Photo by Dave Zucker
If it feels lately like you’re hearing about something new popping up in Peekskill at least once a week, you might not be imagining things. In just a little over a year, this small northern Westchester city has made major strides in reinvigorating its image with dozens of new restaurants, arts spaces, health and wellness centers, and more upscale and affordable housing than you can shake a stick at.
To try to keep track of it all — and to make sure you don’t miss any new restaurants — click through our handy map guide to all the town’s newest developments.
Downtown Peekskill
Food & Drink
Photo by Meaghan Glendon
12 Peekskill Lounge recently took over the Division St. space vacated by music and wine lounge 12 Grapes. Though with a new name and new owners, 12PL retains much of the charm and atmosphere that made 12 Grapes a favorite among Peekskill’s older and artsier crowds.
At the tail end of 2017, The Eagle Saloon opened with a little bit of controversy but quickly became a neighborhood go-to for good down-home drinks and tunes.
Kurzhals Coffee opened this past August in Peekskill’s Central Market, a multi-use space owned by Iron Vine’s Gabriel Arango that also includes the concert/event venue Dramatic Hall and a number of other local businesses.
Chef Mo McDonald’s Touch of Class Caribbean fusion restaurant (pictured above) has solidified in a very short time a rep for immaculately plated (and tasting) dishes that express old favorites in new ways, be it the crispy jerked chicken spring rolls or a simple Cobb salad (with Jamaican jerked bacon, of course).
The Lofts on Main mixed-use complex has been busy over the last year, bringing in the first wave of its retail and culinary shops. On the latter front, Ty’s Bread Basket Bake Shop has already moved in, with Best of Hudson Valley award-winning owner Keisha Hudson baking up decadent, Manhattan-bakery-worthy treats at shockingly fair Westchester prices. In the same building, expect over the next few months to greet Green’s Natural Market, putting in one of the first of its new “mini-markets” with 24-hour key fob and self-checkout access for members.
The Art Scene
Also in the Lofts on Main building, The Evolution Gallery is equal parts boutique and art gallery, spotlighting locally made products and art as well as refinished furniture, and is an active participant in Peekskill’s regular city-wide gallery showings, trunk shows, and First Fridays.
Hudson Valley MOCA — formerly the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art — is a county arts mainstay, regularly making our lists of top museums in Westchester. After a recent re-branding, the museum has made a big push to reintegrate itself as one of the centers of the local arts scene.
The Paramount Hudson Valley Theater has become a lightning rod of late, after the city-owned theater announced a temporary closure for repairs and updates that left some employees without work, followed by an open call for proposals to replace its current management company as that business shifts markets. More recently, local entrepreneurs banded together to organize a local “takeover” concert series that will feature regional acts and local businesses while ensuring uninterrupted performance schedules and maintain steady business in the city.
Read More: The Return of Peekskill
Health & Wellness
Family Dog Yoga Studio recently opened at 12 North Division Street, just above the aforementioned 12 Peekskill Lounge. The space is all about community and inclusivity, offering a range of classes from prenatal and new-mom yoga to “Rock Om,” an entry-level class that lets you Zen out to classic rock tunes.
Another recent addition to the Central Market building, Good Karma Yoga offers beginner-accessible classes seven days a week with a broad team of teachers. Whether you prefer to energize your morning or wind down with calming candlelight sessions, there’s enough breadth of options you should have no trouble finding your own pace.
Nourish Hair & Body, the third of Lofts on Main’s retail spaces, is actually an old favorite in new digs: the husband-and-wife team won a Best of Westchester award for “Best New Salon” when their original Cortlandt Manor location opened in 2014. The unisex salon offers hair services as well as personalized massage (even prenatal) with aromatherapy add-ons and even cupping treatments.
Community Home Health Care opened a Peekskill branch in summer 2018 right on Main Street. The company trains and places Home Health Aides (HHAs) and Personal Care Aides (PCAs) to clients throughout the middle and lower Hudson Valley.
New Housing
The Fort Hill at the Abbey luxury development recently opened the first of its 178 units to the public. The modern, amenity-laden rental apartments are just the tip of the iceberg, however, as the still-under-construction property will eventually include new hiking trails, the renovated chapel as an event space, and the eponymous “Abbey Inn,” a 42-room hotel/spa/restaurant in what was once the actual Fort Hill abbey.
GDC, the same company behind the Fort Hill apartments, has also unveiled the nearby Gateway Townhomes.
With all the new businesses already mentioned, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Lofts on Main is in fact an apartment complex. The first 25 one- and two-bedroom loft apartments in the mixed-use building at 922 Main Street are already leased, but the 50 additional units in a second building around the block on Diven Street are still currently accepting applications. Preference (and a major price break) are given to artists who get certified by the city of Peekskill.
One Park Place was only recently approved, but construction on the new mixed-use space has already begun. Located on the edge of Peekskill near the C-Town supermarket, DMV, and the brand new Peekskill Central Firehouse, the project will eventually include 181 apartments, underground parking, and ground floor retail space with outdoor dining.
Waterfront Development
Photo by Enormous Creative
The area from Charles Point Marina to the Peekskill Train Station has seen nearly as much development in recent years as Main Street.
One of the largest additions, the Factoria complex (pictured above) includes its namesake events venue, as well as popular restaurant Fin & Brew and gaming/activity space Spins Hudson, both of which benefit from River Outpost Brewing Company, located right on the premises.
Nearby, visitors can also find the brand-new Arts10566 space in the Kiley Youth Center, which gives kids access to professional instruction in a variety of artistic forms.
Farther up the river near the Metro-North station day-trippers can visit the Lincoln Depot Museum. Recently completed after a long gestation, the museum both commemorates Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Peekskill during his inaugural tour and serves as an exhibit of a noteworthy time in the city’s rich history.
The Peekskill Brewery, though long serving the community, moved into a new location several years ago that prominently features an outdoor biergarten, weather permitting, and this has led to some exceptional local partnerships of late. Most recently, The Pantry, local coffee and pastry shop extraordinaire, has set up a pop-up shop at the brewery. Locals will get up at the crack of dawn and wait hours — literally hours — for the chance to order The Pantry’s decadent donuts (often by the box) until they sell out.
