Photo by Joanne Beck
Tom Sargent and his wife, Jennifer Stevens, had been humming along with Homeslice 33 Pizzeria in Corfu for about three and a half years when they kept getting more ideas for growth without the room to spare. There was, however, a vacant parcel right next door.
So instead of trying to cram more food items into the busy pizza shop on Main Street, they bought the adjacent 10 E. Main St. and, in just 10 weeks time, renovated the 800 square feet into a charming general store with a bit of a market, a candy store, bakery, assorted coffees and teas, homemade macaroni salads, a book nook, gift and novelty items and seating for at least 10.
Sargent credits his wife for coming up with a more succinct tagline.
“It’s all that and a cup of coffee,” he said at the site that opened in the last week. “As mayor, I hear we need to have a grocery store. We were gonna add some deli meats and salads over at the pizzeria, and then we were just kind of, slip in other things that we could possibly do to increase sales at the pizzeria, and we ran out of space with everything that we were coming up with, and wanting to be able to do — give fresh products to the locals, produce, bakery items, try to bring Yancey Fancy cheeses back, which we were able to do. So this property just happened to be available, so next door just made sense."
There’s method to the madness, so to speak, in that the fresh produce can serve twofold: either for customer needs or for products at the pizzeria, say, green peppers for pizzas, salads and subs, he said, and the Market is a conduit for several local vendors — 16 at this time and possibly more — to sell their goods.
Those goods include Yancey’s Fancy cheeses, Shelby M. Turner’s Ready Or Not sourdough-based baked goods, Oliver’s Candies, Upstate Milk products, a few maple syrup and honey companies, including Merle, Great Lakes coffees, Mac salad from Homeslice 33 Pizzeria, and other locally made baked goods, such as the purple-decorated lavender iced cookies, lemon blueberry mini muffins, and a line of gluten-free items.
Since opening on April 2, all vendor goods have been selling, he said. The hours are assertive: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
“We have coffee, so we want to get people in the mornings with coffee. And we're here because we do brew coffee, and we do grind fresh coffee for people,” Sargent said. “And then we want to get the people who come home a little later in the evening, and they need an onion for dinner or whatever it is, they need lunch meat for the next day. So, yeah, we're pretty steady right through till seven o'clock.”
Jordan Stevens has joined her parents to help out at the Market, and they have hired another employee as they gauge the beginning of business. Towards the back is a deli counter with Boarshead meats, hummus and cheeses, and freshly brewed coffee and tea that can be enjoyed at the cozy seating up front in a sunny window.
Salad, sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches, are on the horizon for a hopeful May debut, and Sargent is also hoping to get more locally sourced produce once warmer weather arrives. He’s also thinking ahead to those apple orchards in fall for some cider and apples, and other fresh treats when they become available.
“The alternative is to drive 15 minutes to Batavia or Alden to get that fresh produce or those deli meats, so now they can come here to the village and it’s more of a convenience for them,” he said.
Other items include freeze-dried candies, beeswax and soy-based candles, tea towels, chocolate-covered pretzels, Kindle bookmarks, olive wood cutting boards, bottle stoppers, mugs, dairy and non-dairy goods and cold drinks. One might say it's all that and a cup of freshly brewed coffee.
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