Category Archives: local business

Stone Soup? Yes, Please!

Friday I checked out the newest restaurant in Herkimer, NY, Stone Soup American Bistro and Beer Garden.  I had heard from friends that it was a good place to eat, and the outdoor seating area was lovely.  It took me a couple of tries to be hungry at a time they were open, but then I had a great meal!

I especially like the lettering!

I had been watching with interest the work being done on the empty storefront.  As soon as they had a Facebook presence, I followed that.  The name was inspired by the children’s story “Stone Soup.”  The lettering on the sign comes from different locations across the country.

It can seat up to 50 outdoors.

I opted to sit out back, in the beer garden.  I was early, so tables were not filled.  I ordered a smash burger with homemade chips.  I am a sucker for homemade chips!

Where I was sitting.

This would be a great place for a group of friends to meet.  I must gather a group of mine soon!  In the meantime, perhaps I will go there for lunch and get a picture of the indoor seating.  And sample more of the menu, of course.

Stone Soup American Bistro and Beer Garden is located at 148 Main St., Herkimer, NY.  You can check their Facebook page for menu and hours.

 

I Hop to the Java Shop

I went to the Java Shop a few times when it was on Main Street in Herkimer, NY and liked it but had not yet visited their new digs on Mohawk Street.  I finally corrected the omission yesterday.

Not the best picture, but you get the idea.

I confess one reason I had not visited yet is that there is only street parking, and I am not good at finding a parking space.  Of course this was the case on Main Street too, but I find parking easier on Main Street than Mohawk.  I guess that’s just me.  Also, the Main Street location was easier walking distance from my house.  I can still walk to Mohawk Street, but it is farther and I have to cross Route 5.  I know, the trials and tribulations of being me.  Some of you are probably playing miniature violins or whistling, “It’s a Hard Knock Life” (you know who you are).

No gumballs in the gumball machine, but I like it.

I ordered an egg sandwich on an English muffin and after some debate decided on regular coffee.  I was going to get fancy and try a latte but decided against it at the last minute.

Plenty of seating.

I sat at a table and started a letter to a friend while I waited for my sandwich.  There is a section with couches, which would be nice to sit at if I was only having coffee.  I wanted to take a picture, but with the sun shining in through the windows, I was afraid it would not come out.

I enjoyed my breakfast very much.  The coffee was delicious, but I must return one day to try one of them there lattes.

The Java Shop by Cucina Berto is located at 402 Mohawk St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-717-7724.  You can find them on Facebook.

 

I Will Go Back to Back in Time!

I neglected to do a post about the great new antique place I found:  Back in Time Collectibles & Crafts in Richfield Springs, NY.  I found it quite by accident.  I was headed for the library, which of course I drove right past (anybody who knows me is not surprised).  Turning back and finding the library, I saw Back in Time and could not resist checking it out.

One lump or two?

As soon as I walked in the door the collection of tea cups caught my eye.  My sisters, mother, and nieces have had a few fancy tea parties.  It is actually my turn to host one.  I don’t know if I could dare purchase and use such beautiful old cups!

You know I looked at the jewelry!

Vintage jewelry, on the other hand, I rarely hesitate to wear, unless I am going someplace where I may get too rambunctious.  Regular readers know I do not always behave with the proper decorum of a woman my age.

Something for the Disney fans.

Full disclosure:  I am not a Disney addict, have never been to World or Land, and I don’t love Mickey Mouse.  If anybody feels the need to cut my acquaintance because of this, I will understand.  I took the picture, because I like to include pictures I think people will like.  Also, there is a lot going on here:  Hot Wheels and PEZ, for example.

Tins I can get into! Not literally.

I do like tins.  Actually, I have too many tins.  My late husband Steve and I were in the habit of picking them up at rummage sales and such, because we thought we would put Christmas presents in them.  “Put a present in a present,” was Steve’s motto.  It didn’t always work out.  For one reason, we couldn’t always fit a present to a tin.  For another, sometimes the recipient would say, “Oh, here’s your tin back!”

I did not buy any Christmas presents at Back in Time.  For one reason, I was there in January.  When I buy Christmas presents that early, I tend to forget them by December.  I bought a sweet tiny frog for myself.  Steven used to collect frogs.

Back in Time Collectibles & Crafts is located at 112 Main St., Richfield Springs, NY, phone number 315-858-6003.

