Burgers and nostalgia: Landmark diner reopens

Wilfredo Ruiz holds up the new Jack's Burger. Piled high with bacon, ham, fried egg, corn, and french-fried potatoes, it is a hefty sandwich--and that's before you take into account the burger itself!

Ruiz, the new owner of Jack's Diner, created the burger to celebrate the restaurant's grand reopening, and today, the diner's waitresses are parked on stools all along the counter giving the burger a test-run. Judging from their exclamations, the burger is a hit. In fact, the new sandwich is a veritable feast by any standards--delicious, with a smoky flavor from the bacon and ham and a sweet pop from the corn--and it bodes well for the newly reopened diner. If this is the new Jack's, I'll take seconds!

Jack's is a landmark on Central, and a landmark nationally. With its gleaming silver sides and fabulous Art Deco insides, Jack's is one of the few remaining Comac-designed diners in the country--and it's all ours. The diner has been located at the junction of Central and Clinton for 62 years, watching the world pass by its windows. This spring, Ruiz and a partner purchased the diner from Jack Murtagh, who had owned the diner for more than 40 years. Murtagh was also on hand that day, having lunch and sharing stories about the diner's infamous waitresses, surly short order cooks, and murky office. It clear that the diner has been loved, and Ruiz is excited to return it to its former glory.

"I'm very proud," Ruiz says. "I have a little piece of history."

The diner was closed for a short time after Ruiz took over ownership. During that time, he made some changes to the interior, remodeling the kitchen and and closing it off from the dining area. He repainted and refurbished the exterior. The menu has also been revamped, but customers will still find some of the food they remember, he says. After all, many of his customers have been coming for years. Ruiz says they are happy to see the doors open once more. "Many come in every single day," he says. "The love the old-fashioned diner." So does Ruiz. "I love it. It's peaceful. I have great customers, great people. I would say 'great.'"

Jack's Diner is located at 547 Central Avenue. Takeout is available. For more information, call 482-9807.

Townsend Park Bakery Cuts ribbon

Mayor Jennings of Albany was on hand today to cut the ribbon on the re launch of Mark Smiths renewal of the bakery

Small Business Branding Work Shop Flyer

Attached: Branding 10.19.10.pdf

Google Docs makes it easy to create, store and share online documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Check out the 2010 Fall Calendar for Small Business from the CDCLF

Attached: 2010 Fall Calendar Flyer.10.10.pdf

Message from anthony@centralbid.com:

Capital District Community Loan Fund Small Business Programs PDF Calendar/Flyer

Google Docs makes it easy to create, store and share online documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Fwd: 2010 Hudson Valley Region Small Business Forum

Good morning,

Enclosed is the agenda for Tuesday, October 12 Small Business Forum at SUNY at New Paltz.  The purpose of this forum is to provide guidance to aspiring and existing businesses with federal & state tax responsibilities, tax credits, access to capital and free services.  Representatives from federal & state agencies will be speaking on Hiring Incentive to Restore Employment Tax Credits, Small Business Health Care Tax Credits, Small Business Administration Programs, Services and Loan Guarantee Process, Free Assistance for Starting & Existing Entrepreneurs, Finding Access to Capital, State Credits, Programs and Services for Small Businesses and more.  Please share this invitation and enclosed agenda with your clients, members and customers to attend this forum and learn more about federal and state agencies free services for the small business community.  Attendees will also have the opportunity to raise any issues and questions to the respective agency representative during the forum.  

 

To register please call (845) 257-2930 or e-mail Dr. Hadi Salavitabar at salavith@newpaltz.edu with your name, address, telephone number and email address as soon as possible as seating is limited.  Here is the link to the campus map www.newpaltz.edu/map and the best parking areas are parking 6, 7, and 8 which are behind gym.

 

Thank you for your continuing support.

 

Richard Torres

Senior Stakeholder Liaison

CL & D, Stakeholder Liaison Field

1 Clinton Avenue, 6th Floor

Leo O'Brien Federal Building

Albany, NY 12207

518-427-5460 office

518-427-5480 fax

518-858-7511 cell

Fwd: OCT 5th SBAC: PLEASE RSVP BY 9/27/10

If you are an employer who wants to retain valued employees…

If you are an employment services provider or advocate who strives to promote successful employment experiences for job seekers and newly-employed individuals…

If you are looking for strategies that will support your efforts to be successful at work…

Please join us on Tuesday, October 5^th, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at our Statewide Business Advisory Council meeting. 

TOPIC:  Self-Disclosure and Reasonable Accommodations: 

POTENTIAL IMPACT ON AN EMPLOYEE'S ON-THE-JOB SUCCESS

Meeting will be held at Seton Health/St. Mary's Hospital, Conference Room A & B, 1300 Massachusetts Avenue in Troy.

Lunch will be served.

PLEASE RSVP BY SEPT. 27^th 

 For program details, see attached notice.

 

Marsha

 

Marsha Lazarus, MBA

Director of Consumer and Business Outreach

Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc.

