GUEST SHIFT: SARAH “YAZA” GOLDSTEIN, Sorry Charlie, Kingston
Sarah “Yaza” Goldstein talks roadtrips, making Kingston home, pickle brine + being a “Pizza Shepherd.”
Interview: Susie Davidson Powell
Photos: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing
Location: Sorry Charlie, Kingston, N.Y.
Read about Sarah’s featured cocktail here.
Tastemaker: Yaza Goldstein, bar manager | IG: @ yazagold
Business: Sorry Charlie, Kingston | sorrycharliekingston.com | IG: @sorrycharliekingston
Hometown: Wynnewood, PA
Current city: Kingston
Personal style : I live in Ripton pants. They are the most comfortable, practical and—if I do say so myself—fashionable. I wear them to work, date night, to the climbing gym. They are literally perfect for every occasion. We have so many clothing swaps within the community and our friend groups so this is where I am doing my “shopping.” Give me your old t-shirts or jackets and I’ll give you my old hoodies and fanny packs.
Listening to: KEXP streaming. I love public radio. But the new Robyn song has been on repeat in our home. My comfort bands are Fishbone and Dispatch and my go to playlist during a busy service is some indie sleeze like LCD Sound System
Favorite spirit: Fernet when I’m behind the bar. (Very original, I know.) Otherwise, give me a bourbon.
Favorite classic cocktail: Tied between an Americano and an Old Cuban
Favorite bar or venue ever: Twilight Exit in Seattle. Here in Kingston, Stockade
Biggest cocktail influence: My buddy Conor (current bartender at Casa Susanna). He was the dude who hired me for my first barbacking job and the guy I hold myself up to.
Drink trend that should end: Stop calling everything a martini!
“Welcome to The Dishing’s Quick Serve interviews where we talk with tastemakers in the hospitality industry and trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture and art. Today we’re talking with Sarah “Yaza” Goldstein, bar manager at Sorry Charlie in Kingston.
Hey, Yaza. Thanks for talking to The Dishing! Let’s get into it! I know you’ve been with the Sorry Charlie team since they opened in 2024, but you actually grew up just outside Philadelphia and moved to Kingston after living in Seattle for 13 years. Your career has ranged from human services to therapeutic preschool teacher and Zipcar fraud analyst. (Not at the same time!) What took you to the west coast, what drew you to Kingston, and when did you get into bartending?
I ended up in Seattle for an Americorps Program and what I thought was just a year of service. Turned out I fell in love with the city, met the best people and really “grew up there.” I probably could have stayed there forever, I loved my life, but I knew that I wanted to keep growing, I just didn’t know how I was gonna be able to leave my life there. I met my wife in 2019 during our first conversation, we both knew that we wanted to live in a van and travel the country. I just didn’t think it would happen until I was old and retired! Remote work wasn’t a thing. Then 2020 happened and living on the road became possible. So we bought a van and traveled the country for almost 2 years while still working remotely. We thought that while living in the van we would find a place to call home for the next chapter of our life. Kingston was always a place that felt like home because my brother and his family have lived here for almost 10 years and we’d visit all the time.
I remember when my brother was moving from NYC to Kingston, he said it was sort of close to “the country house.” The country house was in Woodbourne NY, which was where I spent every summer of my life because my parents inherited an old boarding house from my grandma. My dad grew up Woodbourne. All I knew of “upstate” was Sullivan County and I was like, “brother, are you insane? Are you sure you want to go upstate?” He assured me that Kingston is nothing like Woodbourne and he was correct!
We ended up here for a lot of reasons. Family. The beauty. Being able to make a community. I think the city that you live in is one of the most important relationships you can have. I wanted to love a city and get to know it. I wanted a smaller city but I wanted all the things that I loved about living in a city. I really wanted to be a part of Kingston, to understand it, and have a job here. Enter bartending. A new spot was opening and I thought why not try and see if they would take a chance on me and train me as a barback. That job helped me get connected to my best friends, a career I love and a great place to be grounded in a new city.
You’ve worked in a school system and in the corporate sector but you’ve landed in hospitality. What does hospitality mean to you and do your prior careers influence the way you work?
Going out is one of my favorite activities. I love a bar. I love going out for food. Either being with friends or being alone with others is something that I value. I know how hard we all work for our money and where and how we spend it is sometimes the biggest voice we have. That’s why I love being in hospitality. I want to make your date night, decompression with coworkers happy hour, moment of solitude, or catch up with friends - whatever is, I want to acknowledge that it’s a big deal you choose to come here.