 

A Mention of Mohawk Mall on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

I drag my attention away from a City Confidential on Roku TV to make a Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  Most of the Mohawk Valley seems to be iced it.  I tried to shovel a layer off the driveway while sleet fell on me, laughing at my efforts.  At least somebody was feeling jolly.  There is no need to dwell on these things.  I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Mohawk Antiques Mall, one of my favorite spots, which I visited a few days previously.

I had not stopped there in a while.  Full disclosure:  I mostly stopped because I was pretty sure they would have a current issue of Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I do not know how much longer I will be writing for them, but I had a nice story in February’s issue about Back In Time: Collectibles Plus Crafts in Richfield Springs, NY (not to self: make a post about them soon!).  After picking up the magazine, I walked over the whole store, hoping something would tempt me to buy.

I’m sure I need a hat like that.

Further disclosure:  I have to watch my money these days, and I have pretty much zero space in my house to put cool things found at antique stores.  I took a picture at a new vendor.  That is, new to me.  I think I mentioned I had not been there in a while.  One great thing about these antique malls:  you can visit again and again and almost always see something new.

Ooh, those are nice!

Another vendor caught my eye, and I thought it was clearly a local artist.  I quickly saw that this was indeed the case.

I LOVE local art!

In fact, I follow Chickadee Hollow Studio on Facebook (I follow lots of local places I haven’t been to yet), so I was delighted to see some of their stuff.  I’m afraid my pictures are a little blurry.  I must go and get better pictures.  And make more space in my house so I can purchase something!

Mohawk Antiques Mall is located at 100 E. Main St., Mohawk, NY, phone number 315-219-5044.

 

I Heard PKs Was a Good Place to Eat

I have forgotten to mention a great place to go for breakfast in Herkimer:  PK’s Pub.  Steve and I used to love going to PK’s for dinner — always saving room for dessert! — so I was sure breakfast there would be good.

No, I don’t have booze for breakfast. Usually.

The first couple of times I went I enjoyed my favorite breakfast sandwich, once with just egg and cheese, once with ham egg and cheese.  Then I tried the special of French toast with strawberries and cream cheese.  YUM!  The other day I stopped in hoping that was on the special board and it was. Yay!  I ordered it as soon as I sat down.  I took out my notebook and started a letter to a friend while I waited.

The people at the table next to me were having a lively discussion.  When I became annoyed by the bright sun beaming through the window into my eye (I know, so wrong to complain about the sun!), I moved one seat over, which brought me closer to the discussion.

“I’m not trying to get closer to eavesdrop, ” I felt I needed to reassure them.  “I just want to get in the shade.”

“Anyways, you’re writing,” one of the ladies pointed out.  Then they noticed I was writing in cursive and the discussion switched to how kids aren’t taught that any more and can’t read it.

“So we can write in code,”  I said.  “Anyways, with my handwriting, even some people who can read cursive can’t read it.”

One of the ladies said her handwriting was terrible too, and we all had a laugh about writing in code.  When I left, they said to let them know when my book was published.  I admitted I was only writing a letter (why am I not writing a book?).  They suggested a book comprised of conversations overheard, and I said they may have something there.  At least it would give me a good excuse to go out for meals or drinks more often!

PK’s Pub is located at 221 King St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-3494.

 

What Kind of a Wednesday?

So I waited till quite late in the day on Wednesday to make a blog post and I am wondering if I should go for a Wuss-Out Wednesday, a Way-Back Wednesday, or a Mid-Week Monsters post.  Regular readers (if I still have any) are probably betting on the Mid-Week Monsters.  I do love my creepy crawly friends.

Aren’t they fun?

Here is a multi-purpose picture.  It is Monsters, obviously, and it is Way-back, since it is from October 2016, AND it is a shout-out to a local business, because it was taken at Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit, NY,one of my favorite places.   I mean Pumpkin Junction, not Sauquoit although I am sure Sauquoit is a perfectly nice locality, although my computer seems to think it is not a word.  However, my quarrels with autocorrect are well known and we will not revisit them at this time (good God, is “autocorrect” usually underlined?  Why do I not remember these things?)

I’m thinking that fellow does more coffee than treats at the So Sweet.

Here is another picture from 2016 from another local business.  The So Sweet Candy Shoppe has moved to Clinton from Utica, but they still offer a delightful variety of treats.  I just don’t imagine the skeleton is there now as their Valentine’s Day decorations are probably up.  Still, I thought he fit in with the post.

