Ask a stranger what they know about Red Hook and nine times out of 10 they’ll say, “The school district is really good.” While that’s true (the district was ranked in the top 18th percentile nationally by US News and World Report in 2024), a successful school doesn’t make the town great—an engaged community that prioritizes civic engagement, supports small business and agriculture, and provides adequate funding for the education of the next generation has the tools to grow a successful school system that then gives back in turn.
The proof is right in the center of town. Red Hook’s most exciting new business (or rather new much larger location for an existing business, now offering a vastly expanded menu) Bliss Juice and Smoothie Bar is owned and operated by Annie Sullivan, a 27-year-old Red Hook High School graduate.
“I want Bliss to be an oasis,” Sullivan says. “A place where people can come in, take a deep breath, and know they’re putting something good into their bodies. That’s the goal.”
A few doors down and across the street is Taste Budd’s Cafe, a community hang with good food and a house-made chocolate and confections business. During the pandemic, owner Dan Budd founded Red Hook Responds, a nonprofit that provided free meals to anyone in need. Post-Covid, the organization still exists and has grown to include projects like working with FeedHV to gather unused food after events like the Dutchess County Fair, for redistribution.
Frankly, forget the school! Red Hook should be known for its food. Other eateries in the village like Chronogram readers’ favorite Misto, Flat Iron steakhouse, the Locavore Market, the Corner Counter, the Historic Red Hook Diner, Savona’s Trattoria, Brigitte Bistro, and Bubby’s (just to name a few) have quietly turned the town’s center into a diverse culinary destination and an easy place to grab a quality quick bite when in town for Apple Blossom Day, the Chocolate Festival, Gilson Fest, Hard Scrabble Day, or any of the other new community-centric shenanigans stakeholders regularly dream up.
There's also a ton to eat and drink in the wider town, often directly on bucolic farmland, like the increasingly famous Rose Hill Farm cidery. Similarly, there’s multigenerational institutions like Greig Farm, home to a cafe, brewery, art gallery, hiking trail, pick-your-own program; the ecofriendly refillery O-Zone, goats, and Kesicke Farm, known throughout the region for its harvest season activities. Oh, and the Migliorelli Farm and Montgomery Place Orchards stands are awesome, too—understated but packed with farm-fresh food.
It’s crazy that we still haven’t mentioned the sophisticated little village of Tivoli, the quiet hamlet of Barrytown, any of the town’s lively political drama (of which there is plenty at the moment), or even Bard College, which is overflowing with a diverse summer calendar of arts and cultural activities on campus, at the Fisher Center and under the Spiegeltent.
The point is: One does themselves a disservice to only think of Red Hook as a donut surrounding a school district (oh yeah! Mighty Donuts at the south end of town is incredible). The point is: Eat the donut.
