Longtime manager acquires Karma Road in New Paltz

Pippa Raup-Kounovsky (on left) is the new owner of Karma Road in New Paltz. O’Malley Hayes is the new general manager. (Photo by Lauren Thomas) New Paltz is one of those places where the term “downtown” is to be taken literally. To get there from uptown, you have to head downhill. Once Main Street crosses the Wallkill River at the bottom of the long incline and heads out onto the Flats, it goes back to being plain ol’ Route 299. Though you’re still within the boundaries of the Town of New Paltz, you’re no longer “downtown.” The steepest stretch of that hill comes near the bottom: the bit west of the post office, east of the Water Street Market and the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. It’s here — at 11 Main Street, sharing the same building as the Bicycle Depot — that you’ll find the much-loved eatery called Karma Road, a Mecca for vegans, vegetarians and health-conscious foodiessince 2006. Longtime owners Jenn and Seth Branitz like to describe the place “a springboard for self-improvement.” They’re currently in the process of turning the business over to a new owner: Phillippa Raup-Kounovsky, better known to customers as Pip or Pippa. She has worked there for 17 of Karma Road’s 20 years, most recently as manager. While Karma Road’s menu offers exclusively animal-free products, it’s more than a vegan café, and appeals to a broad range of locals and visitors, according to Seth (whom some will know by his stage name as a singer/songwriter, Seth Davis). “Our clientele is made up of a cross-section of the population, not just vegans and vegetarians. Plenty of outdoor sports enthusiasts, students, day-trippers and locals are regulars and seasonal regulars,” he notes. Seth and Jenn grew up on Long Island, cutting their teeth in a variety of different food-related businesses before both landing at Jandi’s, a health food store in Oceanside, in 1994. There Jenn transformed a small juice bar into the largest vegetarian kitchen on Long Island. She went on to attend the Natural Gourm