I am in general not a fan of multi-tasking, preferring to concentrate on one thing at a time in hopes of doing it right (not always likely when I am involved), but I have included monsters, pictures from the past, shout-outs to two local businesses, and I have even wussed out to a certain extent.  I think this blog post has done more than its fair share of work.  If it has entertained anybody as well, I am more than content with my efforts.]

 

I Like Art

Sometimes I get a little culture.  For example, last Saturday I went to the Renaissance Pub in Little Falls for a Meet the Artist with Frank Wilcox.   The Renaissance periodically hosts local artists in cooperation with Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts.

I am acquainted with Frank from being in a play with him (Strike Story written by Angela Harris), and I have seen his work in several area venues.  Full disclosure:  my original plan was to write about the Renaissance (or the Ren as it is sometimes called) for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  I missed the deadline for the February issue, so I will try again for a future issue (unless another writer beats me to it).  In the meantime, I wanted to give the place a shout-out, and give folks a chance to go see some of Frank Wilcox’s paintings.

I can’t quite get a good picture of behind the bar.

Of course I sat at the bar and had a glass of wine.  One must support a venue that promotes local artists.  Unfortunately the kitchen was not open yet, because the food there is very good.

It’s hard to take good pictures of pictures.

I was there early enough that it was not too crowded yet, so I did not have to worry about asking a bunch of strangers if it was OK if they were in the picture.  I did not take too many pictures in any case, because they did not seem to be turning out very well.  Therefore, I encourage all local readers to go to the Ren and take a look for themselves.

Erynn Lowery and Victoria Cheney

I was fortunate enough to get a picture of the proprietress and bartender.  Unfortunately Victoria, the bartender, was moving soon.

You really should go see this one.

I took a picture of my favorite painting.  I was happy to get a chance to tell Frank how much I liked it.  Unfortunately, there are no walls in my house big enough to properly show off a picture that big.  As I type this, I look around at all the nice pictures on my walls now, which include at least a few by local artists.  That was my husband Steven’s talent, hanging pictures and interior decoration.  Still, I could retire a couple of pictures if I acquired any more art.  I certainly hope to attend more Meet the Artists at the Renaissance.

The Renaissance Pub is located at 550 E. Main St., Little Falls, NY, phone number 315-556-1006. Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts is located at 401-403 Canal Place, Little Falls, phone number 315-823-0808. You can Like them both on Facebook.

 

Must Stop at the Mustard Seed!

I let today go by without leaving the house, thus losing another chance to Christmas shop.  However, I still have some pictures of previous Christmas shopping, so I can give a shout-out to another local business, which local readers still have a couple of days to go to.

This delightful lady will be there!

This is Juli Webster, proprietor of The Mustard Seed in Little Falls, NY.  See how Christmasy she looks!  The Mustard Seed has artisan herbal goods, scents, spice blends, gluten free foods, and more.  I spent a goodly amount of time there chatting with Juli and her mother.  I even wrote an article about the place for Mohawk Valley Living magazine.  It is just the sort of distinctive local business they like to highlight.

Cool decor!

The bumble bee is prominent in the store and as part of the logo.  This is because of the story of the bumble bee:  it is not supposed to be able to fly, but the rules of aerodynamics or physics or something (I remember very little of my high school science).  BUT, nobody told the bumble it couldn’t fly, and so it does!  I had heard that about the bumble bee and always liked the story.  I find it inspirational, although people have, in fact, told me I cannot do certain things.  I’ll just pretend they didn’t.

Another bumble bee.

The store is only the Mustard Seed’s latest home.  It has been a staple at area craft and vendor fairs as well as having a store in the building that houses the Stone Mill Inn some years ago.

I highly recommend The Mustard Seed as a good place to shop, for Christmas or for yourself.  They are located at 407 Canal Place, Little Falls, NY, phone number 315-823-0718.

 

 

“Snowman” and a Shout-Out

Here’s a cheerful fellow.

As I sit here at my Chromebook, feeling utterly incapable of making a blog post, I remembered that I had added some pictures to my Media Library that I had not used yet.  I put one in the post, hoping to get myself started.  This snowman (boxman?) was at the UPS Store at Canal Place in Little Falls, NY.  I know, the UPS Store is hardly the sort of distinctive local business I like to highlight in this blog.  However, that homemade snowman won my heart.

