On February 14, Brandy Walters owner of The Anchor, the much-loved Midtown Kingston bar and restaurant and the next-door doughnut shop Hole in the Wall, announced on Facebook that she would be selling the building at 744 Broadway, and eventually closing the Anchor. “I’ve been working anywhere between 70 to 80 hours a week,” Walters said a few days later over the phone. “That does not leave time to help anyone or do community action. I had to take inventory of what it is I want, and it became more and more clear that the Anchor doesn't fit into that.” That said, Walters was very clear that the Anchor will stay open under her management until the last signature on the last page of the closing documents is signed. “If it takes six months to sell, I am there. We are NOT closing,” she said. “Ideally we will be able to pass on the keys and hopefully the Anchor won’t be closed for a moment.”
The Anchor is/was the best kind of neighborhood bar, with 20 taps of craft beer, a room full of familiar faces, award-winning chicken wings, and the best damn burger in town. It has hosted stand-up comedy shows and open mics, local bands, and O+ performances. “Every day there is something I realize that I am going to miss and I cry a little,” Walters said. “It’s all for the best, but it still gets sad. This is my heart.”
If you moved to Kingston during the pandemic, you've maybe never sat at the long bar and shot the shit with the bartender—they were closed for indoor dining for almost 19 months, pivoting time and again to stay afloat. They sold groceries, they did curbside pickup, patio dining, and pop-ups at neighboring restaurants, they opened a doughnut shop. Finally, the day after Thanksgiving, November 26, they reopened the interior of the Anchor for dining. There’s no telling how fast or slow the sale of the building will go, so get your ass over there posthaste for a cold pint, a burger, and a sliver of history.
A New Chapter
A version of Kingston is dying. Not three weeks ago we wrote about Boitson’s unexpected closing. In 2020, Duo Bistro shuttered. There are murmurs that its successor, Grainne, may close soon, too. Pie for the People turned off its ovens a few months ago, Tony’s Pizzeria is under contract. And now, The Anchor. Each of these is a fallen titan, a pillar of a previous era.
Some of the blame goes to the pandemic—the impossible economics of running a restaurant amid social distancing and occupancy restrictions, supply chain issues, skyrocketing prices, and staff shortages. Plus, there are the fresh perspectives many came to from that prolonged period of introspection and reevaluation. “Obviously the pandemic is this horrible catastrophic thing, but I think one blessing that came out of it is it really forced everyone to reflect on themselves and their lives,” Walters said. “In my case and in my business partner’s case, we want to be present in our community. We know that for sure. But we also realized that we don't want to work as many hours, necessarily, or in that same capacity. The Anchor is a big beast of a business—it takes 25 employees to run it properly.”
Then, of course there is also gentrification—the out-of-town money swooping in, scooping up properties, and raising rents; and the changing town demographics. In short, there is a lot going on. “As someone that grew up in Kingston, it's really a mixed feeling,” Walters said. “Because I want to see my town do well. I want to see it prosper. But change is hard to navigate. The gentrification and rising prices are scary. We don't want to be priced out. We all need to do our best and try to minimize as many casualties as possible. I'm apprehensive but also excited at the same time, hopeful.”
Just as surely as some version of Kingston is dying, something new is being born in its stead. The last few years have seen the loss of DMZ, and in its place the birth of Lola; Kovo, in its place Kingston Bread Lab; Elephant followed by Wildebeest and now First Capital Poke Bar. It remains to be seen who and what will take over the spot that for over a decade was home to the Anchor, with its award-winning wings and loaded burgers, but it will no doubt be part of the next chapter of Kingston.
If you’ve got a million bucks and you want to be part of writing that next chapter, the building at 744-746 Broadway, Kingston is for sale through Compass. “We’re selling it as a turnkey business,” Walters said. “It’s a really great opportunity for someone who has always wanted to run a restaurant. It’s all ready to go for them. Somebody might decide to come and start their own brand. But we are selling the name, the menu, the website, most of the equipment and the furniture.”
In addition to the restaurant with its bar and performance space and the adjacent retail space currently housing Hole in the Wall, the two-story building has two one-bedroom apartments upstairs. “One of the cool things is that as a seller, you get to choose who you sell to,” Walters said. “As people are looking at the building, they are discussing their intentions and wants and visions for the space. We’re taking all of that into consideration.”
As for what’s next for Walters? Doughnuts. “I found out that I like making doughnuts,” she said of her pandemic revelation. She is currently searching for another property to purchase, ideally in Kingston, so she can build out the Hole in the Wall business. “Doughnuts, coffee—a breakfast thing,” she said. “It’ll be a lot less hours and just a more simplified, easier business structure for us. We have so many ideas and things we want to do.” A larger space will enable Walters to do special orders and catering as well as expand the volume and variety of doughnuts she can produce. She also plans to focus on food security in the community, both through the Hole in the Wall and as a volunteer.
“I'm going to be very happy to have some autonomy back and to have some space,” Walters said of the future. “I am ready for a change and to go on to the next chapter of my life. It’s a good moment to pass the Anchor on to someone else. Everything is on an upswing. Spring is coming, new things are being born—it's a good time for change.”
