Greene County Success Stories

Corner Gas Station to Craft Food Destination in Catskill, NY – J&J Smokehouse BBQ — September 10, 2019

Location, Location, Location. No doubt that’s what the builders of the pre-WWII Chevron service station had in mind when selecting its site at the interchange of US 9W and what was then NYS 23 leading up to Jefferson Heights from Main Street in Catskill, NY. Some 80 years on, Jim & Jill Sterling had a different type of re-fueling in mind when they renovated this classic Catskill-Brick structure into a meat-lovers destination and opened J&J Smokehouse BBQ.

Gather Greene – A Take-Over Event Destination in Coxsackie, NY — August 7, 2019

Co-designers and owners Amna Ali and Jackie Brown have created a truly remarkable and unique retreat. These interior design graduates of Pratt University have put their extensive experience staging events into an event-destination experience based on their shared passions. Set on an over 100-acre site in the woods between the Hudson River and the Great Northern Catskill Mountains, Gather Greene is a place to celebrate life’s milestones, connecting with both nature and loved ones.

Fifty Years of Farm Freshness from an Historic Stagecoach Stopover Site in Athens, NY — July 11, 2019

Lloyd Zimmermann began his fascination with agriculture as a boy visiting his summer home in Medway, NY in 1940. This son of a Political Science professor at Hunter College and a Latin teacher from Queens met his wife, Mary Lou, when both were students at the University of Vermont. By 1965, the couple had purchased a Greene County home in the town of Coxsackie where they raised their three daughters.

60 Years of BIG Screen Viewing in Greenville, NY — June 4, 2019

This summer marks the 60th anniversary of The Greenville Drive-In. When the theater originally opened on June 18, 1959, moviegoers gathered to view a double feature on an 85 foot screen! Things have changed a lot over the years, but current owners Dwight Grimm and Leigh Van Swall are keeping the focus on community.

Saint Bernard Dog Show Opens the Season for Quintessential Catskills Family Resort — May 13, 2019

Ellen & Mike Mansey and their daughter Lauren weren’t quite sure what to expect when they opened their family’s Wolff’s Maple Breeze Resort a week early this season to host an AKC Specialty Dog Show Cluster and welcome 50 of the Top Saint Bernards (and their exhibitors) from across the country.

The Marble Rock House – A Revitalized Live-Music Destination in Leeds, NY — April 26, 2019

Longtime friends Neil Murphy and Terry Lynch, both native to the charming hamlet of Leeds, NY, have begun to realize a shared dream – bring live music back to Greene County at an unparalleled level.

Keeping the Upholsterer’s Craft Alive at Sewing Room’s Workshop in Greenville, NY — March 25, 2019

With so many diverse home furnishings and clothing items so readily available in big-box retail and online, the idea of reupholstering a piece of furniture, or altering a suit or dress seems quite alien to more and more of us. Eunice Hamilton grew up in a time when consumers bought products for the long-haul, and when the showed wear, or needed repair people didn’t kick them to the curb or throw them in the charity basket, they had them fixed and continued to use them – Not exactly the IKEA or H&M business model.

Spirits of Cairo: A Passion for Potent Potables — February 14, 2019

Tom Vasquez started Spirits of Cairo to create a wonderful destination for wine and spirits enthusiasts while contributing to the return of Spirit to what he refers to as “the sleepy little town I now call home”. His shop at 217 Main Street in Cairo, NY (set to expand later this year) has become a vibrant part of the great fabric of this rural community at the foot of the Great Northern Catskill Mountains of Greene County, NY – providing arguably one of most extensive and eclectic selections available anywhere.

The Windham Local: Creating a Mountaintop Public House — January 30, 2019

Dave Liatti knows one fundamental truth about most humans – We love to gather in welcoming, familiar places to eat, drink, share songs, tell stories, and sometimes just to watch and listen to other people. This was the concept behind British Public Houses as far back as the 16th century when neighborhood patrons began referring to these establishments as ‘Our Local’.

Subversive Malting & Brewing Taps into Downstreet at their Catskill Beer Café — January 11, 2019

Max Ocean and Zane Coffey found the perfect location to bring their ‘Radically Local Farm Beer’ to Greene County. Their Catskill Beer Café lives in a newly restored storefront between Village Pizza II and DiStefano’s New York Barber Shop at 414 Main Street, Catskill, NY.