Oneida celebrates Small Business Saturday
Cut one: Callee1945 co-owner K.C. Baney and his mother, Maggie, stand alongside a cheese display. (ROGER SEIBERT – MEDIANEWS GROUP)
By Roger Seibert | rseibert@oneidadispatch.com |
ONEIDA, N.Y. — Small businesses across Oneida were open and celebrating the local community during Small Business Saturday this past weekend.
Among these businesses was the cheese and charcuterie shop Callee1945. The store is owned and operated by Oneida native Abbey Woodcock and her husband, K.C. Baney. The store will soon celebrate its one-year anniversary in business.
"We love being here," Baney said. "The business climate is great. We'll be able to expand soon. We will have a wine bar, and customers can pair wines with cheese."
Woodcock was named one of central New York's 40 Under 40 business leaders earlier this month. She has teamed with Baney to support local Little League teams and veterans groups.
"We could have located to a bigger area, like Hamilton or Clinton, but we wanted to make a difference here in Oneida," Baney said.
Napoleon's Cafe owner Jim Burdick said the support of local government, and local businesses has helped them prosper in their business. The cafe, which is located on the corner of Madison and Main Streets, specializes in dine-in meals and also offers catering.
"The late Mayor, Leo Matzke was a big help," Burdick said. "He promoted local businesses. He pushed for zoning that would allow outdoor dining, which helped us. And Mayor Helen Acker has been a big help. She promotes parades in downtown Oneida, which of course helps us."
Burdick said Oneida's small business community has stuck together and supported each other in the midst of high inflation and the ongoing economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We've seen eleven businesses close in the time we've been here," he said. "But we've seen new businesses like HipStir Cafe and Bella Vita Cafe come in. We stick together, and we help each other."
Acker recently presented Oneida businesswomen Stacy Herb-Jones and Lori Petroffski Seef with the Extra Mile Day Award during a recent Common Council meeting.
Once a year the city celebrates "Go the Extra Mile Day." Extra Mile America is a non-profit organization that inspires people, organizations and cities to community service.
Acker thanked Herb-Jones, who operates Oneida Office Supply, for her many civic contributions to the city. These include her support of Oneida's small businesses.
Herb-Jones helps other agencies and businesses with charities like Adopt A Student, Paws For A Cause and various community action partnerships. Herb-Jones also uses her shop to offer back-to-school vouchers, a Toys-For-Tots drop off location while offering what Acker said is outstanding customer service.
"She makes sure that kids have food, and that they have clothes. She's a very special person who's close to my heart," Acker said at the time.
Seef also takes donations for the Karing Kitchen and the Madison County Department of Social Services Christmas program for foster children who are placed or not placed. She also hosts a can drive for Church on the Rock and goods for Wanderers Rest, the stray animal rescue center in the village of Canastota.
Acker also praised Seef, the owner of Bella Vita Cafe.
"She's got a brand-new business that everybody knows about and everybody raves about," Acker said. "One thing comes to mind about her: giving back."
Acker formerly owned the office supply store and sold it to Nancy Kinney, Herb-Jones' mother.
"It can be a real challenge operating a small business, especially when there are big stores that people can buy from," Herb-Jones said. "But owning a small business gives us the chance to build relationships n our community. I am especially happy to help make a difference for children, for students."
Located between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is an annual American holiday that encourages shoppers to buy from small businesses and local entrepreneurs in their area.
In 2010 American Express, along with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, and Roslindale Village Main Street, started Small Business Saturday. In 2011, the Senate unanimously passed a resolution supporting the holiday, and it quickly became honored in all 50 states.
Nationwide 59 percent of holiday shoppers planned to participate in Small Business Saturday this year—more than the estimated 56 percent who participated in Black Friday.
According to the Small Business Association, as of 2022 33.2 million small businesses are operating in the U.S.
Small businesses have generated 12.9 million new jobs over the past 25 years, accounting for two out of every three jobs added to the economy. And, according to a 2019 U.S. SBA report, enterprises with fewer than 500 employees accounted for 44 percent of U.S. economic activity.
Oneida is trying to improve its business district with state help. The city received $10 million credited towards downtown projects on Dec. 7 last year through New York State's Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The city was one of the Central New York region winners of the fifth round of the DRI.
City officials submitted 11 projects for state approval. The city would split the cost of the projects with money provided through the DRI. These projects include:
-Creation of a Downtown Oneida Fund for business assistance
-Improve Downtown Infrastructure and Streetscaping
-Develop Area Youth Soccer Organization Soccer Fields on Wilson Street between Sconondoa Street and Lenox Avenue
-Establish a Zoning Overlay District to remove barriers created by existing zoning codes
-Redevelop Dispatch Commons. This will transform a 1950's-era supermarket and former home of the Oneida Dispatch into a micro-brewery and restaurant
-Redevelop the Lerman Building, 155 Madison St.
-Reimagine the Vacant Hotel Oneida, 181 Main St., as a Multi-functional Event Space
-Repair and Upgrade the Historic Kallet Theater, 159 Main St.
-Restore and Upgrade the Historic Devereaux Building, 146 Main St.
-Upgrade facilities at Veteran's Memorial Park, 360 N. Main St.
The DRI was supposed to respond to city officials this past fall. "We have not heard back from the state yet," First Ward Councilman Jim Szczerba said.
Cut three: Oneida Office Supply employee Sarah Bourgeois helps a customer. (ROGER SEIBERT – MEDIANEWS GROUP)
Roger Seibert