Hemlock Neversink, the latest Catskills hotel from local hospitality developer Foster Supply Co., opens Friday with a restaurant, hot tubs and steam rooms, yoga — and goats.

That would be Pumpkin and Peanut, along with the “Flower family” — Dahlia, Lily and Daisy, all of whom will wander the trails with humans this weekend on the 230-acre Hemlock property at 7491 State Route 55. They’re part of a hotel package that offers a restorative experience to stressed-out corporate warriors.

“Fun and laughter is a big part of feeling well,” said Kirsten Foster, who runs Foster Supply with her husband and business partner, Sims Foster, and obtained the loaner goats from Meghan Fredericks of the Frederick Farm Goat Rescue and Sanctuary in Napanoch. “Around these goats, you can’t help but smile and laugh.”

The Neversink property marks the couples’ seventh Catskills venture, including the DeBruce in Livingston Manor, Nine River Road in Callicoon and the North Branch Inn, not counting the two they’ve already sold. Sims Foster grew up in Livingston Manor and bore witness to the decline of the Borscht Belt resorts, while Kirsten is a former Federal Reserve economist who also worked with Tim Geithner, President Obama’s first Treasury secretary.

It was Sims, who has global experience in the hospitality industry, who persuaded her a decade ago to swap graphs and interest rates for rural life, she said. “‘Next life’ is happening now and I love this, too.”

Their first property was Arnold House in Livingston Manor, back when the couple each still had jobs in Manhattan. “We made it year-round and it was very popular,” she said. “The combination there was the restaurant, the tavern, a lovely house and garden, and 18 rooms.”

Encouraged by that first winter, “The questions we were asking were on the lines of ‘How do we build enough momentum in the area, and also help to raise the area up economically and socially.’ This is our home. But once we got that encouragement, we were in.”

The Fosters also run a non-profit, “A Single Bite,” to teach nutrition to junior high school students.

“We began teaching nutrition in response to the poor health we saw in Sullivan County, second-to-last in the rankings,” she said. “We started with the difference between real and processed foods. So, we go into every 8th grade class, that’s the age where kids start to make their own choices and can decide for themselves. We feel we’re empowering them to have a choice. We take them to restaurants, and the farm and show them Doritos and then an apple.”

During COVID they focused on food insecurity. “We do about 800 meals a week since the pandemic. Just expanded things to the Catskill Food Hub. Constantly receiving more demand from families, and people are seeking unprocessed foods.”

Turning back to Foster Supply, Kirsten said, “But what you’re eating and how you’re moving your body are critical parts of that, too.”