I guess I like people. I like structure and I like when work is fun. I love a job that is active. I’ve loved all my jobs but on my third career, I think I found what truly makes me happy. I really love my job. It’s fun. It’s rewarding and I’m tickled that I get paid to be in a bar—how the tables have turned!
How would you describe Sorry Charlie to someone who hasn’t been?
At it’s core it’s a neighborhood bar. It’s the place that you can go and sit at the bar and have a boilermaker and chill or you can bring your whole family for a birthday party and we’ll have a pizza that will make everyone happy. We have classic cocktails but also the staff always has fun coming up with a new “freak of the week” drink that we think is fun riff on something. It’s a comfortable place to be. I think we offer a really good product and experience that reaches all of the Kingston and Hudson Valley community and those passing through.
It’s one of those places that strangers sit down next to each other, either at the bar or our community table, and they end up trading or sharing slices of their pies or buying them a drink for their next time in on our “buy your neighbor a drink” wall. It’s a really special place.
As the new bar manager, you’re executing the current winter Sorry Charlie menu featuring "High-Dive" cocktails. Can you tell us what that means and talk about some of the signature Sorry Charlie cocktails on the menu?
Our cocktail menu takes classic drinks and puts a little flare into them. I think we are so lucky to be able to work hand in hand with our kitchen to help us create a unique twist. For example, our Cornichon martini, what makes it so different from other “pickly drinks’ is that we use our house-made pickle brine which is has it’s own flavor profile. It has more or a spice and sweetness to it versus a traditional pickle brine. Same with our Pico Back, which is i like to think of our party trick. They make the fresh pico de gallo and then blend it up and when it strains, that’s what w chase with Mezcal (or tequila). Being able to calibrate with the kindest and talented kitchen staff allows us to create one-of-a-kind drinks.
A lot of love goes into our drinks. For example, our Mule, every batch is made with a fresh ginger syrup that we make by juicing fresh ginger. I like that we respect the classic cocktails but introduce a new element. The Pandan negroni is one of my favorites. We soak our campari with pandan leaves for 24 to create that nutty flavor. The first time I tried it, I thought of it as a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich married to a Negroni?!
The Half Full Hospitality ownership at Sorry Charlie is a combo of the owners at Detroit-style pizzeria, Hudson & Packard, in Poughkeepsie and the cocktail bar, Goodnight Kenny next door. You’ve worked at Sorry Charlie since it opened in 2024. How did you first meet the team and what was the customer reaction to the Sorry Charlie pan pies?
I met Davina (co-owner) in a bar, Chleo. I heard her talking about the bar I was working at, Dear Kingston, and I felt like I had to just jump in there and say, “Hi! I work there!” Kingston is a small little city and I feel like when something exciting is brewing it spreads like wild fire. I remember the first rumors that Davina and Goodnight Kenny might have bought an old bar in Kingston and I just couldn’t wait to find out more. I asked a good friend of mine who worked at Good NIght Kenny for a good contact email and the rest is sort of history. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been a part of the team since the beginning and seeing all the growth and consistency since the start. I am blown away by the knowledge and commitment to the whole team.
I love pizza. Its my favorite food. I wore socks to my wedding that said “you want a pizza me?” I could (and do) eat it every day. I think I’m what I would call a pizza purist—it has to have red sauce and cheese. Crust is just there for support and generally left as “bones.” Our bar pies changed everything. I think a lot of people were skeptical and felt the same way. I love hearing people’s first time reactions. Long time Kingstonians (as well any New Yorker) pride themselves on what the best pizza is so I think they come in here ready to not like it and end up respecting it. It’s so fresh and unlike anything you can get anywhere here.
I like being the ‘Pizza Shephard,’ helping folks find the “right pie” for them. People love the crust — ot just has the perfect crisp. I get asked a lot which is my favorite but that’s an impossible thing to answer. So, like when people ask about what cocktail to order, I do the same for pizza. Try to figure out what they like and what that translates to it on our menu. Like do they want traditional cheese (our golden edgie) so you can get the “vanilla ice cream” comparison of what we do? Do you want our most popular? That’s the Hot Debbie. She’s the most photogenic of our pies and equally delicious. Do you want try something you might never have had anywhere else? That’s the Dat Dill Tho - pickles and bacon on pizza? That pizza was on our opening menu and later taken off, but the people have spoken and it’s back by popular demand.