Although, now that I look at him, I wonder if corporate didn’t send out the mittens, buttons, etc, for the employees to cut out and use to make the snowman.  Is there just such a snowman at UPS Stores nationwide? Oh well, it is still cute.

This was as far as I got on Thursday with making a blog post.  Now it is Friday afternoon and I thought, “Oh yeah, I didn’t make a blog post yesterday.”  How dreadful of me.  Let’s go back to those pictures I added to my Media Library.

Ooh, pretty!

 

This was at Little Falls Diamond Company, which I visited last Friday with my sister Cheryl.  It is just the sort of distinctive local business I love.

More beautiful stones!

I was just remembering I wanted to visit a distinctive local shop in Herkimer today, so I kind of need to get off the computer and into the shower so I can get there.  Well, at least I gave one shout-out.  I’ll see what else I can do when I get back home.

Little Falls Diamond Company is located at 411 Canal Place, Little Falls, NY, phone number 315-823-0454.

 

I Guess I Was a Non-Sequitur

I meant to make my Thursday blog post on Thursday.  In fact, I went out in hopes of finding something to blog about.  It did not work out so well.  You see, I had this weird headache and I could not seem to quite do anything.  Don’t tell my mother; I don’t want her to worry.  Oh dear, she might read this post.  Never mind; I’ll think of something good to tell her.

Anyways, the headache was as much light-headedness as pain, and it kind of came and went, so during one of the times it went, I ventured out of the house.  I had an idea to check out a new store in Ilion, BB Music Center at 141 Central Ave., then have lunch at the new Jessie’s Grill at 200 Otsego St. (that cool wedge-shaped building). Unfortunately I found out Jessie’s was not to open till later, so I decided to go to Little Falls.

I hadn’t been here in a while.

I had not realized how cold it was till I walked from my car to the Little falls Antique Center at Canal Place. It was nice to look at all the beautiful wares again. Ooh I was loving the vintage jazz they were playing!  But these were not the Christmas presents I was thinking of purchasing for my loved ones.  Still, I know some of my siblings would love to accompany me there for another shopping trip one day.  I thought it might be a good idea to have lunch before going on.  For one reason, my headache was starting to come back.

Unfortunately I could not make up my mind to go into any of the eateries at Canal Place.  Perhaps I could find something on Main Street that would work.  Accordingly, I drove there and parked.  Ooh, there was Chickweed Boutique.  I love that place.  But… food.  I locked my car and started down the street.  I had parked close to one end of Main so I had a good ways to walk, and a few good eating places to walk by and choose from.

The wind had died down a little, so with my shawl, hat and gloves, I was not too cold at all.  It felt good to walk.  I walked by several places and ended up turning right and continuing to walk up a hill.  My headache was feeling much better.  There are not enough hills to walk up in Herkimer.  I was enjoying this.  I walked up the hill till there was no outlet then turned around and walked back to Main Street.

I decided to walk back up to my car and go home.  I had not consulted my watch when I parked, but I thought I had been walking for at least 20 minutes.  As I turned up Main Street, I wondered what if I ran into somebody I knew and they asked what I was doing.  I would have to say something like, “Well I don’t really know,” or, “It’s kind of hard to explain.”  I am a little sorry I did not run into anybody.

The beauty part was I noticed CVS Pharmacy before I got to my car and remembered I needed some supplements I have been taking for my migraines.  Alas that I forgot I also meant to purchase some hair gel.  I did amuse myself at CVS.  While waiting at the Pharmacy to pay for the B2 (I do not know why that should be a controlled substance) I saw myself on a television overhead, and it kept saying “recording.”  It made me nervous, but I reminded myself I was not buying poison.  It took a few minutes as the clerk needed to look up the price, so I thought to turn the image of me to good use by adjusting my headband.  When the clerk returned to complete the transaction, I told her the recording could be my alibi if I was accused of murder.  Do you suppose I watch too much Dateline?

I was a little annoyed with myself for not paying for the magnesium (oh dear is it a HIPAA violation that I told you both supplements I am on?) at the same time as the riboflavin (that’s another word for B2) when I couldn’t find anything else to buy (remember, I forgot about needing the hair gel).  Then I had a pleasant conversation with a man waiting to pay and with the clerk, so I felt happy about that.

Holy crap, I have blathered on for over 750 words about what was, so I thought, a rather uneventful interlude. If anybody has read till the end, thank you!  I hope you had a lovely Thursday and have a wonderful Friday.