Welcome back to The Shelf Talker, where we celebrate independent bookstores and share their booksellers’ best reads.

Part bar, part cafe, part event space, and 100% beautiful bookstore, Rough Draft is a favorite for locals and visitors alike. The store is especially beloved for its staff and community recommendations, which are spot-on and unique.

Rough Draft opened in 2017 and is dedicated to providing a fantastic selection of beer, cider, and wine; Counter Culture coffee; local pastries and savory pies; a curated selection of new books of all kinds; and a place for people from Kingston and beyond to come together for reading, drinking, conversation, and nightly events.

Amanda and Anthony Stromoski are high school sweethearts, originally from Southern New Jersey.  After college and a decade in New York City as a science reporter and public school educator respectively, and after countless weekends hiking and camping in the beautiful Hudson Valley, they made the move to Kingston to open their dream business, Rough Draft Bar & Books.

Amanda and Anthony are both passionate readers and craft beer and coffee enthusiasts who wanted to build a place that would combine all of these interests, and provide a space where folks could gather, read, sip, work, play, and converse. In other words, they wanted to open an all-day living room for their adopted hometown. Nearly nine years in, they've been fortunate to build deep community ties -- and as they plan for a move to an even larger space in 2027, they hope to provide even more literature, libations, and events for regulars and visitors alike.

Follow Rough Draft on Instagram here.

A cookbook for picnic season and beyond…

We’ll see you next week. Until then, thank you for supporting indie bookstores!