On Instagram over the past few months, you might have seen some racy images advertising a lumberyard in Ellenville. Since taking over Slutsky Lumber in June 2021, new owners Jonathan and Rebecca Falcon and Kenneth and Susan Falcon have brought cheek and fresh energy to the business. All four Orange County natives, the two couples bought the business as an investment, hoping to very literally support the reconstruction of Ellenville that is underway.
One half of this team, Jonathan and Rebecca, are also behind the recent rejuvenation of longtime Newburgh establishment Liberty Street Liquors, which they bought with friends last July. They’ve sourced materials from their own lumberyard to renovate the liquor store/laundromat building, which had fallen into disrepair.
“We’re trying to change it from a generic liquor store that sells Hennessy and Patron to a New York-focused liquor and natural wine store,” Jon Falcons says. “Every week we get a new New York product in. We’re hoping to really make people more aware of how much good wine comes out of New York. We’re the third-biggest wine-producing state in the country. What's going on in the Finger Lakes with all the new grape varieties that have been created in collaboration with Cornell—it’s a cool story that not many liquor stores have embraced.”
Given Newburgh’s declining population over the past decade, opening a new liquor store from scratch would've been impossible given per capita licensing limitations. But the Falcons and their friends were able to buy the building and the business together with the liquor license included. “There is no natural wine shop in the area, and we thought that it’s something people would want,” Falcon says. There is another wine shop in Newburgh that does European, Old World wines. "They don’t carry many big brands or New York products. We hope to offer a large natural wine selection while also carrying popular brands."
Their lineup of local bevvies includes wines from Benmarl, Brotherhood, Wild Arc Farm, Accordion Wines, and Rose Hill Farm Ferments, as well as spirits from Cooperstown Distillery, Coppersea, Kaatskill Mountain Spirits Co., and Liquid Fables. A purely New York focus isn’t possible given the demand, so Falcon and his partners are always sure to stock everything from conventional full-bodied reds from Italy and Chilean Pinot Noirs down to Barefoot’s fruit moscatos.
Customer education is an ongoing part of the business. “I try to have four to eight bottles open of random cognac that isn’t Hennessy and a bunch of different sweet wines that aren’t Barefoot, as well as some fancier red wines,” Falcon says. "I encourage everybody to try new things while at the shop. There are customers who’ve never tried a hard cider. Some might not love it but others have gotten very into our selection. Maybe they used to get a flavored fruit wine and now they’re getting a sweet New York riesling.”
On the laundromat side of the building, Falcon and his partners are in the process of replacing dated washers and dryers and renovating the space. At the back of the building, a storage room may get new life as an event space or expanded inventory for the liquor store. “I like the idea of a hidden speakeasy behind a laundromat,” Falcon says. “We’re also talking to some local farms about possibly doing a CSA pick-up out of the laundromat. We definitely think something cool could happen back there, but we haven’t even started talking to the city about it. Half the sheetrock still needs to be replaced.”
Falcon is chomping at the bit to have it all already done, but as with all grassroots endeavors, money is a constraint. In the meantime, they’re prioritizing their spending on projects like a new roof for the building, and making smaller improvements where they can, like rebranding the liquor store so it doesn’t look like it has “a 1995 Microsoft Word liquor store logo.” They also took down the floor-to-ceiling glass panes that divided the cash register and much of the merchandise from the clientele. And a new website is in the works, which will allow online sales with shipping, local delivery, and onsite pick-up.
“I wish everything was all good already,” Falcon says. “But it’s all slowly getting there.”