The first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words “maple syrup” is probably pancakes. Or waffles, or French toast; whatever your breakfast food of choice that’s enhanced by butter and syrup is. But Debra and John Corey of Highland have other ideas when it comes to maple syrup. Why can’t it take its place at the dinner table, too?
Fear not — in these trying times, also-struggling local bars and eateries are here to serve you. Thanks to County Executive Pat Ryan’s Project Resilience, help from local teachers, the Saugerties chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a slew of volunteers, relaxed liquor laws handed down from the State Liquor Authority allowing businesses to provide to-go drinks and the ingenuity of local restauranteurs, Saugertiesians have a slew of free and affordable takeout options available to them until the “new normal” transitions into the typical normal. Drinks are often dispensed either in Chinese food takeout containers or straw-top containers with Saran wrap. “It gives us a chance to stay connected with our customers — it’s a regular customer’s birthday and we were able to send them home with a drink that they have quite often, a peach cosmo, when they come in. It was a nice opportunity to feel normal in this craziness,” said town supervisor and Sue’s Restaurant owner Fred Costello Jr.
Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, in a joint effort with the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce. has proclaimed this Saturday, March 28 “Shop Ulster Saturday.” The aim is to encourage online shopping at local businesses forced to close due to the outbreak.
“We’re going to be like Starbucks,” says Iva Walsh. She’s talking about the imminent opening of the new Maeve’s Place in Phoenicia, a sister café to the wildly successful Maeve’s Place coffee shop nestled in the Pine Hill Arms Hotel.
While many local restaurants are still open for delivery, others have decided to close. Meanwhile, professionals of all kinds are seeking online community.
Even before Governor Cuomo responded to the coronavirus pandemic with a mandate that New York restaurants and bars close indefinitely (except for take-out) starting Monday, March 16, many business in Woodstock and nearby towns had already taken action.
In Saugerties, as elsewhere, coronavirus is having an effect on local businesses, forcing closings, curtailment of services and other hardships, but in at least one case it is bringing out compassion.
Longtime New Paltz residents who associate the cavernous space inside 58 Main St. with the college student hangout “Cafeteria” located there for so many years will find quite the transformation in what is now home to Pho Tibet, a serene and relaxed atmosphere in which to enjoy authentic Vietnamese and Himalayan cuisine.
At an Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce breakfast last month, County Executive Pat Ryan said the long-rumored move of the Farm Bridge co-packing operation from TechCity to the Hudson Valley Mall was “not 100 percent final yet, but it’s pretty close.”
Want to enliven your wedding, corporate retreat or bar mitzvah? Mini axes flying through the air will do it.
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