D F W is an exploration of creative practice and hospitality—a platform for collaborators, curated programming, partnerships, and special projects. Its first expression is The Village Lounge, a gathering place and stage for community.

Stretched over a mountain stream, The Village Lounge is a living room for the Catskills. With a lowkey high-brow sensibility, it is a place where coffee turns into wine, conversations run long, and backgammon, chess, or work fill the hours in between.

Founded by artists Josh Reames and Amber Renaye, D F W takes its name from where they met and married while also serving as a conceptual framework: down for whatever, good-natured, and inspired. The project brings their individual practices into a shared spatial work where environment, collaboration, and service are treated as part of the same composition.

The Village Lounge occupies the ground floor of a 19th-century boarding house acquired and restored by the pair. The second floor has been reclaimed as private quarters for guests and collaborators, recalling the building’s original function as a place of lodging and exchange.

Solid brass signage letters D, F, and W sitting on a rocky river bottom, under flowing water with sunlight reflections.

Join the founding team as a collaborator approaching craft with rigor and imagination. Roles are shaped with a broader lens, prioritizing those who see service as a framework for community.

Barista
Bartender

Chef
Cook

Server
Porter

Photograph of a cook garnishing a dish: zesting citrus over green vegetables, on a white plate with yellow oil, in a kitchen setting with fresh yellow lemons in the background.
A culinary professional wearing black gloves and a black apron slicing a purple cabbage on a green cutting board surrounded by cherry tomatoes, red chili peppers, and other vegetables.
A culinary professional wearing black gloves and a black apron slicing a purple cabbage on a green cutting board surrounded by cherry tomatoes, red chili peppers, and other vegetables.
A person in a white striped shirt is washing dishes as a Porter in a commercial kitchen.
Coffee service for two: white coffee cups on a mug warmer with espresso being dispensed from an espresso machine into the cups in D F W, The Village Lounge.
A server wearing a white shirt and beige apron peeking through a narrow gap between two wooden doors in a kitchen, holding a plate with a slice of pie.
Comedic bartender shot: A person holding a wine bottle in one hand and a wine glass with white wine hung in their cargo hammer pocket.