The family that bought Phoenicia’s Route 28 shopping center in 2025 wants to turn its 10 acres into a community hub.
“We’re trying to make a little village,” said Sam Veitch, one of the owners of the family business, Plaza 28 Corp.
The company has been selective about which businesses it lets into the plaza. Good Boy Catskills, a new coffee shop that held its soft opening Oct. 14, has already drawn crowds.
“This has been a sleepy little plaza for the last 50 years,” said Robert Genovese, one of Good Boy’s owners. “The new owners spent a considerable amount of time and effort building out and bringing it up to date.”
The Shandaken planning board approved the owners’ site plan Wednesday, Nov. 11, a month after the zoning board signed off. The plan adds a larger sign and more parking spaces; the property had no site plan when the family bought it. The planning board expects to finalize written resolutions this week.
Sam Veitch first visited the Catskills about 15 years ago, when her parents took her to Russ’s Country Kitchen, a diner in the building where the family now runs Phoenicia Pizza 28.
Soon after, her parents fell in love with Shandaken, sold everything on Long Island, and planned to retire in the town.
“It just kind of came full circle for our family,” Sam said.
Her father owned several pizza shops on Long Island before switching to Mexican grills. Owning commercial property was a longtime dream of his that was out of reach there, she said.
Phoenicia Pizza 28 came to the plaza as a tenant about four years ago, renting a storefront in the middle of the building. When the landlords decided to sell, they approached the family. The Veitches bought the plaza in 2025, and the pizza shop moved into the former Maeve’s Place space after that business closed.
“We’re very open-minded to what can happen here at the plaza because we’re not just landlords, we’re tenants,” Sam said. “We want people to come and enjoy themselves and hang out here.”
Under the new site plan, Woodstock Brewing’s freestanding sign will be folded into a single sign for the whole plaza. The town also approved the property’s existing septic systems and water supply.
The building has five 800-square-foot storefronts, with 2,400 square feet set aside for retail and 1,600 square feet for food service, said Patricia Brooks, a representative for Plaza 28 Corp.
Since taking over, the family has repainted the building and parking lot and installed glass doors to give the storefronts a more commercial look. More minor renovations are planned.
Two storefronts are empty, and the family hopes to fill them with another restaurant and a retail shop. Sam said she’d like a variety of businesses and is hoping for a butcher shop.
“We’re trying to bring some life back into the area,” said her brother Zach Veitch. “Big family, and lots and lots of ideas.”
The family works throughout the plaza. Their father cuts hair at Hair Co. 28, the salon Zach’s fiancée, Leah, opened, and makes pizzas at Phoenicia Pizza 28 with their brother CJ. Sam works the counter, and Zach runs the deli.
Genovese is especially excited about the outdoor deck next to the plaza, which he’d like to see used for yoga, music performances, and other community events in warmer months. The Phoenicia Fire District wanted to sell Christmas trees and wreaths there; Sam said the family hasn’t decided how to use the space.
“They’re thinking about the plaza in the right way,” Genovese said. “It’s great to have a storefront, but unless it’s serving the community, it’s not really helping the other businesses in the plaza.”
He said plaza businesses should be customer-facing so people have a reason to stay a while. Plaza 28 Corp. has offered Good Boy outdoor space behind the building for more seating or a dog area.
Good Boy’s arrival has brought more visitors, Sam said, and the plaza’s businesses often send customers to one another.
“We want people pulling in every single day at a constant rate,” she said. “We recognize we’re in a food desert.”
Mia Quick is an editorial assistant and reporter at The Overlook. Send correspondence to mia@theoverlooknews.com.
