The Junction: Roscoe, NY

This May, husband-and-wife team Aaron Blakely and Misty Hackworth launched the quintessential neighborhood bar: a comfortingly familiar menu in a comfortingly low-key bar and bistro, The Junction. In a friendly house full of thrifty, eclectic, rustic seating and a wood-burning stove a block from the Roscoe O&W Railway Museum, Coors Light, Bud Light and Tecate join local microbrew, relaxed wines by the glass and approachable cocktails on the beverage line-up. For food, burgers, pickles, pimento cheese and—of course—trout spread grace the handful of side tables, two-tops, and the dark-wood bar.

Conover Club: Callicoon, NY

There’s a new The Hills in town and it is very, very palatable: At home amidst the modern, grown-up summer camp comforts of Callicoon Hills—a reimagined, 65-room 1905 resort that opened in Callicoon this month—the Conover Club makes its debut, marrying mid-century mod and log-cabin chic, serving up seasonal cocktails named for the creek’s au moment fly fishing flies alongside nostalgic bites like trout dip, deviled eggs, BLTs and fried cheese curds and chop salad, from a menu that looks like it was resurrected from the resort’s original files. Tagline: A friendly place for nice people. Go and help keep it on brand.

The Walk In and The Neon Croissant: Livingston Manor, NY

New in Livingston Manor as of February, café The Walk In is all about the breakfast sandwich. Its signature square, flakey biscuits, inspired by a recipe in a four-generations-deep family cookbook from co-owner Lily Price’s parents in Savannah, have garnered so much acclaim that, already, Price and co-owner Erin Ellis are expanding their empire. Just in time for July, their new venture The Neon Croissant across the street in the Brandenburg Bakery space will carry on the legacy of the former occupants, offering pastries, cakes, quiches, and, naturally, croissants, all house-made.

Bà & Me: Livingston Manor, NY

Coming soon to Livingston Manor is the newest location of cultural curator and DVEIGHT creator Nhi Mundy’s beloved, low-key Vietnamese sandwich stop Bà & Me. The name means “grandmother & me,” and the menu is Mundy’s spirited recreation of home-cooking from her childhood: Lemongrass Pork rice bowls, chicken egg noodle, pho and more. During the pandemic, the Mountaindale location closed its doors, making way for this new iteration, launching on Main Street in July.

Concrete + Water: Livingston Manor, NY

After seven years in Williamsburg, clothing and homewares boutique Concrete + Water closed its doors during the depths of December 2020—a dark time for New York, and an especially dark time for a retail business that thrived on foot traffic. But there was something on the other side of Brooklyn for owners Hannah Gluckstern and JD Gluckstern: This spring, they opened a comfortingly familiar but fresh, upstate take on Concrete + Water, in Livingston Manor. Featuring local design goods and homewares, like small-batch ceramics by Mountaindale’s Wild Bower Studio and mountain-weekend-friendly threads for men and women—from colorful flannels to linen coveralls to essential jumpsuits by designers like Alex Mill, Ali Golden and Corridor. Find it in a sweet little house on Pearl Street, open four days a week.

Wemoc General: Roscoe, NY

This June, Roscoe welcomed the Wemoc’s humble flagship, concept retail shop Wemoc General. The owners, fashion photographer Nicholas Routzen and modeling industry talent scout Marissa Surmenkow, built their careers on having an eye for the stylish and lovely, and you can see it in the shop’s curated selection of wares: artworks, floral takeaways, an in-house clothing brand, and goods of all sizes, colors and prices sourced directly from small, independent vendors in the couples favorite villages in Mexico — including vibrant, hand-woven, hand-dyed rugs. It’s all put together in a space where visitors and locals alike should feel welcome to stop in, whether to shop or just say hello. These days, guests might also come by for a haircut — a barber shop in the back of the space features a vintage chair and a rotating roster of resident stylists. Open at least Friday to Sunday all summer, they’ll be hosting backyard flea markets, barbeques and other low-key summer festivities.

Jitterbug: Livingston Manor, NY

The recently renovated building on Livingston Manor’s Pleasant and Main is turning into a buzzing hub of food and wares. Along with Bà & Me, vintage furniture store Long Weekend, and the Walk In, what was once an A&P Grocery will soon be home to shop Jitterbug, open in July. With used and new records, art supplies, games, puzzles, toys and a little bulk candy for good measure, husband-and-wife team Miriam (who has worked in local restaurants in the area for upwards of a decade) and Brad (whom some will recognize from his new-music-focused show NeoNatal Pulse on WJFF Radio Catskill) are curating a wonderland of ‘90s nostalgia. “We really appreciate the DIY interactive method of playing, so we’re not selling pretty much anything electronic,” Miriam tells EB. “We want to encourage people to get back into being more involved with the tangible.”

