When I moved to the Catskills full time in 2005, I was considered one of the “new kids on the block.” I was in my late 30s, with a young child entering the now-shuttered and beloved Phoenicia Elementary School, and plenty of my urban-dwelling friends—even those who loved the Hudson Valley on weekends and in summer—scratched their heads when I said I was moving us “to the country.”
Today, new kids abound, accelerated in part by the pandemic-era migration that reshaped small towns across the region. I’m delighted to introduce Overlook readers to some of the notables in this new feature, which we’ve dubbed “The New Kids.”
We’re beginning with Kyle Needham, who, along with his partner, Samuel Keller, is behind Oyster Party, a longtime pop-up that opened its first brick-and-mortar hub on the lip of the Hotel Dylan property in Woodstock late last fall. The shop serves freshly shucked oysters, chowder, fried shrimp, fried oyster po’boys, and lobster rolls (hot and cold). I caught up with Needham to ask how it felt to be one of the new kids.
Tell us how you fell into The Catskills?
I moved here in 2013, although our operation was still based in Brooklyn at the time, and Sam came up to the area full time pre-pandemic. We still have a warehouse downstate, but this is home and we love it.
How’s the first winter at the shop been so far, besides snowy?
We definitely are having a ‘real’ winter here, but that said, traffic on Rt. 28 is still really solid, so the shop is getting a lot of eyes, and we’ve seen a steady stream of customers. There have been a few iterations of business in this space prior to us taking it over, but the size and location are perfect. To be honest, we weren’t even thinking about a real store, but we saw the space was available and we jumped in. It’s a great location to showcase what we do, to cater to oyster lovers, and also to offer up a great intro and education to eating oysters.
How sustainable is a brick-and-mortar shop all year long?
We’re certainly realistic about winter traffic vs. summer. We opened right around the holidays this winter, which, for some, would not have been the best move, but for us, it’s giving us plenty of time to get our systems and best practices in place. We’re really bullish about business and this location.
Tell us more about “education” and your core customer?
As an example, some people only eat oysters in warmer months, and might’ve only been exposed to Gulf oysters, so for those customers, we love to introduce them to colder water oysters from Wellfleet (Cape Cod) or similar, and have them experience the differences in taste, texture, even the thickness of the shells. Most people, once they get hooked, love to learn more about the origins about different types of oysters. In the shop, on our communal table, we have some of the best books on oysters, so furthering anyone’s knowledge base is literally in front of them. As far as our core customer, it varies. Some people come in because we’ve been ‘best clam chowder’ on Google, which, by the way, is so cool! Some people already are oyster lovers and are excited to have options like us close to home. Some have fond memories of the first time they tried oysters, or a lobster roll, and want to relive that in our food.
Tell us about price points and accessibility
Seafood is something you don’t want to buy at a discount, right? (perishable!). We get fresh oysters every week – even during the blizzard, our deliveries from Rhode Island and Cape Cod showed up; these are true New England venerable suppliers who get their product out no matter what the conditions. People understand they are paying for the freshest product. That said, we do have our $2 oysters on Mondays and our customers love that.
Oyster Party is known for its pop ups. Will those continue?
For sure. But whereas we used to do 6-8 a weekend, now we’ll do more like 2-3. And of course, we still do a ton of catering. That’s how we got our start. People love a raw bar but many don’t want the hassle of doing it themselves.
What are people most surprised to discover when they come by the shop?
Since we got our beer, wine, and cider license (organic and biodynamic offerings from Rose Hill Cider, West Kill Brewery, and Fjord winery), I think that people love that we’re a new area option for an entirely different kind of meal (at press time, Oyster Party is open Thursday to Monday), and we serve lunch and dinner.
Tell us about being a “good neighbor” in a small town. And any advice for other New Kids, especially in the moment of regional change?
We have two of the best neighbors we can imagine, in Hotel Dylan and in the Santa Fe restaurant. And working just down the road from where you live, in a place like this, in a place that looks like this with like-minded people, is one of the greatest pleasures ever. We love that our neighbors and community have embraced us – we had an idea that we wanted to bring an idea to market, something that we believe in and really love, and people have flocked to it. With regard to being a new kid, and regional change, as Lama Marut says, ‘Change Ain’t Changin’.’
We think the Catskills and the Hudson Valley has room for everyone who wants to introduce something exciting to the area – we see that enthusiasm on our customers’ faces when they try something new, and likewise, the contented nostalgia when our food brings them back to happy memories of being by the sea.
Abbe Aronson is a contributing writer. Send correspondence to reporting@theoverlooknews.com.