David Schneider and Patty Wu keep busy. The couple behind Greene County eateries Tabla, Lucky Catskills, and Tannersville Barbecue, just signed a lease on the Uptown Kingston space recently vacated by Kingston Bread + Bar (which is in turn moving to the old Pakt spot).
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“It’s going to be the same concept as Lucky Catskills,” Schneider says, “though we’re going back and forth between launching as the cafe version we have in Tannersville for now and then adding bar and dinner service later on or doing it all together.” The original iteration of the Lucky concept is an Asian cafe with dim sum offerings, coffee drinks, and a provisions market—all of which will be available in the Kingston location, which the duo plans to open sometime in June.
“We were always planning on the one in Tannersville having wine and sake, and we’re still working through that there,” Schneider says. “But Kingston will give us a full kitchen, which will also service one in Tannersville, so that will give us more options and ways to do things that will help us to grow the menu.
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Even as the offerings grow, Schneider and Wu plan to keep to their concept of pan-Asian (though not fusion!) “deep cuts.” “It’s not run of the mill stuff you get all the time at a Chinese takeout place,” Wu says. “Instead of just chicken and broccoli, we’ll have a dish like mapo tofu, which is a Sichuan dish that people aren’t exposed to all the time.”
And in service of familiarizing people with lesser-known dishes as they’re traditionally eaten in their countries of origin, the duo aims to prepare each dish in the classic way—no remixes. “If we do pho, which we do offer, it’ll be traditional,” Schneider says. “If we do ramen, that’ll be traditional. Mapo tofu, dan dan noodles—traditional.”
When asked why they decided to bring Lucky to the North Front Street spot, rather than their barbecue or tapas concepts, Schneider replies, “We’re very focused on Lucky right now because it brings a variety of foods to areas that don’t have that. We’re not your typical takeout Asian restaurant. We’re bringing dishes that are more comfort foods from those regions.”
The couple is still figuring out what will happen with the retail section during dinner service, but the solution is sure to come during the design process, which is just getting under way.
“When we can find a space that is fully equipped, Patty will go in there with another friend of ours and figure out how to redo the aesthetic,” Schneider says. “There’s already a bar counter. It’s an open dining room. So Patty will take it and make it the Lucky Catskill aesthetic.” While the original Lucky mood board evoked Midcentury Modern Asian nightclub, the concept evolved in execution. The same moody floral wallpaper from Tannersville will anchor the design in Kingston. “I am reiterating the same color scheme,” Wu says, “but this design will be more involved because the space is so much bigger. I’ll be able to express the decor theme more deeply.”
Menu development and design are just getting started, though the ever-ambitious couple is planning to launch not long after Memorial Day weekend. Follow Lucky Catskills on Instagram for updates.
