Local entrepreneurs help bring Chinatown to Albany

The neighborhood watched the construction project at 303 Central Avenue with much anticipation. When the green tile pagoda and gold Chinese characters were added, everyone speculated about what the building would contain. A Chinese restaurant? An Asian store? Surprise! It's all that and more!


A Matthew Nhan and Jenny Liu-Nhan bought and refurbished a large brick building at 303 Central Avenue with the plan of leasing the eight spaces inside to Asian specialty businesses. With so many Asian-owned businesses already in the area, the couple hopes the China Road Plaza will be a "focal point," Liu-Nhan said, and will in turn spur the growth of a small Chinatown on the busy corridor through Albany.



The couple wants to provide a shopping district, with lots of stores and restaurants within walking distance of one another, much like Saratoga or Chinatown in Manhattan. "We want people to be able to walk around and enjoy themselves," Liu-Nhan said.


The shopping plaza measures roughly 8,000 square feet, and is has spots for as many as 15 vendors, although the couple is considering reducing that figure to make space for a restaurant. They have received over 30 applications for the spaces, and are now in the process of selecting which businesses they will lease to. The focus is on providing as much variety and range as possible, Liu-Nhan said. They want the plaza to be home to a variety of stores, a restaurant, and perhaps even service stores, like a travel agency or Eastern Medicine practice, she said.



Liu-Nhan said the couple wants this project has something for everyone, and the couple wants everyone to join them to make it a success.


Other Asian businesses in the area, including restaurants and grocery stores, also hope to benefit from the new business.


There are several Chinese restaurants on Central Avenue, including the recently opened CCK restaurant next door. Owner Yu Zhen Tan said she is excited about the Nhans' business venture, and hopes that the stores will bring more people to the area--and to her restaurant. "A lot of people don't know, you know, " Zhen Tan said.

Sukhothai Opens Second Location on Central Avenue

The popular Lark Street Thai restaurant Sukhothai will open a second location at 62 Central Avenue next month. The new location will feature similar menus and specials, but it hopes to reach a greater audience.

Blue Note Record Shop Celebrates 60 years on the Avenue

The first thing you notice when you walk into the Blue Note Record Shop are the hand-lettered signs listing all the top tunes from the last 60 years. From "All Shook Up" to "Wake Up Little Susie," from "Tequila" to "Help Me Rhonda," from "Call Me" to "Little Jeannie," from "The Heat Is On" to "Ice Ice Baby" --The Blue Note Record Shop has been around for all of them. The small record store has been at the same location on Central Avenue since 1948, and celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.


Bram Pock, owner of Avenue landmark took over the business from his father 25 years ago, and runs it with the same eye for detail, and customer service.


"I've been coming here since I was 15," said customer John Lins. "It's the same store." Pointing to Pock behind the counter, Lins said, "That guy's got a memory that's unbelievable." Lins said he used to come into the store when he was on leave from the Navy in the late 1950s. He would come in to buy all the hits he missed while he was stationed. Today, he's here to buy a new JP Morgan album. "Did it come in yet?" he asks Pock.


Pock is surrounded by shelves and shelves of records. The shelves stretch to the back of the store, small cardboard signs separate the different sections. The bedrock of the business is still vinyl, and Pock can order any album his customers want, including hard-to-find hits, but Pock has also kept up with advances in technology, and he will burn any record you buy to CD for the sake of convenience.


Much has changed on the Avenue in the 60 years since the store opened, Pock said. He wants more foot traffic on the Avenue, and is hopeful that the arts and entertainment district in the works at Quail and Central will help with that. He is also happy about the number of restaurants that have opened in the area, but wishes there were more soup-and-sandwich establishments. "We need more diversity in businesses," he said.


Regardless of what happens on the Avenue, Blue Note is still going strong. "They've got good service, and they've got what you want," Lins said. That's the key to success, right?

Carmine's New Television Show Airs on Fox 23

Some professional chefs would hesitate to let you peek into their kitchen, but every week Carmine Sprio opens his doors to a television audience. Sprio is the star of a new reality television show Carmine’s, which is based on his popular restaurant and cooking show, Carmine's Table.

Broadcast on Fox 23, the hour-long television program gives viewers a peek at the day-to-day workings of a restaurant. Sprio, the owner and chef of Carmine’s in Pointe Plaza, is the ever-friendly and obliging tour guide.

Sprio said the show came out of a journal he kept about his life as a restauranteur. After years of recording great stories and events in his journal, he decided it was time to share his experiences with the public. "I wish I had a little more accomplishment with pen and paper, but I don't, so I had to suffer and put it on television," Sprio said with a laugh. Sprio met with several production companies and decided to work with Great White Productions. "They saw the vision that I had and were able to capture on camera the things I wanted people to see," Sprio said.

On a recent episode of Carmine's, Sprio arrived at work to discover that all the menus had a misspelling (It’s chicken, not chkken), the dishwasher has a leak, the oven is broken, the general manager is late, and the director is not able to make it. Unfazed, Sprio proceeds with the show, demonstrating how to prepare a pastry-wrapped pork tenderloin and an apple and pear crumble, and then he feeds the restaurant’s lunch and dinner crowd.

Carmine’s captures all the front-of-house and back-of-house action, but unlike other reality shows, Carmine’s focus is always on the food. Sprio shows audiences how to turn out delicious meals without breaking a sweat or raising his voice. Always hospitable, he even offers tips for entertaining.

