KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A city couple has been granted permission to open up a bar with a bookstore in it at an historic Uptown landmark.
Planning Board Chairman Wayne Platte said the board has unanimously approved a special permit for Amanda and Anthony Stromoski to open Rough Draft Bar & Books at 82 John St.
The Stromoskis have said they hope to open the business around Nov. 1.
Rough Draft Bar & Books is to be at the former Kingston Academy building at Uptown’s historic four corners, where John and Crown streets intersect.
PHOTOS: Rough Draft Bar & Books
In an email, the owners have said they chose Uptown “primarily because we thought the space was incredible and also because this is still where the most foot traffic is.”
The Stromoskis view Rough Draft Bar & Book as a unique blend.
“Rough Draft provides a unique combination of a convivial bar atmosphere and independent bookstore,” the email says. “There are plenty of fantastic bookstores in the Hudson Valley, including Half Moon Used Books, right here in Kingston, but few provide a place to sit, read, relax, chat with others and have something tasty to eat or drink.
“We want to combine some of our favorite things – beer, coffee and books – in one space, while providing a place for people to come together, as well,” the email adds.
Rough Draft Bar & Books will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
The building dates to 1774, when it was constructed as the Kingston Academy, according to the group Friends of Historic Kingston. The private school remained there until moving to a building on Academy Green in 1830.
The John Street building stands on the only corner in the United States where all four buildings predate the Revolutionary War. It was damaged when the British set fire to most of the buildings in Kingston in 1777, but was repaired soon after, according to Friends of Historic Kingston.
The building is owned by Gerald Celente, who heads the Trends Research Institute. It previously has housed a Sears store, a newspaper office, a carpenter’s shop and various restaurants. The second floor of the building is occupied by radio station WGHQ-AM.