These spots opened just before or during the pandemic.

Van Smokey: Livingston Manor, NY

Van Smokey proprietor Jeff grew up eating jerky on Delaware crabbing trips with his dad. Today, he smokes jerky in his dad’s honor, from a backyard smokehouse in the Catskills. Find the fruits of his labors at his new smokehouse and meat shop on Debruce Road in Livingston Manor, available for individuals and wholesale. In addition to a line of jerkies in classic flavors like Thai and Cajun, the shop does spice sets, hot sauces, pickles and bloody mary mix, plus local beer and cider and fresh meat behind the counter, open Thursday to Monday.

Upward Brewing: Livingston Manor, NY

At Upward Brewing’s brewing facilities, water is captured from a natural spring on their property and transformed into their delicious brews. The brewing facility occupies 120 bucolic acres they call Beer Mountain, a stone’s throw from Livingston Manor’s main stretch. Its crown jewel is a handsome chalet-inspired brewpub with sprawling indoor and outdoor spaces, appointed with vintage furniture fit for a mid-century Swiss apres-ski. At 171 Main Street, their “company kitchen,” Upward Kitchen, serves their likeable, hyperlocal microbrews alongside a summer menu where local ingredients star in dishes like Argentinian Steak, BBQ Jackfruit and Trout Nuggets.

Smoke Joint: Livingston Manor, NY

A longtime Brooklyn barbeque go-to, Smoke Joint relocated to Livingston Manor in the fall of 2019. Try the 14-hour brisket at unassuming outdoor tables between your trout-fishing trips with its neighbors at the Livingston Manor Fly Fishing Club.

Sunshine Colony: Livingston Manor, NY

From Meg McNeill, owner of Livingston Manor’s Drinking Upstream, a new wine bar called Sunshine Colony opened its doors on Main Street in January of 2020. Find a thoughtful curation of wines and spirits by the bottle and glass (many of them sustainable, organic, and/or biodynamic), alongside local craft beers and small bites (among them caviar toast and fondue) in a warm and inviting bar with a custom stained-glass window and a color palette evocative of orange wine and rosé. In warm weather, patrons dress up and arrive in groups to enjoy drinks on the front patio, facing Main Street – or gather in its sweet, lush backyard. Go for the thoughtfully curated selection, stay for the company.

B-Line Ice Cream: Narrowsburg, NY

Located in the Narrowsburg Union in Narrowsburg, B-Line Ice Cream opened as a pop-up in summer 2020, and they are back this year from June to Labor Day, showcasing their house-made, small-batch ice cream flavored with fresh seasonal fruit, nuts, chocolate and spices and sweetened with honey from their own beehives. The brownie sandwich is a favorite.

High Voltage’s Creek Bar: Mountaindale, NY

Behind Mountaindale’s High Voltage Café, a woodland clearing alongside a creek is home to the aptly named Creek Bar. Opened in mid-2020 and pitched as “the perfect place to chill out while responsibly social distancing,” the concept has staying power. Nostalgic, bohemian, and strewn with sheepskin rugs, get craft beers, ciders wines and cocktails from the bar in a renovated vintage Air Stream, and grab a picnic table bench to enjoy grilled kielbasas and other al fresco-friendly staples from the High Voltage menu to go.

The Dale: Mountaindale, NY

A happy balance between Italian restaurant and outdoor biergarten (complete with vintage Bavarian beer hall tables perfect for groups), meet Mountaindale’s The Dale. At this relatively new spot in Mountaindale, fermented, “wild crafted” sourdough pizza and bread are the headlining event, paired, naturally, with a wine list of organic and biodynamic wines, “cheeky” Italian cocktails and a range of beers.

Jeffersonville Bake Shop: Jeffersonville, NY

In a grand, millennial-pink manor on Jeffersonville’s main stretch is Jeffersonville Bake Shop. The appearance of its towering displays of fresh-baked sweets, savory treats, coffee and hot chocolate for dine-in or take-out and its Alice-in-Wonderland-esque decór are show-stopping, but with dough made in house, its croissants are as good as, maybe better than, its Instagrammable moments. They also do grab-and-go wraps and more for lunch.