The Academy is the newest culinary addition to the city of Poughkeepsie. Is it a food hall, a restaurant, or a market? It will feature all of these things and more when it opens to the public in a couple of weeks. It starts off as a food and beverage establishment including event space and, later this year, there will be 28 adjacent apartments and coworking space, completing the developers intentions of creating a mixed-use destination.
This past weekend, I attended the grand opening celebration and got an early first-hand glimpse of all The Academy has to offer.
The building at 33 Academy Street was, most recently, a nightclub. Baxter, a Hudson Valley real estate development and property management firm, has spearheaded the transformation of the space into what is now The Academy.
The first thing to note about The Academy is that it’s highly Instagrammable! Everything from the indoor and outdoor murals and the neon signs in the bathrooms (yes, you need to check them out!) scream, “take my picture!”.
The bottom floor of the building houses the food hall, The Academy Market, and The Academy Kitchen. These operations are led by Rachel Potts, the Culinary Director and Executive Chef, and David Lombardo, the Food & Beverage Director. Food hall vendors include: Smoke 33 (BBQ), Valley Greens (salads)and East-West (Asian).
Hudson Hopworks serves a rotating collection of mostly locally-brewed beer on tap, in cans and bottles. There’s even a signature The Academy craft brew coming soon.
Cafe + Grill serves hot and cold prepared foods and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They sell a variety of mains and sides by the pound, which is a great option for busy nights when you don’t feel like cooking but don’t want to go out to eat.
The Newburgh Flour Shop will round out the food vendors and will be selling their homemade breads and baked goods. You can also order one of their custom cakes for any celebration.
Although it wasn’t open the day of the grand opening celebration, The Academy Market will sell locally-sourced produce, meat, and seafood. The Market will have a café serving coffee, kombucha on tap, nitro cold brew and more. The Grill + Deli will have made-to-order sandwiches and prepared foods.
Every food vendor has vegetarian food options, with many offering vegan options as well. While we expect Valley Greens to have plenty of vegetarian options, it was nice to see vegetarian-friendly items on the other menus. East-West makes edamame dumplings, Impossible Buns and mushroom broth ramen. Smoke 33 has a Smoked Cauliflower Steak and Loaded Chili Smoked Sweet Potato as vegetarian main options, as well as many sides. I can’t wait until The Academy officially opens to be able to sample all these offerings!
A centrally-located bar on the bottom floor separates the food hall from The Academy Kitchen. The bar will be overseen by head mixologist Ben Friedman and will serve signature, as well as classic, cocktails.
The Academy Kitchen seats 75 and serves dinner daily and brunch on the weekends. The modern American menu includes a variety of appetizers, salads and entrees. You’ll find steaks, seafood, burgers and more, with plenty of vegetarian options.
Keepsake occupies the upstairs space of the building. It’s an 8700 square foot event space designed to host weddings and special celebrations.
It is inspiring to see the revitalization of Poughkeepsie and The Academy is a great addition to the city’s food and restaurant space. It is open from morning until night and offers all kinds of food options. Make a stop in Poughkeepsie soon and check out The Academy!
The Academy
33 Academy Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
website
Parking: Plenty of paid parking is available in the municipal lot across the street. Street parking is also available.
