Central New York business have endured so much during the pandemic and have all surely found ways to be resilient, even during the toughest of times. WAER Business and Community Reporter John Smith begins a frequent series to check-in with businesses in the suburbs.
The Village of Fayetteville is bustling with a steady stream of traffic outside of Ace Village Hardware. Inside, residents are stopping by either in need of repair items or something else like winter essentials. But, Assistant Manager Sophie Cowburn says the longer pandemic has pressed-on, the more do-it-yourselfers they see.
“I think people were stuck in their houses so long because that they all flocked here cause they started to notice really silly nit-picky things in their house. I mean businesses has been really, really great for us. So, we’ve been very fortunate in that aspect.”
The staff of 15 will likely increase as the spring and summer months approach. However, supply chain issues for plumbing and ceramics have continued to be challenging.
Down the street, the aroma of Italian dishes greets diners at Avicolli’s. Manager Nick Avicolli says they had just opened in 2019 and then the pandemic hit six months later. When the state prohibited in-person dining, their strategy to remain open was to focus on take-out orders and continuing to establish their customer base.
“Once people tried our takeout and got it at home and stuff like that, we doubled, almost tripled our takeout business that we normally do now. So, that helped a little bit there.”
The Italian restaurant has about 42 employees and is doing so well, they're looking for additional servers. Now that indoor dining has resumed, the eatery draws customers with its jazz music on Sundays.
Is there a business in your community that we should check out? Tweet us at @waernews with the hashtag #bizcheck or email us at waernews@syr.edu.