194 Washington Ave

Albany, N.Y.  12210

(518) 434-0439 ext 224

www.MHANYS.org

 

Register online at www. MHANYS.org to attend MHANYS' 2010 Awards Dinner and Conference on Wednesday, October 20 & Thursday, October 21st...Theme is HEALTH CARE REFORM;  HEALTH/MENTAL HEALTH INTEGRATION

 

Mental Health Matters in all facets of our life, including the Workplace!

 

Event at Grappa '72

More Live Music Friday Night @ Grappa '72 Ristorante

This Friday September 10th from 5:30pm-8:30pm we will have
"Sonny and Perley" playing live outside on our patio.

-----The Chronogram Magazine says they are "Harbingers of aesthetic jazz...and romanticism"

Visit sonnyandperley.com for more information about their duo.

$3 Beer/ $5 Wine/ $5 Well Drinks/ Great appetizer specials!!!

Click the Grappa logo to make reservations online or call (518) 482-72

Family Fun: Greco Bros. amuses for 50 years

Poker tables. Pool tables. Darts. Foosball tables. If you're looking for fun, look no further than Greco Brothers. The family-owned business has been selling games for 50 years--and for the past 10 years, they've been doing it from their Central Avenue store.

Thomas Greco and his brother inherited the business from their parents. Initially, they sold the arcade equipment business to business, operating the business from a large warehouse, says Debbie Greco. But 10 years ago, they decided to purchase a showroom on Central, opening the business to families and individuals. Today the business specializes in family room equipment, and the store is packed with items--everything from pool cues to bar stools. A full-size pool table takes center stage, and one whole wall is covered with dart boards. The store even sells neon signs for man caves; of course, over the last year, people haven't been building man caves, or equipping family rooms.

"Business has been very bad the last year," says Greco. "People are not spending money on the extras." Greco says the recession has hit the amusement industry hard, and that the already-difficult task of running a business has been made that much more difficult. One of the big challenges has been finding and keeping help. Small businesses can only afford to pay employees so much, Greco says, and after a while, employees get frustrated. After losing a number of employees, the Grecos resorted to manning the front counter themselves, locking the front door so they can work in both the front and back of the store. "We can't afford to have someone just sit out and do nothing," Greco says.

Of course, summer is also a slow season. "You don't think about putting stuff inside your house in the winter," Greco says. The Grecos are looking forward to colder weather, and hope that the new year improves the economic outlook.

Truly Assie: a dream come true

Assie Bishop and Vivian Kornegay had been talking about opening a business for 11 years, but it wasn't until Kornegay was laid off last summer that she really considered it seriously. She decided to follow her heart, and the result, Truly Assie is a testament to the two women's friendship and of course, fashion. "We did it all on our own, just the two of us," Vivian says. "We just did what was in our heart."

By combining their resources and energy, the two friends were able to open a small shop on Everett Road in November. Truly Assie specializes in one-of-a-kind jewelry, handbags, sunglasses and clothing, and the store did so well, that they opened a new larger location on Washington Avenue in July. "We had a good time and it grew," Kornegay says.

The new location has more visibility and gets more street traffic--"people actually get off the bus and come in," she says. Today, Kornegay and Bishop couldn't be happier with their store.

Kornegay says the business has been a labor of love, and a pleasure from the start. "Our friendship--she's my mentor and my big sister so she's more than just my friend--and working together has been, it's just been great. And I don't believe that you could do this type of business without having a special type of friendship," Kornegay says.

The store has a gallery-like feel, and the pieces--bold necklaces and striking handbags--feel almost like works of art in the space. In a way, they are. The women select the pieces themselves, and buy in very small quantities, so the pieces you buy there are unique to the Capital Region. "We look for quality. We don't buy a lot of the same thing."

"Women want to be unique. We don't want to be stamped," Kornegay says. "We don't want to go into a play and see six women there with the same necklace we have, so we try not to make that happen."

Kornegay says the store has been a dream come true for the duo. She spends her days in the store, and can't get over how enjoyable it is. "I told her if this is retail, I'll do retail forever," she says with a laugh.

Truly Assie is located at 266 Washington Avenue in Albany. For more information, call 482-4905.

New kabab restaurant joins district

His name is Shamma Tabraiz, but you can call him Mr. Tikka Kabab. Those are, after all his specialties, the dishes that top the menu at his new restaurant, named—what else—Mr. Tikka Kabab.

Opened in June, the restaurant specializes in Indian and Pakistani food, cooked in a traditional tandoori oven on premises.

Tabraiz says this is his first restaurant venture. He says he opened the take-out and delivery eatery because he wanted to offer good food to the local community. He is particularly proud of the fact that all the food is halal, which means that it is prepared in a way that meets Muslim strictures.

The menu is straightforward and fits easily on a business card, which is, in fact, what he’s done. He hands me one of the card-size menus he had printed up. The list consists mostly of tried-and-true dishes—tikka, kababs, wraps, bread, and samosas and pakoras. It’s a strategy he hopes will help draw in business lunch traffic. The meals are highly affordable, ranging from $3.99 for the wraps to $1.50 for the chicken seekh kabab, which comes in lemon, hara spicy, or fried. All tikka and kabab specials are served with chatni and salad. You can finish your meal off with a $1.99 halwa or mango lasi.

For more information, call Mr. Tikka Kabab at 472-8080 or visit the restaurant at 117 Lexington Avenue, between Central and Washington.