Tivoli General — Restaurant in Town of Red Hook

The new owners of the Tivoli General have transformed a small grocery into a community hub in a matter of months, though not without inspired effort: they gave up valuable retail space to create indoor seating, dedicated their mornings to open early for coffee and breakfast 6 days a week. They sought out local bakers to provide fresh bread and pastries consistently. They created a small menu of incredible sandwiches, salads and soups made from local farm goods rather than mass produced stuff. It is disheartening to see the comments implying that the owners are not for the people; what they have built is made entirely from the artistry and effort of local artisans, whom they pay ethically for their craft and service. It's not a 7-11, and we are so grateful for that. I understand the shock of feeling the true cost of goods and services, but I ask those frustrated by the price point to consider the greater social impact of demanding the prices that come from factory farms and poverty wage labor before accusing these business owners of any lack of character. I know few other shops run with such integrity,...

Tivoli General is the most amazing community coffee shop. The owners...and chef....are always friendly, which always makes me feel good. I'm a regular so it's nice to be recognized and acknowledged! The food is delicious and well priced. The best best grilled cheese, tuna salad wonderful and the avacado toast has alot of competition these days, but still better than any I have tasted, which is alot. Generous portion, great bread and always a nice presentation! I appreciate a coffee shop with chai tea that is without sugar and not made from a mix, hard to find! Matcha as well. The groceries are interesting and the produce is fresh and local. I hate Tuesdays when they are closed, but I know they need a rest and that's...

For a while, I came in regularly because they had at least one vegan sandwich and a rather good vegan cookie. Lately, they’ve had neither; pity.

Grocery-wise, I feel like the selection is different every time I come in. At some point the items started skewing towards speciality Asian foods, which is neat and different but not particularly useful to me day-to-day.

Coffee is hit or miss, and available only in petite sizes (unless you beg). They’re trying to do coffee well, but the staff seems unevenly trained on their espresso machine.

Basically, I wish this place was more like Village Grocery in Kingston. It is not, however, so I pretty much forget about it, even though it’s way closer to...