Scry Chapelle, a new multi-focus business in a space formerly occupied by Arrowood Outpost, was given the conditional green light by the Village of New Paltz Planning Board last week.
A business co-owned by Thomas Koytila and Amy Lachenauer, Scry Chapelle is described in an August 1, 2023 letter to the planning board as “an establishment that seamlessly integrates a vintage clothing shop, local beer and wine bar, with a light grab-and-go/small plates menu, and a weekend music venue,” its name inspired by a church in a Belgian village.
While the Scry Chapelle shares some of its business model with the former Arrowood Outpost, that piece of the puzzle was a concern for Myra Sorin, a member of the Jewish Congregation of New Paltz, with its synagogue less than 100 feet from 3B Church Street.
During a public hearing on Tuesday, August 6, Sorin said the synagogue had not been notified of the new business, “and I think it’s either tradition or ethics or law that should require that they be notified.”
She added that she believed allowing the variance for Scry Chapelle violated the “200 Foot Rule” by which the New York State Liquor Authority prohibits licensing.
Though Arrowood Farms’ own website called the Outpost “a unique, speakeasy-style bar,” they were able to skirt the 200 Foot Rule by opening as a farm store.
“It was selling goods from their farm,” Sorin said. “It included beer, and they served beer as well.”
Sorin added that members of the congregation met with Arrowood and came to a neighborly agreement.
“They said they would not be open later than something like 9 or 10 o’clock,” she said. “They agreed that they would try to keep the noise levels down, things like that. They were very good, and we didn’t have any problems with it. But I see a bar as something very different.”
Sorin said her concerns were amplified by rising antisemitism across the country.
“The whole United States is really increasingly anti-semitic, with language and attacks,” she said. “So I personally think it would be a really bad idea to have a bar that close to our site. The owner of the bar could maybe be a good neighbor. But what about the patrons of the bar? They could be students, they could be people from out of town, they could be people looking for trouble. They could be nice people who get drunk and then they lose their inhibitions. And I am very worried about my congregation.
“We want to encourage businesses, local businesses and people. And I’m not against that. I’m just against this particular type of business.”
In order to even be considered for the Church Street location, Scry Chapelle had to receive a variance from the village’s zoning board of appeals to get around village code that states that bars or taverns cannot be located within 500 feet of a school or house of worship. The 200 Foot Rule, said planning board attorney Emily Svenson, was a matter for the state liquor authority to settle, and there was no guarantee that they would approve Scry Chapelle’s application.
For their part, Koytila and Lachenauer said they hoped to establish a friendly relationship with their neighbors similar to what Arrowood Outpost had.
“Of course we intend to be respectful,” said Koytila. “We don’t intend to do anything to disturb the neighborhood, noise-wise, public volume-wise. We’re not looking to do hard alcohol…We’re looking to do a local tasting room sorts with beer, wine and cider.”
Koytila added that there are other businesses serving alcohol on the same street, including Huckleberry, which like the proposed Scry Chapelle, is less than 100 feet from the synagogue.
“It’s a cafe kind of vibe with clothing,” said Lachenauer. “So it’s not just focusing on the alcohol.”
“It’s like a boutique cafe,” Koytila said. “And then we’re looking to add some alcohol to it.”
Though they might stay open as late as 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, the general plan for Scry Chapelle is to open from noon to 8 p.m., similar to Arrowood. But because of the weekend plans, village officials said, they had to be classified as a bar or tavern.
Koytila and Lachenauer added that would not host live music events outdoors at any time, and because their space is so small, even indoor music would be an intimate experience.
“We’re not looking to cause any more disruption in the neighborhood as the previous tenant would have,” Koytila said.
Planning board members asked that as a condition of their approval, that Scry Chapelle coordinate with the Jewish Congregation of New Paltz that events at the former don’t disrupt the high holidays or other religious services at the latter.
Join the family! 
