A Day in Wurtsboro: Where to Eat and What to Browse

Wurtsboro is a village you can walk end to end in twenty minutes, which is exactly the point. Almost everything worth eating and everything worth browsing sits on one street or one block off it, so a visit here is less of a drive and more of a wander. This is the route we send people on when they ask, "we're coming up for the day, what else is there?"

Start with coffee, end with dinner, and leave room in the car.

First, the Shape of the Day

Sullivan Street runs the length of the village, with Kingston Avenue crossing it near the eastern end. Breakfast and the best coffee are in the middle, the shops cluster between 86 and 158 Sullivan, and the pizza-and-sandwich row is a block up on Kingston. Nothing on this list requires a car once you have parked, with one exception out on Route 209 and one down Pennsylvania Avenue at the vineyard.

Hours here move with the season, and winter is shorter than summer almost everywhere. A quick call before a long drive up is always the right move.

Morning: Coffee Before Browsing

The Coffee Way Cafe — 135 Sullivan Street. A proper small-town cafe: espresso and drip, cold drinks, sandwiches and pastries in the case. This is the natural first stop, and the natural second stop around three in the afternoon when your resolve starts to fade.

Two ways to sit down for breakfast

Wurtsboro Diner & Cafe — 60 Sullivan Street. The village's traditional counter-and-booth diner, serving breakfast and lunch with the menu you are hoping for. Go early on a weekend; the room fills with locals who have been ordering the same thing for years.

Layla's Breakfast & Lunch — 120 Sullivan Street. Family-run and a few doors up, with sandwiches, burgers, salads and breakfast plates. It is the friendlier room for a slow morning with a newspaper, and the one we point families toward.

The Sullivan Street Storefront Crawl

Five doors, all within two blocks, and no two of them selling the same thing.

Wurtsboro Antique Market — 86 Sullivan Street. That is us: 8,000 square feet of individually run booths, dealers and makers, from case goods and stoneware to records, vintage clothing and smalls. It is the anchor of the street and the reason most people come, so give it the biggest block of your day. Start with our vendor list if there is a category you are hunting for, or post it on the BOLO board before you arrive.

Canal Towne Emporium — 107 Sullivan Street. A historic gift shop and the village's long-running browse, stocked with gifts, local goods and the kind of small things you buy for someone else and then keep.

Crystal Connection — 116 Sullivan Street. Crystals, minerals and wellness, plus a treatment room with acupuncture, massage and infrared therapy. It is one of the largest crystal destinations in the Northeast, and it is unlike anything else on the street.

Bashakill Bazaar — 138 Sullivan Street. Vintage clothing, antiques and consignment, carefully merchandised and open Thursday through Sunday. Worth a pass even if you already bought a coat, because the racks turn over quickly.

Wurtsboro Antiques Liquidation — 127 Sullivan Street. The opposite end of the spectrum from a curated booth: house lots, furniture, boxes and bargains. Bring a flashlight and an open mind, and check the underside of anything you like.

Lunch: Four Ways to Go

Red Dot Vegetarian Kitchen — 106 Sullivan Street. Vegan and vegetarian cooking, and the only place in the village built around it. Even the skeptics in your group will find something.

Pasta D'oro — 90 Sullivan Street. Italian-American, with the red sauce and the portions the phrase implies. Good for a long lunch and better for dinner.

Las Mañanitas — 158 Sullivan Street. Authentic Mexican food, tacos and plates, and the option when you want something with heat in the middle of the day.

Giovanni's Inn — 2433 Route 209. A few minutes out of the village and the one real drive on this list: a traditional Italian-American supper house, better for an evening with a reservation than a quick bite.

The Kingston Avenue Row

A block off Sullivan, this short stretch covers the rest of the appetite map.

Stella's Pizzaria III — 156 Sullivan Street. Pizza by the slice or the pie, and the easiest meal in the village when you are carrying shopping bags.

Gotta Luv It Pizzeria & Sandwich Shop — 187 Kingston Avenue. Pizza and substantial sandwiches, the kind you take to the park or back to the car.

Ming Moon — 187 Kingston Avenue. Chinese takeout, which is exactly what a family wants after eight hours of antique shops.

Danny's Restaurant — 178 Kingston Avenue. American-style plates in a straightforward room, and a dependable choice for dinner on the way out of town.

Something Cold and Sweet

Custer's Last Stand — 158 Sullivan Street. The village's soft-serve and ice-cream stand. It runs in the warm months, and it is the correct ending to a summer afternoon of shopping.

Stewart's Shops on the edge of town covers the same ground in January, along with milk, ice and a newspaper.

Beyond the Village

Bashakill Vineyards, down Pennsylvania Avenue about twelve minutes out, is a small local winery with a tasting room. Directly across the road is the Bashakill marsh — one of the best birding spots in the region and, in winter, a reliable place to see bald eagles. Kayak tours run on the marsh in the warmer months.

In summer, the Music & Farmers Market in the Park brings growers, bakers and a band into the village on a weekday evening. Check the village calendar before you plan around it.

Practical Notes

• Park once. Street parking on Sullivan and the public lot behind the block will carry you for the whole day.
• Hours are seasonal. Winter hours are shorter almost everywhere, and a few kitchens close a day midweek. Call ahead.
• Bring a second bag. You will need it, and reusable totes are the local currency.
• Dogs are welcome on the sidewalk and at the outdoor tables, not inside the shops.
• Cash still moves faster at the smaller counters, though everyone takes cards.

One Day, Mapped

1. Coffee at The Coffee Way, 9:00.
2. Breakfast at the diner or Layla's, 9:30.
3. Two hours in the antique market, 10:30.
4. The rest of Sullivan Street, 12:30.
5. Lunch at Red Dot, Pasta D'oro or Las Mañanitas, 1:00.
6. Kingston Avenue for pizza, sandwiches or takeout, if the day runs long.
7. Ice cream, then the vineyard and the marsh on the way home.

Come Hungry, Leave Loaded

If you are planning the trip, our vendors and the marketplace are the best place to start, live shows are worth timing a visit around, and a gift card covers the friend who could not make it. Questions about the village, parking or where to find a particular booth? Write to us and we will point you in the right direction.

Further reading from the Journal: Welcome to Wurtsboro and The Catskills Antique Collecting Guide.