In addition to cupcakes and coffee, Moxie will soon be adding live musical entertainment and some savory offerings to their menu.
Gardiner
One of the things that makes a small town like New Paltz so livable is a piece of infrastructure that most of us take for granted: sidewalks. And the town of Gardiner, nestled against the Shawangunk Ridge just seven miles south of New Paltz, is getting new ones. The $1.5 million project, funded by the New York Department of Transportation, was awarded to Paul Colucci Excavation of Gardiner and includes colorful pavers, 27 lampposts, landscaping, and vegetation.
"When we were working on building our new sidewalks, we discovered old ones 20 feet down," says Carl Zatz, Gardiner town supervisor, who is overseeing the project. "Gardiner has so much history, and it has always been a strong town. It's changed a lot in the last 10 years or so, and though things slowed down a bit in 2008, interest in the town has been steady." Zatz has been supervisor since January 2012, but actually served two previous terms in that post from 2003 to 2007. The project is scheduled to be completed this August, and will create a sidewalk from Town Hall to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, and a second sidewalk that will connect the Gardiner Reformed Church to the Rail Trail.
While strolling down the new sidewalks, stop in to The Village Market and Bakery. "Everything here is made from scratch," says John Reilly, who, together with his wife Karen Schneck, is chef and owner. Now in their fourth year, the Village Market has become a real hub and anchor in the town. "I love the sense of community here. I was living in Gardiner, commuting to Manhattan, where I was a corporate chef for one of the largest catering companies in the Northeast," says Reilly. "I wanted to do something close to home, and though I loved the excitement of the city, my dream was to ride my bike to work. The heart of the business is breakfast and lunch, and there's a smaller component that's bakery and market. We've kept the baked goods fairly simple, with muffins, scones, and croissants. This year we're carrying local produce and Gardiner-raised grass-fed beef. This week it's local radishes, eggs, Swiss chard—it changes with the seasons." The couple also runs Omnivore Catered Events, a full-service off-site catering business.
Just across the street from the Village Market, Susan Eckhardt, who owns a number of buildings in Gardiner, is renovating 128 Main Street. From the street, the 1910 home appears unassuming. Entering, one finds an inviting space poised to become a bar and an intimate dining room with a soaring ceiling that spans two floors. The space is still only roughed out, framed, and awaiting sheetrock and the final touches of its future occupant. "We want this to be a real destination kind of place, and we're looking for chefs with some great ideas to come bring this space to life," says Eckhardt. Her own commitment to sustainable, humane, and organic farming is reflected in Brykill Farm in Gardiner, which she owns, where humanely raised grass-fed Charlois/Red Angus cross cattle happily roam over 450 acres. Her other projects include a "Wiki" office for Gardiner, providing space to those needing a place to work with high-speed Internet access and meeting rooms available.
The Hudson Valley produces some world-class wines, and Perry Goldschein, the new owner of Gardiner's Hudson Valley Wine Market, encourages his customers to visit the wineries. "You enjoy more if you know where it's been made and the people behind it," says Goldschein, who bought the market this year and opened in May. "Hudson Valley wines are holding their own in competitions—Whitecliff, right here in Gardiner, won Best White Wine at the San Francisco Wine Competition in 2010, right in Napa's backyard. Wine Enthusiast magazine rated 20 Hudson Valley wines in their upper point range. Hudson Valley wineries are producing world-class wines, and though it's a small shop, we carry 20 different wines form six or seven local wineries. It's one of the best selections in the region, if not the largest, and local wines certainly make up the largest percentage of our inventory." His suggestions for the best local wines to taste? "The varietals that do best in our region are the Rieslings. Chardonnay can do well—Millbrook puts out an excellent one. Of the hybrids, lighter wines like Traminette, Seyval blanc are doing well. Reds like Cabernet franc and pinot noir are also very good." The market also features Tuthilltown whiskies and vodkas, distilled in Gardiner.
