When Kingston’s beloved beer, burger, and live music joint The Anchor closed its doors in 2022, regulars were hopeful that the space would be reclaimed as a new laid-back watering hole. Longtime friends and business partners Rebecca Kush and Tiffany Themens dove in at the opportunity and, after a lighthanded reno, recently opened Night Swim Kingston, which they describe as the welcoming neighborhood bar that the building was calling for.
Kush, a pandemic-era Brooklyn expat, purchased a home in Kingston’s Rondout neighborhood in 2021 and immediately saw potential to bring new life to the Midtown bar when it went up for sale. She and Themens had been running a Williamsburg spot Crystal Lake for the past seven years.“When my husband and I were thinking about leaving the city, a real estate friend suggested Kingston. She told me, ‘I know you’ve got Crystal Lake, but this is a great community,’ and she was right,” Kush says. “We ended up buying our house here, and I told Tiffany, ‘You need to see this community, come hang out with us up here. If we’re thinking about opening a second bar, we should do it here.’”
Themens visited town and was immediately sold on the idea. “As soon as I came up and saw what Kingston offered—the people, the vibe, the surroundings—I was like, yep, let’s do this,” she says.
Kush appreciated how the space at 744 Broadway lent itself to tying together the otherwise distinct neighborhoods within the city, being located at the top of Broadway, on the outskirts of the Uptown district, and a short bike ride to the waterfront. “I walked in and thought, we could really do something cool here,” Kush says. “We know that we’re new to town and maybe looked at as outsiders coming into this tight-knit community, but we had the vision of making this a warm, fun, inclusive place that offers a good mix of classic cocktails for those who want a high-end night, but also where you can get a $5 beer, or take advantage of a beer-and-shot special. I haven’t been in Kingston too long, but it’s already easy to see that prices around town have sort of skyrocketed, and we didn’t want to be exclusive to people who are just looking for a casual drink.”
Night Swim opened on May 24 to what Kush describes as an overwhelmingly positive reception from the community. “Old Anchor regulars come in and say that they love the updates we made, but also we took great pains to not change too much,” she says. The space didn’t need much work done, so they added some fresh paint, new art, and created a lounge vibe where a stage used to be.
Even the name Night Swim has ties to the building’s former iteration. “It’s both a tie-in to the name of our first bar, which, yes, is a nod to the Friday the 13th movies, and a small homage to the Anchor, keeping along the lines of a water theme,” Themens says. “And besides, it’s just a fun concept. Who doesn’t like a naughty night swim?”
On the cocktail menu, designed to change seasonally, you’ll currently find flavorful options like the blackberry bramble ($14), which is similar to an old fashioned jazzed up with blackberry syrup, or the lavender gimlet ($14) made with gin, lavender cordial, and lime. Most cocktails range $12 to $14 and a short selection of mocktails run $7. “I love a simple cocktail with a little twist,” Kush says. “I like to think about what bartenders enjoy making, too—something that’s interesting but that they can still get out quickly when it’s busy.”
The 20-tap line that the former business was notorious for has been removed, but there’s currently a rotating beer menu and a phase-two plan to add a new tapline, but with maybe just a handful of taps. Food is in the next phase, as well, once they finalize an in-h
ouse culinary partner, but the goal is to offer typical pub fare.
Plans are also underway to host community events and nightly activities. “We’d like to have something every night—comedy, trivia, burlesque, drag—to where people just know they can pop on Instagram and see what’s going on at Night Swim any day of the week,” Themens says. “We’re so excited to meet more of the community, too, and do more to support other local businesses and artists; hopefully get involved with organizations like O+. We like to have fun and know how to throw a party—we’ve both been in the industry for about 20 years and are excited to see that continue in Kingston.”
Night Swim is open Monday through Friday from 5 pm until late; weekends from 1pm till late.
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