There’s nothing quite as precious as a great place to hang out, the kind of place where you can count on a warm welcome, a lively conversation, and the freedom to relax and be yourself.
Sound like you? If so, you need to get to know The Common Good in Ellenville, where you’ll find books, art, ideas, coffee and tasty bites, beverages, and the kind of gatherings—both scheduled and spontaneous—that happen when good folks come together.
“It’s a project that unites all of my personal and professional interests, my passions, into one,” Matthew Goldman of The Common Good says. “It’s a path I’ve been on since I was a teenager, but it’s not like it’s been a straight line. I mean, I worked as a bookseller in my 20s, in my hometown of West Caldwell in New Jersey, and when I stopped working there, the owner said, ‘Matt, you’re really good at this. Remember that.’ I absolutely didn’t forget, but it wasn’t linear; I didn’t just set out to become a bookstore owner after that. I went and did a bunch of other things, and they all have kind of come together to form this place.”
From age 19 until age 24, Goldman played guitar and sang backup with the band Steel Train, and it was a good run. “I did everything I ever wanted to do as a musician. We played the big festivals, and I got to meet a lot of my idols, saw a lot of the country. But I wanted something deeper.”
“I remember thinking that maybe some of what I'd been chasing on the stage—the communion with other people, the desire to figure out what we're all doing here and leave this place a little bit better than we found it—maybe I could try that in the classroom? It was really just a maybe, but it ended up being a ‘Hell yeah!” – Owner Matthew Goldman
Unsure of exactly what that would be, he agreed to help an old friend coach the local middle school girls’ basketball team. “One day in the back of the bus, coming home from an away game, I was helping this girl with a worksheet on climate change and I remember thinking that maybe some of what I'd been chasing on the stage—the communion with other people, the desire to figure out what we're all doing here and leave this place a little bit better than we found it—maybe I could try that in the classroom? It was really just a maybe, but it ended up being a ‘Hell yeah!’”
Picking up where he’d left off at Boston University as a 24-year-old sophomore, studying American history and then social studies education, he took refuge at O’Leary’s Pub. “My classmates were a lot younger, so instead of dorm parties, I’d take a book to O’Leary’s and have a beer, and before you know it, somebody’s asking you about the book and a half hour later you’re friends, because you’ve realized how much you have in common. So that was inspiring too—I realized that when we talk about books, we’re really talking about ourselves and how we relate to the themes, the plot twists. Readers are often introverts, so a beer or a cocktail can be the ideal ingredient.”
He spent 15 years as a self-described “hair-on-fire” American history teacher, mostly at the secondary-school level. “I’ve always held a deep, abiding core belief in the power of art, stories, and history to help build bridges and unite us with one another. I’ve always been all about trying to figure out what it is we’re supposed to be doing here, and I want to do that together.
So I guess the mosh pit of live music became the discussions in the classroom, which became running this space, you know?” Teaching evolved into being a founding faculty member and dean at BASIS Independent Brooklyn. Goldman loved it, but when he started feeling that familiar urge to take on a fresh challenge, he wanted to create something that was uniquely his own.
Meanwhile, he’d established a Catskills outpost. “My dad’s family, like so many others, found enormous joy and community in the Borscht Belt. I went to summer camp up here with my brother. We stayed at the Nevele once, with my grandparents. I loved the area, so about four years ago, my wife and I bought a house up here.”
It was, they told themselves, just a weekend house. They didn’t start out planning to be full-time Catskillians or to open a shop, but enchantment and magnetism did the rest. “We just fell in love with the strip here, with the people here and the history. The businesspeople running Top Shelf and Gaby’s, the record shop, and Morning Sunshine—it felt like there was another chapter being written about Ellenville, and it was a chapter that maybe I could participate in. We saw this space, these two bays available smack in the middle of Ellenville, right across from the post office that FDR helped build with the New Deal. And I was like, maybe this is the space where I can do this thing that I've been thinking about. And my wife was so supportive, my family was so supportive. It was a big change, but we ended up moving up here full time.”
"I’ve always held a deep, abiding core belief in the power of art, stories, and history to help build bridges and unite us with one another." – Owner Matthew Goldman
The Common Good opened its doors in October of ’24, and folks are finding it to be, well, uncommonly wonderful: a gem, an absolute favorite, safe and welcoming—online reviewers rave about everything from the cocktails to the comfort to the company. Goldman’s personal harmonic convergence has drawn in all the right elements. “We’ve got a great group of regulars,” he says. “Monthly community gatherings, a mend and stitch circle where people eat paninis and sip really good cocktails and fix clothes, three book clubs—fiction, fantasy, and romance—civic groups like the NAACP and the Ulster County Democrats, live music, art workshops, author readings, poetry nights…It isn’t just a place to have a drink, or just a place to buy a book, although you can certainly do those. It’s become a place to make friends, and I’m finding people are very receptive, and it’s enormously gratifying.”
"It’s become a place to make friends, and I’m finding people are very receptive, and it’s enormously gratifying.” – Owner Matthew Goldman
Goldman credits his wife’s brother, Adam Stein, with helping him take The Common Good from a fanciful idea to a buzzing, blossoming reality. “He’s a restaurant consultant, and at a family dinner I was talking about it and he said, ‘You can actually do this; I can help you do this,’ and here we are! And my wife, Erica, will tell you it’s all me, but none of it would exist without her.” Bar manager Ellie has created a cocktail program that Goldman says exceeds his wildest dreams. “She’s a master. I’ve never seen or had cocktails like the ones she builds.
"I love seeing parents just sit down with their kids and read,” he says. “This is designed to be a great place for a family to spend the afternoon.” – Owner Matthew Goldman
And she makes her own syrups, which also enrich our coffee program; our lattes—like toasted black sesame seed and vanilla jasmine—are very well loved. So we’ve got quite an array of very original seasonal beverage choices; we had lots of hot toddies in winter. We’ll always have plenty of whiskey, gin, mezcal, and tequila choices, as well as local beers and natural wines.”
The kitchen focuses on simple dishes with fine ingredients. Goldman says the soups and paninis are a big hit, with an elevated grilled cheese featuring aged cheddar and onion jam that pairs exceptionally well with tomato soup and a brie, mission fig, and green apple panini with balsamic drizzle being particular favorites. Prices—for everything from the elevated comfort food to the cocktails and books—are consciously kept “friendly” and approachable to all.
Books run the gamut from romance and fantasy to US and world history sections featuring the latest accessible scholarship, and Goldman takes pride in the children’s section, bright and cozy and beckoning. “I love seeing parents just sit down with their kids and read,” he says. “This is designed to be a great place for a family to spend the afternoon.”
Over 16 months in, Goldman is thrilled with and grateful for the community’s embrace of his dream in all of its mindfully executed particulars. “We have two ongoing discounts,” he says. “All current teachers get 10% off all books, and all students get 20% off food at lunchtime, from 11:30 to 1:30. I want this place to be filled to overflowing with teachers and students and families of all descriptions.”
The Common Good
119 Canal Street, Ellenville
845-210-7112 thecommongoodny.com
