Other standout newcomers include Village Coffee and Goods, a coffee bar, mini market, and instant neighborhood hub. Three other imminent additions to the Midtown food/drink scene include Lis Bar, pairing cocktails with Polish-inspired small plates; Tubby's, set within the former Broadway Joe's on Broadway, where vegetarian pub grub will meet touring live music acts; and Gomen-Ramen, an authentic Japanese ramen noodle eatery from the couple behind New Paltz's Gomen-Kudasai.
The Rondout
The maritime-flavored Rondout district (sometimes called Downtown) has been increasingly capitalizing on its waterfront real estate to serve as a destination for recreation, culture, shopping, and dining.The development of the 76-acre Hutton Brickyards complex, on an old 19th-century brickyards site, continues. Following the production of two sold-out Bob Dylan concerts there last summer, the Poughkeepsie-based Bardavon is readying to put on a summer series of outdoor concerts in 2019. Since the Dylan shows, the site, with capacity for 3,500 guests, has upgraded its facilities with doubled parking, a new bar, and some two dozen bathroom stalls. Terra Glamping, touting seasonal accommodations in 25 plushly appointed "glamping" (glamorous camping) tents debuted in June. While two attempts at seasonal, riverside food-and-craft vendor fares here (Smorgasburg, which ran for two seasons in 2016/2017 and Hutton Fare, which ran just once in 2018) have failed due to low attendance, the site will host the Field + Supply maker fare for the second time on October 5 through 7.
The brickyards project is just one component of massive waterfront revitalization efforts underway. Large-scale government-funded improvements projects are in the works, with some 190 acres of waterfront poised for redevelopment, inclusive of the mile-long, Hudson River-fronting Hudson Landing Promenade, slated for completion by late 2019.
The Greenline—a linear network of some dozen rail trails, bike lanes, promenades, parks, and "complete street" connections—marks a partnership initiative between the nonprofit Kingston Land Trust, the City of Kingston, and Ulster County. The project will serve to ultimately connect all three neighborhoods of Kingston, and is already making considerable headway Downtown, where a section of the Kingston Point Rail Trail and a small park entrance to it (the Hasbrouck-Delaware Parklet) are anticipated for completion in 2019.
There are more options for getting out on the water, too, thanks to the Riverport Sailing and Rowing School, which launched last year in partnership with the Hudson Valley Maritime Museum, Kingston Sailing Club, and the Rondout Rowing Club, with sailing programs geared toward youth and adults.
The walkable stretch of restaurants, galleries and shops along Broadway and West Strand Street has seen a boost of late, too. For retail, new additions include charming stationery shop South Manor, designer jewelry store Facets of Earth, and dressmaker Zephyr. Last fall, both öl, a Scandinavian tap room by Hetta Glögg, and the revamped Downtown Cafe, serving authentic Venetian-inspired Italian cuisine from chef Graziano Tecchio, joined the mix, too.
On the cultural front, the modest Reher Center for Immigrant Culture and History debuted in May, unfolding within an historic, 19th-century bakery/apartment building on Broadway, with a museum and gallery space focused on highlighting the Hudson Valley's history of immigration. With limited hours on Saturdays through October, before reopening in May, it's a place well-suited to reflecting on the resolve and dedication of Kingstonians through the ages. Indeed, it's the denizens of this small city who have quietly maintained that Kingston, even during its most down-on-its-luck days, was worth sticking around for. Today, with the urban enclave engulfed by rolling layers of renaissance and renewed interest, their secret is out.