Livingston Manor may seem like a sleepy little western Catskills town, but bubbling beneath the surface is a well of creativity and entrepreneurship that has brought a staggering concentration of independent businesses and eateries to Main Street, prompting one travel magazine to call it “the new poster child of bohemian Catskills living.”
Once known as Purvis, the town was renamed in the 19th century after the prominent Livingston family who owned land here for generations. As with so many small towns in the Sullivan County, Livingston Manor suffered when the Borscht Belt hotels and lumber mills shuttered, and family farming declined.
Twenty years ago, the hamlet was, at best, down-at-the-heels, with much of Main Street under foreclosure. In Sullivan County, 18.2 percent of the population was living below the poverty line in 2013.
In the age-old story of gentrification, however, creative types were attracted by affordable rents and the blank canvas they offered to bring long-held entrepreneurial visions to life. Even during the pandemic, restaurants, bars and shops continued to open on the 0.8-mile Main Street.
As Tom Roberts, co-owner of design and hospitality company Homestedt, said, Livingston Manor has been “a microcosm of very rapid change.” It is on the frontline of the transformation that has swept this westerly corner of the Catskills, creating a mini hospitality boom.
Once overlooked by visitors — being further afield from New York City than Hudson Valley, more rural and less accessible by public transportation — this hamlet is now on the weekend getaway map. Here’s how to make the most of a day trip to this buzzy Western Catskills destination.
Fuel up
Ask anyone for breakfast tips and they’ll point you in the direction of The Walk In (67 Main St., unit 2). It only opened in 2021, but they’ve already become a go-to for their buttermilk biscuit-focused menu. The recipe hails from co-owner Lily Price’s great grandmother down South, so expect the real deal. Order a classic bacon, egg, and cheddar biscuit and a coffee from the counter and eat at one of the sidewalk tables.
Shop it out
General store Main Street Farm is chock full of covetable specialty foods from the region, books, and sandwiches to bring on a hike.
Tyler WetherallLivingston Manor is fast becoming a mini design haven for shops like Nest (34 Main St.), a lifestyle boutique stunningly curated by Danish-Brazilian former Vogue Design Director Anna Bern (whose original outpost is in Narrowsburg), and Long Weekend (67 Main St.), a vintage furniture store with pieces plucked from local estate sales and lovingly restored by a Malaysian-Bulgarian couple who relocated here from Brooklyn.
Just off Main Street, Homestedt (6 Pearl St.) is a compact homewares store, as well as the outpost of Tom Roberts and Anna Aberg’s design and hospitality company of the same name. The husband-and-wife team moved to the Catskills four years ago and now own a handful of Airbnb properties showcasing their eye for design. The contents of the store embody that aspirational Catskills lifestyle, both rugged and chic, with a mix of outdoor gear, like Helle knives, and home comforts, like Well & Good candles.
Another pandemic addition to Main Street is Taylor & Ace (41 A Main St.), a fun vintage store packed with treasures from mid-century modern furniture to playful ceramics in popping colors.
Lunch
Natural wine bar Sunshine Colony, run by the owner of Upstream Wine and Spirits, is a new addition to town.
Erin LindseyMain Street Farm (36 Main St.) is a general store of dreams, with shelves stocked with a wealth of local purveyors. Freshwater trout, wild-caught smoked eel, Tonjes Farm Dairy cheese, and Catskill Food Company sausages are just some of the highlights. Stock up on snacks for a hike or food gifts to bring home. The café gets busy at lunch, so prepare for a rush. The chunky sandwiches are stuffed with the store’s produce and will fill you up nicely for the afternoon. There’s a little balcony with seats around the back to eat looking over the Willowemoc Creek.
Get Active
At Upward Brewing, you can hike “Beer Mountain" on the 120-acre property to earn your pint.
Upward BrewingWith the Catskills on your doorstep, there is ample opportunity for hiking, birding, or fly fishing (the region is commonly regarded as the birthplace of fly fishing, after all). Nine miles northeast of Livingston Manor, the 14,800-acre Willowemoc Wild Forest offers all three. One of the more popular trails is the Frick Pond Loop, an easy 2.2-mile hike around a pond, crossing wooden bridges over marshland with plenty of birdlife to enjoy.
If drinking qualifies as an activity in your books, then turn your attention to the many breweries and distilleries in the vicinity, handily compiled in the Catskills Brewery Trail (note: this “trail” doesn’t necessarily involve hiking).
A short walk from Main Street is Catskill Brewery (672 Old Rte 17), housed in a state-of-the-art Gold LEED-certified building, with their beer crafted using sustainable practices. They’ve won awards for their Ball Lightning pilsner and Freak Tractor farmhouse ale, and their beer garden is open Wednesday through Sunday. Bonus points for free popcorn.
On the south side of town, Upward Brewing Company (171 Main St.) can also be reached on foot. The stylish brewpub sits on a stunning 120-acre plot with its own pond, fire pit, woodland and mountain trail, which you can hike to earn your pint. They have a small selection of beers on tap, made using the natural spring on site, with several prizewinners, and very good pub food like trout nuggets and kimchi fries.
Stay a little later
It would be a shame not to stay for dinner when they’re so many good eating options. The Smoke Joint (630 Old Rte 17), which first found fame in Brooklyn, relocated to Livingston Manor just before the pandemic and became a staple outdoor dining spot from summer 2020 onwards. Texas-style smoked brisket, crispy chicken wings, and live music – all good things. (To take home smoked meats and other sundries, hit up Van Smokey at 87 Debruce Rd.)
Sunshine Colony (47 Main St.) is another new addition to town, a charming natural wine bar with tapas-style snacks and a sweet little garden owned by Meg McNeill, who is also to thank for Upstream Wine and Spirits, the type of liquor store we all wish our town had.
Finally, for some of the best wood-fired pizza in Sullivan County, head to The Kaatskeller (39 Main St.). The beer garden is as much of a draw as the pizza, strung with lights and surrounded by trees, with a fire pit and lawn games. There’s a lively bar inside serving local beers and craft cocktails to end an evening on a high.
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