The idea of Homespun@home materialized out of a very practical need, as many brilliantly successful ideas tend to do. Beacon, like many towns in the Hudson Valley, is a town full of busy, working, and sometimes commuting families. Time is a serious commodity, especially when you mix children into the fold - children are an absolutely amazing gift, but also a very real time-consumer (as your humble narrator can now personally attest to).
So what did husband and wife team Jessica Reisman & Chris Ancliffe, co-owners of Homespun Foods (a critically acclaimed café in Beacon) do? They opened what I’d sum up in only a few words (but deserving of more) as a “family-friendly, from scratch, to-go restaurant." They named it Homespun@home.
As Jessica states, “We started Homespun@home to provide an alternative for the dinner meal. Everyone wants to provide from scratch, natural and nutritious meals for their families but find they don’t have the time or are just too tired to cook. Bundling up the kids to go sit in a restaurant isn’t a viable or particularly exciting option either. Grab and go prepared foods that have been made with the same loving care that we put into the food we make at our cafe seemed like a good idea.”
The store is right across the street from their established sister café. Upon entering the shop, you’re looking at a counter, one fairly large refrigerated display case and a freezer off to the side with glass doors – and that’s literally it. The way it works is that most of the meals come in family-style portions, sometimes frozen, sometimes refrigerated, depending on the requirements and the shelf needs of the dish. Once the meal is ready to be enjoyed, all you have to do is pop it in the oven or toaster, in the aluminum tray that it’s handily sold in. And voila – a delectable meal on the dinner table, without the “cooking” time of before or the “cleaning” chore of after.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that these folks have developed a truly innovative, much appreciated concept…Home-cooked appetizing fare at your immediate fingertips - or should I say kitchen mitt tips. My wife and I have taken out a few dishes already, including a magnificent tray of spinach lasagna (yum), as well as a few different chicken dishes and a veggie chili that were all really, really good. One thing’s for sure. The flavors and quality of the meals were definitely not compromised, frozen or otherwise.
If a sit-down, more on location dining experience is what you’re looking for, you will love the original Homespun Café across the street. It’s one of our regular staples. But if occasionally, or even regularly, time is of the essence and at an all time premium (as we are learning), Homespun@home is a super delicious, convenient alternative that will keep you popping back in regularly to see Jess - and see what’s for dinner.
Homespun@Home
259 Main Street, Beacon
845-202-7020
845-202-7020
homespuneathome.com
Kid-Friendly, Suitable for date nights (to take home, of course)
Jason Weinstein and his wife, Nicole (and now their son, Wilson) love dining out in the Hudson Valley because of the abundance of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients -- coupled with the vast creativity of the area's chefs.
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