Among the many unhappy outcomes that can accompany drunk driving, one of the most potentially disastrous is the tendency to forget where a busy road comes to an end. It was only by a remarkable stroke of luck that no one was killed, or even seriously injured, when in the wee hours of December 12, 2021, the driver of “a huge BMW” traveling westbound failed to brake at the stop sign at the point where Route 299 runs into Route 44/55 in Gardiner.
The driver was later found at home, passed out on his own front lawn but unhurt. “He went Dukes of Hazzard-style,” relates Dana Goldblatt, who had been managing the Mountain Harbor Deli with his wife Beryl for about four months at the time that the BMW went airborne and plowed through the store’s façade, pushing a picnic table before it. The impact of the vehicle was absorbed by the row of heavy metal cooking fixtures lined up behind the counter. “It crumpled all the equipment like an accordion.”
Dana speculates that far more damage would have been done if the crash had occurred at any other point along the front of the building – both to the interior and to the driver. Dana got lucky as well; some nights he arrives that early to begin his prep work for the day, but not on the night in question. “Nobody at all was hurt,” he says in wonderment.
From the exterior, you can tell where the car went through the front of the building by the unweathered wood of the replacement siding. But inside, all the wreckage has been replaced by shiny new fixtures. And on Friday, May 6, the store reopened under a new name: Bubbe’s Deli and Grocery. Bubbe? You mean you’re actually going to open a Jewish-style delicatessen – something that has been missing in the New Paltz/Gardiner area for a long time? “Yes we are!” says Beryl delightedly, with a little leap into the air.
“We painted the place up, and got a whole lot better, brand-new kitchen equipment,” says Dana as he shows off the renovations to Hudson Valley One. He was the head chef at Huckleberry for four years, and was already itching to do more cooking when he and Beryl took over the management of the deli at the end of the summer from Hickory Rendetti. They bought out the business in March. Having to clean up the massive mess from a car wreck gave the Goldblatts the excuse they needed to expand the kitchen.
The improvements are significant. Where there was formerly only a griddle so small that the building inspector didn’t require exterior ventilation, there’s now a big griddle, two burners and a deep-fryer, with a big new vent, fan and ductwork overhead. The fire suppression system is new; so are the cold station and the industrial triple sink. The refrigerated meats display case adjoining the front counter was “the one thing that survived the crash,” Dana says.
Working with contractor Brian Doering, Dana has replaced all the old tile in the deli, swapped out the fluorescent light fixtures for more natural lighting and repainted the ceiling and walls. The new color scheme, purple and a very pale lilac/white, was inspired along with the business’ new name by Beryl’s mother Wendy. “She’s got the purple hair,” Dana explains.
Wendy a/k/a Bubbe is also the family’s potato pancake expert. “Over the pandemic, me and Bubbe spent an entire day making latkes – over 300 of them,” Dana says. “I can’t wait to start slinging latkes.”
The new equipment, plus the addition of interior tables for dining, mean that Bubbe’s Deli will be able to offer more prepared food than was customary at Mountain Harbor. “Hot sandwiches, cold sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches,” Dana ticks off, noting that eggs will be supplied by the Goldblatts’ own flock of 14 happy chickens. “We’ll also have lots of specials – particularly of a Jewish nature.” Patrons will be able to get knishes, pastrami, Reubens, bagels with lox and so on. Ingredients will be locally sourced as much as possible. Beryl loves to bake, so fresh baked goods will also be featured.
Much of the deli’s clientele has historically consisted of outdoorsy types heading up to Minnewaska or Mohonk for a day of vigorous activity. “We get an extraordinary amount of climbers. At 7 o’clock on the dot, 50 people will stroll in, all looking for sandwiches,” Dana says. “We get climbers who sleep in their cars in the parking lot, so they can be at the gate when the park opens.”
But the couple are also making a big effort to turn the deli into a one-stop shop for local residents, saving them trips to distant supermarkets in Modena and New Paltz. “We’re adding groceries, trying to be more convenient for all the neighbors. We’re trying to get everything you possibly need from town in here,” says Dana. “Good food, cold drinks and nice conversation.”
On the day HV1 visited, not all of the shelving and counters had been installed, and more interior tables were also expected to be delivered. A cooler for dairy products and drinks, including a selection of local beers, extends all the way along the back wall, and under the front window is a coffee bar with a generous selection. There’s an ice cream freezer and an ATM. Outside, despite the loss of one picnic table to the auto wreck, there’s ample seating both in front and in a grassy side yard, where the Goldblatts plan to operate a smoker and barbecue pit during the warmer months. “We offer outdoor games for kids on the lawn: cornhole, giant Jenga,” Dana notes. They’re even thinking of setting up Blair’s Lemonade Stand out front, to be run by their 6-year-old daughter. “On weekends she loves to come here,” says Beryl.
While the size of the deli’s parking lot is enviable by downtown New Paltz standards, it does sometimes fill up, according to Dana. But the new auxiliary parking built diagonally across the street by the Mountain Brauhaus can accommodate the overflow. And if you don’t want to chance not finding a space on a busy day, Bubbe’s Deli will soon be offering home delivery service to neighboring towns.
Located at 3124 Rout 44/55, Bubbe’s Deli is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week. For orders, updates and specials, call (845) 633-8705 or visit www.facebook.com/mtnharbordeli.
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