The spirit of the show is hospitality, and Sprio wants to bring back family dinners. Sprio said he grew up in a large Italian family in the Bronx. Every week, the family would get together for a Sunday Dinner, bringing together anywhere from 10-60 guests. Sprio wants to bring that same "supper table" approach to his restaurant, inviting families to break bread together and share a good meal. The show offers him the opportunity to teach people at home how to do the same thing, he said.

You can catch all the action Monday-Thursday from 8am-9am on Fox 23, locally broadcast on channel 8.

Hopes for the Year Ahead--Business owners and employees share their plans for the new year

My hope is:

“I guess, for business overall, it would be to grow and build clientele. Personally, my resolution is to ‘do the right thing,’ in quotes. We have this hoody that says ‘do the right thing’…It’s like our new campaign.”

—Margaret Partyka, General Manager and Buyer for Some Girls Boutique, Colvin Avenue, photographed here with Tina Simeone. In addition to displaying the hoody prominently in the store, the staff at Some Girls is also trying to promote their clothing through fashion shows, help set up fashion events, and donate to local charities, including the recent house fire on Madison Avenue. Partyka says the motto even extends to her health and relationships, explaining that she’s trying to eat better, exercise more and be a better friend.



“To at least create two more jobs in the community, and to expand the business.”

—Kareem Jones, Partner, KJ’s Restaurant.

Jones and his partner John Feeney have been in business for 10 months, and they report that things are going well.


“It sounds corny, but that business would be even better in regards to service and customer satisfaction than last year. To be up-to-date on products and to provide what our customers need. Personally, I would like to continue to learn more and be available to customers to meet their needs for optimal health.”

—Wendy King, co-owner Dean’s Natural Foods, Westgate Plaza








“My New Year’s Resolution was to quit smoking and I’ve done it….I did it for my family and myself. I’m not getting any younger, I’ll be 51 this year.”

—Roger Palmatier, Tattoo artist, Spaulding Tattoo


“I always have hopes for the business. I would like to see more traffic on the avenue. We need more diversity in businesses. We need a grocery store. That would really be nice, someplace where families could shop.”

—Bram Pock, Owner, Blue Note Record Shop

CDTA Holds Public Forum on BRT at "THE LINDA"

The WAMC "The Linda Norris Auditorium" was the venue of choice for a very improtant Public Transit Gathering:




The Public was invited last night to review plans for the CDTA Bus rapid transit proposed BRT program. The public and the project partners has the opportunity to ask direct questions to the designers, planners and transportation executives on the Project.




For more infomation: http://www.cdta.org/

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Bus Rapid Transit Open House

New Meditation Center Hopes to Change the World--One Individual at a Time

If the stress of life has become too much, stop in to Central Avenue's new Meditation Center to clear your mind. The center offers how-to-classes for beginners, lunchtime and evening meditations, yoga classes, and a weekly self-improvement lecture series--and everything is free.

Run by the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization, the non-profit center is funded strictly through voluntary donations, said Ann Singh, Instructor and Coordinator at the Meditation Center.

The Meditation Center moved to its new location at 184 Central in September after being offered in a local house in a residential neighborhood. The group was looking for a location that would offer more public exposure, she said.

The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual Organization was founded in a part of India, that is now Pakistan nearly 72 years ago. Since that time, the spiritual movement has spread to more than 110 countries, Singh said. The group has been in the U.S. for 30 years, and has 50 centers around the country.

The mission of the group is to change the world by bringing out the good in individuals. When people come to understand themselves they will behave in the world in a better way, Singh said.

For a complete calendar of events, please visit the center's website at http://www.bkwsu.org/, or call the center at 438-4180.

Mildred Elley Opens New School in Albany

Two technical schools are joining forces, and moving into state-of-the-art facilities in the heart of the city in July 2008. Mildred Elley School and Austin's School of Spa Technology, a subsidiary of Mildred Elley, will combine resources and take up residence in 855 Central Avenue.

Mildred Elley, which began in Albany in the early 1900s, has for the last 10 years been located in the Latham Circle Mall, and the technical college is excited about returning to the City of Albany. "We wanted to bring Mildred back to Albany," said Marketing Director Maria Neil. Austin has outgrown its former digs on at 527 Central Avenue.

The large office building will be renovated to accommodate the two schools, said Neil. The new facilities will provide the schools more room for growth, and offer "more of a collegey feeling" for the students, said Neil.

The new school expects to bring in 650 students, and plans to double the student body in coming years, she said. "The capacity is there," Neil said.

The technical school, which focuses on job-training, provides an Associate's Degree and certification in a range of business, design, and medical programs. Classes are offered on the days, evenings, and weekends to accommodate traditional and nontraditional students.

Austin's offers cosmetology, nail technology, and barbering. The new Mildred Elley school will be organized around three sub-schools, the School of Health and Wellness, the School of Digital Media, and the School of Business and Technology, offering degrees and certifications in popular areas including like Game Design and 3D Animation, Digital Graphics and Multimedia Design, Massage Therapy, Medical Assisting, Office Management, Paralegal Studies, and Hospitality and Travel Management.

For more information about Mildred Elley programs, please visit their website http://www.mildred-elley.edu/