A Guide To Everyday Essentials In Beacon, NY
Beacon Car Wash & Detail Center, 285 Main Street.
Beacon’s Main Street’s has been called among the most beautiful in the America, and the city was recently named one of the coolest small towns. Plus, it’s home to Dia Beacon, one of the most well-respected modern art galleries in the world. It’s for good reason that Beacon is often lauded for its incredible arts scene, charming independent boutiques, independent cinema, dozens of delicious eateries, historical buildings, and epic natural beauty.
But another dimension to Beacon’s appeal, especially for residents, is its abundance of everyday goods and services provided by a multitude of local businesses on and off Main Street. They may not be as unique or covetable as our boutique shops, but our lives would certainly be harder if we didn’t have such easy access to them.
Celebrating local businesses
So, today, we’re focused on those local hero businesses which often don’t get the attention they deserve; the ones Beacon residents would be in a bind without. And it goes without saying that these same local businesses need regular customers to survive and thrive. As the old saying goes, “use it or lose it!”
Next time you shop from one of our amazing small businesses, remember to thank them for making life easier for us. You might also thank them for saving us from driving to the nearest strip mall or having to shop online, for providing the city much needed sales tax revenue, and for routinely donating goods and money to the city’s non-profit organizations.
So, let’s get down to it and shine a light on some of Beacon’s everyday essential businesses.
Printing & postal services
Accuprint Pack ‘N’ Ship, 242 Main Street, is the go-to resource for packing, shipping, printing, and business service needs, with a super-helpful and friendly team to do it for you. Need something faxed? They can even do that. They can pack and ship globally via FedEx, UPS, DHL, and USPS. Printing services are also available in black and white or in color.
Beacon Post Office, 369 Main Street, home to a stunning 1930s mural by Woodstock artist, Charles Rosen.
Sitting in the heart of Main Street (369), Beacon’s Post Office is an essential resource for stamps, shipping, P.O. Box rentals, just to name a few services. It’s set in a beautiful, mid-1930s building featuring a stunning mural of Hudson Valley towns created by Woodstock artist Charles Rosen. In 2023, there were local concerns that the Post Office may close as its sorting office was consolidated—along with nine other locations—in a sorting center across the river in Newburgh. But so far so good, and its retail operations are conducting business as usual. Judging by the regular lines, the Post Office is more popular than ever.
Repairs
John Shoe Repairs, 152 Main Street, Unit 16. Follow the yellow and red sign on the west end of Main Street to John’s for all sorts of expert repairs for shoes, bags, zippers, belts, and more. Check out their reviews on Google to see just how much locals appreciate having a shoe repair right on their doorsteps.
JK Techs, 249 Main Street, Suite 102. This family-run shop offers all sorts of personalized IT services, including laptop and computer repairs and accessories. They offer home visits, or you can walk in if it’s more convenient or if you’re in a bind. With so many of us working from home, it’s reassuring to know help is on hand if technology lets you down.
Something for everyone at the library
The Howland Public Library, open seven days a week.
The Howland Public Library, 313 Main Street. The Howland Library serves Beacon’s City School District community with an incredible array of resources for every age and interest. Open seven days a week, this amazing institution hosts events throughout the month. This includes books clubs, teen clubs, concerts, screenings, arts circles, and more. The library is a one-stop community gem that’s recently introduced a vinyl record section for old-school (but not necessarily old!) music fans.
Attorneys
Lyons & Supple, 5 Cliff Street, just off Main Street. This 30-year-old family business offers a range of legal services including estate planning, elder law, wills, trusts, real estate titles searches, and real estate transactions.
Roosa & Roosa, 398 Main Street, has been family owned and operated for three generations in Beacon. It offers a broad range of legal services pertaining to corporate and business practices, estate planning, and health care related matters.
Eye care and wear
Luxe Optique, 181-183 Main Street, offers a full range of eye health services including a comprehensive eye exam, contact lens exam, eye wellness scan, eyewear repairs, color blindness tests, and a free DMV vision test. That’s not to mention hundreds of beautiful frames for sale.
Car wash & rentals
Beacon Car Wash & Detail Center, 285 Main Street. How many small towns have a car wash right in its center? We’d guess not many. But that’s what we’re lucky to have here in Beacon. And you can also hire a small truck or van here since Beacon Car Wash is also U-Haul’s neighborhood dealer.
Gas stations
We’ve lived in Beacon a few years now, but still find it hard to believe there’s three gas stations along Main Street, all within a mile of each other. It’s worth checking all three to land on the best (ever-changing) price of the day.
Sunoco, 220 Main Street
Mobil, 361 Main Street
Valero, 145 Fishkill Avenue (at the corner of Main Street)
Cleaning services
Vails Gate Dry Cleaners, 347 Main Street, offers dry cleaning, personal wash and fold, tailoring services, and shoe repair. In our experience, they’ve always been friendly, super-helpful, and efficient.
Medical care
Health care for four-legged family members.
For our four-legged family members, Beacon Veterinary Associates is conveniently located at 395 Main Street and is open six days a week (Monday to Saturday). They handle both emergency and regular veterinary care. As pet parents of a feline that hates car journeys and veterinary visits, the convenience of this location takes some of the stress out of the experience.
Sun River Health, 6 Henry Street, is open six days a week and provides medical and dental services. With a friendly front desk team and attentive physicians, it’s reassuring that this convenient location is so close.
You can even get a blood test on Main Street. Bioreference Medical Lab, 334 Main Street, offers all sorts of blood work in a comfortable, personal setting. Results are generally returned within 24 hours. Open five days a week from 8 AM.
CareFull MD Walk In Clinic is not yet open at 252 Main Street (next to Key Food), but when it does, it’ll be promising an urgent care service with extended hours and a wait time of about 15 minutes.
Beacon Wellness Pharmacy, 333 Main Street, is an independent pharmacy offering traditional medicine and natural remedies.
Rite Aid, 320 Main Street, has a pharmacy which stays open until 10 PM. That’s good news if you’ve had a late-night visit to Urgent Care. The national chain became a private company in September 2024 following its bankruptcy. Its shelves on its Main Street location have been looking pretty sorry for themselves since then. Hopefully, they’ll be back on track soon.
Everyday food
Beacon Farmers Market. Every Sunday, 10 AM to 2 PM.
Open year round, come rain or shine, Beacon Farmers Market, 223 Main Street, is open for business every Sunday from 10am to 2pm, and is always a delight to visit. Fresh organic vegetable, fish, meat, homemade pies and baked goods, challah bread, cheese, pickles, and so much more. This is our destination for almost all our weekly food shopping. The Farmers Market accepts SNAP and FMNP/WIC benefits, helping to ensure everyone has access to fresh, healthy foods, regardless of income.
Key Food Market, 268 Main Street, is centrally located with its own parking lot, so access by car or foot is easy. This supermarket also accepts SNAP/EBT.
Natural Food Market, 348 Main Street, is a mom & pop grocery store selling healthy foods, fresh produce, supplements, and excellent prepared foods. They also have a great range of vegetarian and vegan choices.
Main St Deli, 390 Main Street, might be described as a convenience rather than a grocery store, but it’s a friendly spot to pick up basic items regardless. It’s also open until midnight, so it’s perfect for anyone with those late-night munchies.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, so if you’d like to know more about everyday essential shops and services in Beacon, head over to our Services and Community Directories to learn more about shopping locally for everyday essentials.
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Until next time…
The Beacon Beacon🧡