Main Street bustles with new businesses this summer

Millerton’s Main Street has weathered its share of booms and busts over the past 175 years. But in 2026, the downtown is buzzing once again, fueled in no small part by a wave of new businesses that have opened their doors.

The storefronts run the gamut: Rosemary Rose Finery, Jones & Daughters, and Dutchess Trading Company have jewelry and home goods on offer. Tri-Corner F.E.E.D. and Pasture Kitchen keep the community fed with an emphasis on locally-sourced products. Candy-Os and the T-Shirt Farm have combined into a one-stop shop for sweets and fabrics. Muanjai Tea is bringing a new flavor of café to the area, and Black Rabbit Farms will be the town’s first purveyor of recreational cannabis.

Sitting side by side on Main Street’s curve, Black Rabbit Farms and Muanjai Tea will be the newest businesses on the block. The respective owners expect to open this summer.

Black Rabbit Farms owner Douglas Broughton has been cultivating marijuana since the 1990s, but its recent legalization led him to pursue a retail space. He found a location in the former Demitasse space at 32 Main St.

The tea shop, the brainchild of Kanchisar Jiradhanaiphat and John Schildbach, will offer Thai tea classics such as pink milk, but Schildbach was quick to clarify that “this isn’t going to be a bubble tea shop.” The menu will also feature Thai tea ice cream floats, lattes and matcha drinks.

Muanjai Tea is taking over the former Candy-Os space. It became available after Candy-Os owner Gillian Osnato decided to combine her inventory of sweets with the T-Shirt Farm, her other business on the block. “I was skeptical about how to merge them, but I think it worked,” Osnato said. “There are two different sets of equipment, and each has its own set of challenges, but everyone seems to be excited. ”

Then there’s Jones & Daughters, a boutique offering apparel, jewelry, home goods, and gifts next door to the Moviehouse. It opened last month in the former Geary Gallery Space. “We wanted to create a place to shop that felt as thoughtful as this community,” co-founder Constance Edwards said. “The perfect outfit, something beautiful for your home, a gift that actually means something.”

Shoppers crowd Jones & Daughters’ new space on Millerton’s Main Street for the boutique’s grand opening on Friday, May 29.Aly Morrissey

More jewelry and artisan goods are available at Rosemary Rose Finery. Founder Jessica DeCarlo Lee moved into the space in May. She shares it with Meg Musgrove, who runs Common Place Craft Workshop. The result is a combination workshop and retail space that has received rave reviews and return customers. Herbal medicines, screen-printing, and pottery are among the store’s offerings.

Millerton’s recent business growth is becoming increasingly visible. After opening last year, local market Tri-Corner F.E.E.D. and farm-to-table restaurant Pasture Kitchen continue to thrive.

Tri-Corner has carved a niche in a town in need of groceries. It offers farm-fresh meats, seasonal vegetables, prepared foods, coffee and baked goods. “We really want to reduce barriers for people to be able to afford nutritious, local food,” said Blake Myers, director of food programs at the Tri Corner F.E.E.D. Market. “Anybody can come in and shop.”

Pasture Kitchen, formerly Tallow, survived a rebrand on the strength of its expanded and locally-sourced menu. The restaurant blends popular classics like burgers and chicken sandwiches with steak frites, burrata salads, and a rotating wine selection.

But while some new tenants were drawn to Millerton’s rising profile, others are interested in preserving its history.

Some are longtime residents interested in preserving and repurposing the town’s iconic buildings — like Jason Jobson, Richard Lambertson, and Christophe Pourny of Dutchess Trading Company. They opened in the old Terni’s storefront in 2024, renovating the space topreserve one of the town’s most historic structures.

The trio has converted the mirror-lined space — which has served as a cafe, boarding house, and tackle shop over its hundred year history — to a home goods and gifts store. “We love the town because there are so many people that have been coming here their whole lives,” said Jobson. “We get a lot of people from the Berkshires, too,” added Lambertson. “They come up Route 22 and stop for lunch.”