Woodstock welcomed a new hangout this weekend, with the opening of Reynolds & Reynolds, a combination beer bar, bottle shop, cafe and community space on Mill Hill Road.
For proprietor Megan Reynolds, it’s the realization of a dream of combining her love of beer with her background in hospitality (she also runs a bed and breakfast in town) and a longtime commitment to local food and farms (she’s been involved with the Woodstock Farm Festival for over a decade).
A one-time aspiring farmer turned gardener, she grows hops. In preparation for opening the tap room, she studied for a Cicerone Certificate, an industry standard for beer professionals not unlike becoming a wine sommelier.
“I’m a collector of a lot of different things, and I’m interested in a lot of different things,” she said. “So the idea of curating all of them in one place was really appealing.”
Over the last few months, Reynolds has transformed the building that used to house a walk-in medical clinic. She designed the space to maximize the quality of the beer she’s serving, with short draft lines for her 10 taps and plenty of refrigerated cooler space for the bottle offerings.
The beers are a mix of a few local and regional breweries and a wide selection of national and international picks that “will change very, very often,” said Reynolds. (See the current tap list here.) Bottle options include large-format specialty brews that can be hard to find elsewhere in town.
Rounding out the drink menu is at least one hard cider on tap, along with wine and non-alcoholic sodas and spritzers made in-house.
The food menu is locally sourced and features a rotating selection of “small, hearty plates” — salads, sandwiches, casseroles and bowls — as well as a cheese plate and other snacks such as pretzels. The idea is to offer informal bites that can be ordered separately or combined into a bigger meal.
“I have a real interest in local food that will certainly be reflected in the menu,” she said.
Reynolds named her new spot after her grandfather and great-uncle, who ran their own namesake bar in the Bronx once upon a time.
Now that the food and drinks are up and running, the next step for Reynolds will be developing a series of events. She plans to host educational workshops about beer and brewing, as well as tastings, along with creative community events.
“Woodstock has a lot of great restaurants, but community spaces where you could just have a beer, maybe eat a snack or a light meal and hang out with friends were lacking,” Reynolds said.
That seems to be changing. In addition to Reynolds & Reynolds’ debut this week, Station Bar & Curio kicked off in a repurposed train depot at the other end of town in June, featuring locally brewed beers and distilled spirits. Station Bar is also not a formal restaurant, but serves light bites in a rambling interior space with a pool table, as well as on a large outdoor deck.
Related: Coming Soon in Woodstock: Station Bar & Curio.
Related: More Woodstock stories on Catskill Eats.
Find Reynolds & Reynolds at 104 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock. Current hours are Thursday 4 to 11 p.m., Friday 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday noon to 10 p.m. and Monday 4 to 11 p.m. (closed Tuesday and Wednesday).
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