junk food,” said Strauss. “You get to treat yourself to restaurant food but at home.”
Supporting local farms is near and dear to Paff, especially considering she managed the Rhinebeck Farmers’ Market for 14 years. The decision to manage the market came when she realized she wanted to have a foot in the Hudson Valley food world.
“I developed relationships with farmers pretty closely over those years,” said Paff. “I’ve always sourced from them and kept in mind the seasonality of our region and cooked accordingly. In winter we will have more stews and pot pies and in the summer we’ll have grilled items and salads.”
When you take a step inside the restaurant, customers can experience a cozy environment to mirror the comfort food menu. The minimal and snug environment has wooden floors, metal chairs with fuzzy throws and bench seating along the walls. The decorations include plants, artwork and books throughout the small indoor area. The colored LED lit black-eyed susan flower is a perfect ode to the restaurant name. The all-white outdoor seating among large coral orange umbrellas create a picturesque place for a summer bite.
“In the summer, when the population in the area grows, we grow also,” said Paff about the outdoor patio.
For now, Black-Eyed Suzie’s plans to stay in Saugerties for a while.
“We have a new appreciation for winter here and we are starting to explore things we hadn’t before,” said Paff. “Our long-term goals are to be right here.”
To learn more about Black-Eyed Suzie’s Upstate, visit blackeyedsuziesupstate.com.
Black-Eyed Suzie’s is open for takeaway and small catering events. The patio will open in mid-March for outdoor dining.
Join the family! 