It’s also great because we offer the most epic gluten-friendly crust! It’s really cool to watch people who can’t enjoy traditional pizza crust come in here and feel like they had traditional pizza for the first time! I can barely tell the difference.
Have you seen growing customer interest in non-alc or low-ABV options and how are they incorporated into the Sorry Charlie cocktail menu?
I love bar and drinking culture but that doesn’t always mean it has to be alcohol focused. We have a whole section of or menu called “nonnies” which are NA drinks. I love that we offer a wide range of different kinds of NA drinks - not just an NA beer. Just like how finding the right cocktail for a person (spirit forward, more citrusy) or the right pizza, i like that we can offer the same thing in NA options. We have bitter options, sour options, fruity and frozen! Choice is nice and I think it adds to our whole, we have something for everybody vibe!
The menu has riffs on classics, like a Mezcal Last Word, and features seasonal favorites like the summery Italian Spagett (Miller High Life with Aperol). Is it a team approach to cocktail development or is it your role now to develop each seasonal menu? Is there anything you’d like to create that you’re working on or haven’t figured out yet? What’s your hands-down favorite on the menu?
Oh, I love when the team comes up with drinks! Sometimes we do a challenge of trying to use one specific spirit or trying for a certain color. I think a group of bartenders coming together to create drinks and testing and getting feedback is better than anything I can just come up with! Something about team work makes the dream work! We just came up with our Hot Toddy recipe which was a really great team effort! We are very excited to say “yes” when people come in and asking for hot drinks and we wanted to make sure we had one that warms your bones and is delicious but that our staff can make consistently the same.
The Pandan Negroni is my absolute favorite. I’m currently in my, “I like my drinks to taste like alcohol era” so I’m really into a strong and flavorful drinks. But I have to do a mention to our Spicy Daiquiri. So yummy.
Bar directors often have strong feelings about ice and you have lovely clear ice at Sorry Charlie. What’s your position on the role of ice in mixology and is the ice made in house or bought from an ice company?
I love our giant ice cubes… Shout out to the ice guys over at Twin Lakes Ice. They just really help keep the drink pure until the last sip. Cocktails are a full sensory experience and I think how they look is part of the whole experience. Getting an Old Fashioned over a giant clear cube enhances that whole drinking experience. It looks so pretty!
Let’s talk about personal tastes. What are your childhood memories of food whether home cooking or dining out?
Both of my parents cooked. My dad’s specialty was Salmon. He would make on the grill or oven and even tried that fad of cooking it in the dishwasher - it always turned out good! He also would make a killer breakfast sandwich, he said he got that skill from working at the old hotels in Sullivan County. My mom would always make pesto and some sort of chicken dish. So naturally, I hate cooking and would always prefer to go out to eat!
Where are 3 of your favorite spots in the Hudson Valley or Capital Region for breakfast, lunch and dinner?
This is the hardest question! Breakfast: Sissy’s Cafe! (Honorable Mention: Diesing’s Bakery.) Lunch: Top Taste! (Honorable mention: Joe’s Deli.) Dinner: Chleo! (Honorable mention: Engs Chinese.)
Other than Sorry Charlie, where’s the best place in the Hudson Valley to get a martini? Best spot for an Old Fashioned? Most likely to serve a well-balanced signature cocktail?
I like my Martini filthy, with Vodka, and so cold that it hurts to hold. My favorite place for that is at Joseph’s Italian Steakhouse in Hyde Park. Val there just speaks my martini love language. Love going to Tubby’s Steakhouse in Kingston for an Old Fashioned (we use to do a Boulevardier Thursdays there with friends after a shift). Small Talk in Woodstock is where I am always trying to go for cocktails— and I love their menu. It’s like going on a cocktail vacation in there: perfect classics and creations. Feels like being a kid in a candy store!
OK, imagine your ideal day or night out. If you could go anywhere with no limits on costs, distance or reservations, where would you go and how would your day or night unfold?
Fun! I love a roadtrip. I love the freedom to be spontaneous. I’d take my wife and dog and take in the backgrounds and find a little oyster hut on the coast and shuck our own oysters while drinking a crisp little pilsner. Or fly me to Vegas so I can spend an afternoon in Frankie’s Tiki room with friends cheers-ing over life with the most delicious tiki drinks in a bar that has no sense of time.
Yaza, thanks so much for talking with The Dishing!
Co-owner Craig Copano + bar manager Yaza Goldstein. | Photo: Victoria Sedefian/The Dishing