Page 8 - Valley Table - Summer 2023

A Next-Gen
General Store
Upscale provisions shops have been popping up in small towns across the region. Check out the latest hot spot in
hthe Catskills. BY JANET SIROTO
ensonville, a tiny hamlet in the shadow of Windham Mountain in Greene County, has plenty of rugged nature. But with a population of just 295, retail has been sparse. If year-rounders or weekenders felt the urge for a cup of
good coffee or fixings for a charcuterie board, they had to hop in the car and go to Catskill or Hudson.
But thanks to Paracasa, which opened at the end of last summer, that’s changing. The shop offers a fresh take on Ye Olde General Store, updated for our more sophisticated times. Tinned
fish? Check. Za’atar spice blend? Yup. Wagyu beef? They’ve got it. A vintage tablecloth and hand-poured tapers to liven up a party? Ready and waiting.
Paracasa is the brainchild
of a quintet of creatives:
Danielle and Ely Franko,
plus Brian MacArthur, who
runs the Hunter Houses
rental properties, and their pals, Michelin-starred chefs (and frequent upstate visitors) Jeremiah Stone and Fabian von Hauske, who helm Contra and Wildair in NYC’s Lower East Side.
The road to Paracasa started in 2016. The then NYC-based Frankos (he’s a computer programmer by trade; she, a dermatology physician assistant) had bought a weekend house in Tannersville that was in less-than-mint condition. With a heavy assist from YouTube tutorials, they dug into rehabbing it.
Soon, they started Airbnbing the spruced-up home, with Instagram helping to spread the word. Their hideaway was quickly booked solid, and so they moved to the Catskills full time. Joining forces with their “creator of opportunities,” MacArthur, they snapped up a couple of other homes to renovate. Working with all things natural—wood and plants everywhere, a woven hammock by a sunny window, nubby neutral rugs underfoot—they built the Hunter Houses mini empire of rental homes.
Loving the nooks and crannies of the Hudson Valley and ready to step up their game, the team moved on to a bigger undertaking: an as-yet- unnamed, 12,000-square-foot inn in Hensonville,
14 TheValleyTable | June—August2023
The Paracasa team recently opened Day June, a cozy luncheontette right next door.
set to open sometime this year. A business partnership with chefs Stone and von Hauske unfolded from their decades-long friendship; the two chefs are engineering
a restaurant to anchor the new inn.
But through all this, there was a frequent unmet need among Airbnb guests that kept nagging at the Hunter Houses team: There was no place nearby to get good provisions. “If you were looking for a happy hour cheese spread, it was always a struggle,” says MacArthur. “Our guests were typically from the city; they were accustomed to high-quality ingredients and willing
to pay for them.” Locals also craved a place to buy something special to punch up a meal.
The idea of a larder-cum-housewares shop took hold, and when a storefront a stone’s throw from the inn-in-progress became available to rent, they jumped.
What they dreamed up was a new link in the chain of modern general stores stretching across the Hudson Valley—think the Golden Russet in Rhinebeck and
Otto’s in Germantown. Dubbed Paracasa (“for home” in Spanish), the space has
the Hunter Houses stamp on its antique
interior. “We really like natural materials, good lighting, and ton of plants,” says Danielle. “This was our first time using ancient limewashing techniques to give the walls texture, and Ely had a crazy idea for the counter. It’s now a statement piece that anchors that side of the store.” The counter’s you-have-to-touch- this look comes from glazed zellige tiles, a handmade style that originated in Morocco.
Chefs von Hauske and Stone then began stocking from their secret sources, offering what they felt would be ideal for an upstate dinner party or a lakeside picnic. “We’ve been working with a lot of purveyors who have products for restaurants and
PHOTOS BY THE HUNTER HOUSES