“It’s not a deli,” says Ellen Dietz, proud proprietor of Mtn. Mkt., the new business that has just taken over the space at the western end of Route 299 that most recently housed Bubbe’s Deli and Grocery, and the Mountain Harbor Deli before that. “But I kept the grill for breakfast sandwiches. They’ll be back by the end of the month.”
The building at 3124 Route 44/55 in Gardiner, at the foot of the Shawangunk cliffs, occupies what might be called an iconic location. Anyone heading from New Paltz to a day of outdoorsy fun at Minnewaska State Park or the southern half of the Mohonk Preserve has to pass that way, along with folks heading to or from Kerhonkson. It’s right across the street from the Mountain Brauhaus, a popular drinks-and-dinner destination for locals.
While doing her business plan, Dietz crunched the numbers from the Department of Transportation and discovered that “There are 3,600 commuters who drive by every day.” That’s in addition to the tens of thousands of rock climbers, vacationers and day-trippers bound for the Gunks during outdoor recreation season. She’s also very aware that, for local residents, the nearest supermarket is many miles away in any direction. That means three different market segments in need of a place to stop for snacks for the trail, a cold drink or hot coffee, some grocery staples to take home. Dietz means to accommodate them all, and to make Mtn. Mkt. a place where people want to hang out.
“I don’t want it to be that hectic, jam-packed convenience store. I’m stocking it with local products. I want to switch over from corporate to things people want.” Indeed, the selection of snacks and drinks leans heavily toward such local items as Bjorn Qorn, the solar-popped organic popcorn made in Accord, and CalmBucha, made in New Paltz. Delicious baked goods including hard rolls, Danishes, crumbcake and individual-serving quiches are delivered daily by a baker “just down the road,” Dietz says. Her dairy products supplier is Hudson Valley Fresh, a consortium of 19 local family farmers. The small-batch coffee beans used at Mtn. Mkt.’s big coffee island are roasted at Coda Coffee in Massachusetts.
“It’s so important to me to make it more than just a business. Wealth is more than monetary,” she adds. “I want it to be community-based on all levels. I’m not going to gouge people.”
The local vibe is reinforced by the wall display of paintings by New Paltz artist Ryan Cronin. Dietz plans to hang a different art show every six months. There’s a rack of tee-shirts and hats for sale, sporting Justin Dates’ design of the word “Upstate” superimposed over the familiar silhouette of Sky Top.
While there’s only one table inside, plus a couple of benches pulled up to a counter in the window, Mtn. Mkt. will become more than a pit stop en route from here to there as soon as the weather warms up a bit. The building has a big front deck and an even-bigger lawn, hosting seven picnic tables, plus a parking lot ample enough to accommodate food trucks on weekends. Dietz has already amassed a database of 50 different food trucks hawking a broad variety of world cuisines, and plans to rotate among them, two at a time, from May to November. Hot rod meets on Thursday nights are also in the plans.
This desire to host a community hub comes to her honestly, as a scion of a long-established local family. The Dietz clan owns a large spread with cliff views on Springtown Road, and Ellen – one of seven adult siblings who grew up on North Ohioville Road in New Paltz – built a tiny house in 2015 on a small lot in Springtown that her parents gave her. The youngest generation of Dietzes now consists of about 20 cousins, she says, and she loves that all these kids who grew up together have remained close.
Ellen Dietz is on her fourth career now. Mentored by legendary New Paltz High School art teacher Fran Sutherland, she studied graphic design and ran a company called EL Design Associates in Poughkeepsie for seven years. Then she partnered with Heather Whitefield in the garden design firm Organic Matters for 15 years. When she and Whitefield went their separate ways, Dietz “got a little itchy” and wanted to do something completely different. “I became a paramedic for the New Paltz Rescue Squad,” she recalls. “It was like being a superhero. I did that for eight years.”
That career ended when Dietz “blew my knee out,” leading to a period of partial disability when her replacement knee was “put in wrong.” Swelling that wouldn’t subside, blood clots, pulmonary embolisms and deep vein thrombosis followed. She finally found an orthopedic surgeon who was willing to redo the replacement procedure: “Frank Lombardo of Orthopedic Associates – he’s my hero.”
During her period of medical complications, Dietz says, “I couldn’t work a full day, so I got a job with the Hershey Chocolate Company… I had 114 convenience stores that I would check in on. I got to know all the storeowners and learned everything about convenience stores.” So it was that the idea to open her own shop got into her head, and when a friend told her that Dana and Beryl Goldblatt were thinking of giving up Bubbe’s Deli, she offered to take over their lease from building-owner Doug Thompson.
Bubbe’s closed in October 2023, and Dietz moved in this January. Though she’s still recuperating from her second knee replacement last April, she essentially did all the renovation work herself, including painting over the former purple walls several times with an off-white shade. “I love figuring things out. I did the logo. I do all the marketing. I have the people skills,” she says. “Being a shopkeeper is fun. It’s very social, but also challenging. You’re wearing all the hats.”
While her varied career path has blessed Dietz with multiple skillsets, and her medical challenges have honed her sense of determination, another piece of her personal history is shaping a product line that will be a specialty of Mtn. Mkts.: alcohol-free beverages. “Sobriety is trending. I’ve been sober for three years,” she says. “I didn’t like who I became. I wasn’t a fun drunk anymore.” She notes that non-alcoholic adult beverages are becoming more diverse, tasty and interesting, and shares samples of Phony Negroni and Spiritless Kentucky 74 bourbon to prove it. Hop water, tequila, spritzers, alcohol-removed wine, whiskey sours and many more such offerings are already available, and a former office has been turned into a Mocktail Cave, only awaiting delivery of a cooler. “We’re going to have the largest selection of non-alcoholic drinks in the Hudson Valley,” Dietz promises.
Customers will be able to purchase regular beer as well, once a license is secured – within a month, she hopes. Lotto tickets will also be available soon. And Dietz has already rehired the former deli’s longtime breakfast-sandwich-slinger, Gerry Bartholomew, to bring back the most popular item on the menu. “Everything has come out exactly the way it was in my brain,” says Dietz.
To check out what’s newest at Mtn. Mkt., visit www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555666133716. Business hours are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.
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