1123 Old Albany Post Road, Garrison |
295 Tinker Street, Woodstock
Part of the storied Bearsville Theater complex, the Bear Cafe has been shuttered since 2019 when the previous tenant’s lease ended. Open on and off, with various owners since, the ’70s, it’s remembered for high-end food and celebrity clientele, including names like David Bowie and Uma Thurman. The beloved eatery will be reborn in a few weeks as simply "the Bear," in a newly renovated spot next door to its previous location. According to Chef Josh Rajala, who worked in the restaurant’s previous iteration, the menu will be fresh and new, with globetrotting menu items and a few old favorites thrown in. The space’s highlight is the riverside room, with large windows overlooking the Saw Kill Creek, and the adjoining outdoor deck. Expect a refined aesthetic inside, and culinary influences from Asia, Portugal, and Spain, all made with Hudson Valley ingredients.
58 Vineyard Avenue, Highland
Merchants Social
333-335 Warren Street, Hudson
On June 4, New York City celebrity Chef John DeLucie inaugurates his first upstate venture: Merchants Social in Hudson. Headed up by Executive Chef Kevin Rubis, who most recently worked under Dan Silverman at Hutton Brickyards in Kingston, Merchants Social specializes in hyperlocal, seasonal fare. In addition to working with area producers to source produce, fish, and meat, the raw bar will stock a wide range of fresh East Coast seafood including oysters, mussels, clams, lobster, and langoustines. Located in the former Ca’ Mea building on Warren Street, the new bar/restaurant offers three distinct spaces for dining and drinking: a more casual lounge, a formal dining room with a view to the open kitchen, and a revamped 74-seat courtyard.
Teaming up with his son-in-law and fellow whisky enthusiast Joel LeVangia, John Dyson set out to honor his Scottish grandfather by creating the closest possible thing to a Scotch this side of the pond. The pair imported all the equipment from Scotland and even managed to hire a Scottish distiller (a rare feat). Now Tenmile Distillery’s first batch is dutifully aging in oak barrels. And in the meantime, the Wassaic facility, located in a beautifully renovated old dairy barn, has opened to the public for tours and tastings of their other award-winning spirits—Sinpatch Vodka and Listening Rock Gin. Tenmile will host Distillery Day on June 25 with tours, tastings, and local purveyors. Tickets are $75 per person, which includes two drink tickets and sampling of all the attending food booths.
