MILLERTON — Like many Millerton residents, Katja and James Schultz were all-too-familiar with the community’s need for a thriving market. Teaming up with longtime friend Raquel Madar, the couple took it upon themselves to fulfill that need by opening The Dig this summer and stocking the market with carefully curated local products.
Given how integral a grocery market is to life in the local region, Katja said they were excited when the Millerton Mercantile opened for business last summer, only to find themselves without the market by the following year. Eager to fill the gap at 3 Main St. where the Millerton Mercantile was previously located, the couple launched The Dig, opening for business on Sunday, Aug. 2. Sharing co-ownership with Katja and James is Madar, the market’s supervisor and a friend of Katja’s since studying speech language pathology together at grad school at SUNY New Paltz.
Passing through the main door, customers are enveloped by the market space and its awe-inspiring inventory of local products, including meat sourced from Pine Plains; tea from Harney & Sons; fresh baked goods from Freund’s Farm Market in East Canaan, Conn.; coffee from Omar Coffee Company in Newington, Conn., and Lucy Jo’s Coffee Roastery in Salem, N.Y.; and much more. A stalwart believer in the importance of working with other community businesses, Katja said they’ve been trying to integrate other local markets into their store. The Dig also has a selection of dairy-free, gluten-free and peanut-free options for their customers to choose from.
Traveling to the back of the business, customers will find a relaxing outdoor space where they can lay their picnic blankets or settle into the space’s comfy lounge chairs.
At its heart, Katja said The Dig aims to create a welcoming atmosphere for people to socialize and have a good time while fulfilling their basic food needs.
“Honestly, I think the goal of it is to essentially bring everybody together using food,” James said. “I mean, if you think about it, if I sell somebody’s local food, we are sponsoring that person… We’re not in this to be millionaires — we’re in this to bring people together and have a great time.”
“It’s really amazing to share a dream with your family and to me, it’s about a shared future, something we can contribute to and be a part of,” said Natalie Pere, Katja’s mother and the chef responsible for the sweet and savory crepes sold at The Dig and at the Millerton Farmers Market.
As they continue nurturing The Dig’s roots on Main Street, the owners anticipate hosting community events and specials to draw customers of all ages, such as wine and cheese nights, Friday Wing Nights, snow cones on Saturdays and crepes on Sundays. Always looking to expand their inventory, Katja said people can email The Dig directly at thedigonmain@gmail.com or visit the market with their ideas for what they’d like to see on display, adding, “The more we can offer, the better.”
Open seven days a week, The Dig’s hours run from 6 to 11 a.m. Along with offering delivery to Millerton residents and curbside pickup, The Dig provides bundles that include essential goods (such as bread, eggs and fresh produce) at a reasonable price. To place an order, call 518-592-1142 or go to www.thedigonmain.com.
Built in 1820, 1168 Bangall Amenia Road sold for $875,000 on July 31 with the transfer recorded in August. It has a Millbrook post office and is located in the Webutuck school district.
STANFORD — The Town of Stanford with nine transfers in two months reached a median price in August of $573,000 for single family homes, still below Stanford’s all-time median high in August 2024 of $640,000.
At the beginning of October there is a large inventory of single-family homes listed for sale with only six of the 18 homes listed for below the median price of $573,000 and seven above $1 million.
July transfers
79 Ernest Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 6.87 acres in 2 parcels sold to Matthew C. Marinetti for $1,225,000.
29 Drake Road — 3 bedroom/3.5 bath home on 2 acres sold to Harper Montgomery for $850,000.
6042 Route 82 — 4 bedroom/2 bath home on 1.09 acres sold to Spencer Thompson for $795,000.
125 Tick Tock Way — 3 bedroom/2.5 bath ranch on 1.9 acres sold to Fleur Touchard for $475,000.
August transfers
102 Prospect Hill Road — 3 bedroom/2 bath home on 6.35 acres sold to Karl Creighton Pfister for $565,000.
252 Ernest Road — 2 bedroom/1 bath cottage on .85 acres sold to Meg Bumie for $465,000.
1196 Bangall Amenia Road — 4 bedroom/2.5 bath home on 2.16 acres sold to Roderick Alleyne for $875,000.
Hunns Lake Road (#759929) — 59.1 acres of residential land sold to Argos Farm LLC for $3,325,000.
* Town of Stanford recorded real estate transfers from July 1 to August 31 provided by Dutchess County Real Property Office monthly transfer reports. Details on each property from Dutchess Parcel Access - properties with an # indicate location on Dutchess Parcel Access. Market data from One Key MLS and Infosparks .Compiled by Christine Bates, Real Estate Advisor with William Pitt Sotheby’s International Realty, Licensed in Connecticut and New York.
Hunt club members and friends gathered near Pugsley Hill at the historic Wethersfield Estate and Gardens in Amenia for the opening meet of the 2025-2026 Millbrook Hunt Club season on Saturday, Oct. 4. Foxhunters took off from Wethersfield’s hilltop gardens just after 8 a.m. for a hunting jaunt around Amenia’s countryside.
Joining in the fun at the dedication of the new pollinator pathway garden at The Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4, local expert gardener Maryanne Snow Pitts provides information about a planting to Lorraine Mirabella of Poughkeepsie.
MILLBROOK — Participating in a patchwork of libraries that have planted pollinator pathway gardens to attract insects and birds to their native plantings was one of the accomplishments being celebrated at the dedication of a new pollinator garden at the Millbrook Library on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“A lot of work went into it,” said Emma Sweeney, past President of the Millbrook Garden Club, who started the local library’s initiative two years ago.
The Pollinator Pathway program is a national effort to plant native plants that native insects depend upon for sustenance and preferred plants for their own seasonal reproduction.
Jana Hogan of Ridgefield, Connecticut, Executive Director of the Pollinator Pathway program, was on hand to present a plaque to the library for its successful participation.
“A garden is not just a garden,” said garden designer Andy Durbridge of Wassaic, designer of the library’s garden. “It may serve as a model for other gardens along the line.”
Speaking to the 50 visitors at the dedication, Durbridge said that the library’s garden has a mission, that it is a working garden, planned to serve insects and birds over their seasons. The earliest plants support pollinators, while the full range of plants continues to serve the needs of those they attract, offering habitat, shelter and food.
A pollinator garden is akin to a prairie, rather than a formalized European garden, Durbridge noted.
The garden project was supported by the library’s Friends group using funds raised during the Holiday Silent Auction and ongoing book sale. A grant from the Millbrook Garden Club also provided support.
Amenia Town Hall on Route 22.
AMENIA — After gathering comments from the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, as it considers adding alternate members to those boards, the Town Board discussed possible changes to local laws governing those boards at its meeting on Friday, Oct. 3. The meeting date, usually on a Thursday, had been changed to accommodate a holiday.
In recent weeks Town Board attorney Ian Lindars has been compiling comments from the affected boards along with comments from the Town Board. The new laws may bring the appointment of two alternate members to each board. Alternate members are likely to be required to attend all meetings and be prepared to be seated if needed and be familiar with the applications being discussed. They would also need to take training required of all board members.
Lindars will prepare a draft of the new local laws to be reviewed by the Town Board and the affected boards.
As the Town Board begins work on the town’s annual budget negotiation process and anticipating an increase in some budget lines to accommodate major projects, the board unanimously approved three resolutions. The first will override the tax levy limit imposed on municipalities by the state of New York, a limit generally tied to the rate of inflation.
A public hearing on the proposal to override the levy limit was set for Thursday, November 6, beginning at 7 p.m. at the Town Hall.
