Craft beer, coffee and clothing don’t have too much in common. But you can find them all at McFoxlin’s restaurant on Church Street, right in the middle of the village of New Paltz.
The inviting aroma of coffee and the warmth of incandescent lighting welcomes you into McFoxlin’s; the waitress greets you with a smile. Owner Emily Fox stands behind the bar, explaining the newest craft beer to whichever weary traveler has stopped by for a drink. The small cafe is tastefully decorated with eclectic paintings and books, tied together with a hot pink accent wall at the back of the one-room establishment.
Located at 5 Church St. in New Paltz, McFoxlin’s is the newest cafe to grace the cobbled streets of this college town. But it strives to do more than just serve coffee and hipster breakfast foods (though the menu does tout avocado toast, salmon toast and Egg-In-A-Basket).
Fox and her partner initially bought the restaurant in the Spring of 2019, and officially opened its doors on May 6.
“We wanted to do a little bit of everything and to ‘do good things good,’ so for us that meant beer and wine, food and coffee,” Fox said. “Kept it simple and good.”
The small room features a full bar and booths for more private dining, as well as larger family-style tables for working or socializing. According to Fox, she wanted to make it feel cozy and comfortable, like a living room.
“I think that New Paltz does an excellent job at catering to college students, but not such a great job at catering to people who don’t want to party or want something a little nicer, but not super expensive,” Fox said. She wanted to create a space for people who just want a change of pace.
Fox also harbors a not-so-secret obsession with craft beer, and makes it a point to order new beers frequently to allow residents to try a little something new.
“If another bar has it, I don’t want it,” Fox said. “I don’t want to sell what everyone else sells, I want it to be a little different, because that’s what gets me excited.”
Her standout piece, located adjacent to the bar cove, is a wrought iron shelving unit lined with local and rotating brew cans.
McFoxlin’s hosts countless events and they all are the brainchildren of different staff members. When Fox first started the restaurant and hired her team, she told them that she wanted it to be a collaborative effort. Subsequently, events such as clothing swaps and karaoke nights are born when employees pitch them.
“They know what they like and they know what their friends like and they are in touch with different segments of New Paltz that I’m not, so let’s all do this together,” Fox said.
As if the eclectic restaurant couldn’t get any more interesting, Fox mentioned that her and her partner are both foreign to New Paltz and the Hudson Valley. They are from Brunswick, Maine and Alaska respectively, and fell in love under the Shawangunk Mountain Ridge.
McFoxlin’s itself is a play on names; it is the combination of Fox and her partner’s last name, though Fox likes to joke that it is her dog’s last name.
Fox hopes that people will walk away feeling like they came from a friend’s house.
“We fell in love with the community as well and it was definitely an impulsive decision to own a restaurant but I can’t think of anywhere else that we’d want to do it,” Fox said. “This is our home.”
The restaurant is hosting a clothing swap on Thursday, Nov. 14 from 4 to 6 p.m. Their second Karaoke Night collaboration with art store Crust and Magic is being held on Friday Nov. 15 at 8 p.m.
