Business

Christmas came twice for Jan Nichols of Batavia.

Nichols picked up a big present at the Batavia Improvement District Office today -- a $500 gift certificate for a shopping spree at participating downtown businesses.

The prize was the award of a contest sponsored by the BID called "Shop in the Zone."

Thirty-five downtown businesses took part, with entrants being required to stop at at least 12 businesses and fill out a participation card.

The winner was drawn from all qualifying entrants.

The contest ran from Dec. 1-24.

This CBS video says there's a renaissance overtaking Detroit, driven by a combination of big businesses relocating to the city and local entrepreneurs taking advantage of lower costs in the city.

While I know there will be those who will say New York is not Michigan, and rail against the high taxes and overregulation, but every place has its negatives. 

So my question is, if Detroit can have a renaissance, why can't Batavia?

When it comes to ringing in the new year, there will be no shortage of good food and fun times in Batavia.

From special menus to live music, Batavia's restaurants and taverns are inviting residents to join friends, family and neighbors in saying goodbye to 2010 and hello to 2011.

The festivities start early at O'Lacy's on School Street, where everybody's favorite Irish pub will celebrate the flip of the calendar on Dublin time.

O'Lacy's will have an Irish band playing from 5 to 8 p.m., with a break at 7 p.m. -- that's midnight in Dublin -- to toast in the New Year. The pub closes promptly at 9 p.m.

But no worries, the party can continue all night in Batavia. Just around the corner and within a block are Center Street Smoke House and T.F. Brown's.

At Center Street, you can put your glad rags on and bop in your suede shoes to the rockabilly twang of Kickstart Rumble from 9:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. There will be free pizza at 1 a.m.

At T.F. Brown's, the rock band In Plain View plays from 10:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. On the special dinner menu are twin center-cut pork chops in a honey glaze and a surf-and-turf for two that features two 16-oz. sirloin steaks, shrimp, mashed potatoes and a side salad.

There will also be live music at South Beach from 6 to 9 p.m. with John Canale and a three-piece jazz band. For dinner, there will be a buffet, with the kitchen open until 11 p.m., and the bar will be open as late as there are customers to serve.

Delavan's will also keep the bar open as late as there are people buying drinks. The kitchen closes at 9 p.m. and on the special New Year's Eve menu are chicken Oscar, seafood-stuffed haddock and lobster ravioli.

Larry's Steakhouse will feature oysters Rockefeller and the featured steak is a 22-oz. cowboy-cut, bone-in ribeye served with a garlic peppercorn crust. The surf-and-turf is prime rib and lobster tail.

Alex's Place will serve dinner until 11 p.m. and stay open until at least midnight. The featured items are braised lamb shanks and crusted sea bass. Of course, ribs, steaks and prime rib as well as a selection of seafood are always on the menu.

Outside of Batavia, if you were thinking Red Osier, well, let's hope you already have your reservations. The legendary restaurant is booked through 9:30 p.m.

In Le Roy, D&R Depot's kitchen is open until 9 p.m. and will feature a Chateaubriand for two, carved table side.

Of course, if you're out drinking, you shouldn't drive. 

Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble offered good advice: "Plan ahead."  If you don't have a designated driver, at least have the number of a friend who can pick you up if you drink more than planned. 

There are three local cab services: Batavia Cab Co. 343-5130; Mike's Taxi Service 343-3309; and Checker Cab of Batavia 300-9376.

If you really want to plan ahead, Mancuso Limousine can still accommodate three more reservations (at the time of writing). If somebody finds themselves stuck at a bar or restaurant after midnight, there is a chance Mancuso could provide a ride (for a fee, of course). Mancuso can be reached at 343-1947.

After a decade of giving financial advice as a staff member of other firms, Batava-native Marc Staley has decided it is time to strike out on his own.

He planted a big flag downtown -- signing a lease in a former bank building at the corner of Jackson and Main streets (most recently the location of the former House of K) -- and signed on as a financial advisor for LPL Financial, one the largest investment firms in the nation.

"I believe in this area," said Staley, who is also a hockey coach at Notre Dame High School. "While other firms are pulling out, I wanted to stay and work."

The 37-year-old Staley is married to a local teacher, Erin, and they have two children, Helaina, 3, and Luke, 1.

"We love this community," Staley said. "I've had the chance to go to other places, but my wife and I decided that this is the place we want to live. This is where we want to raise our kids, so I have to build my career around that decision. That's non-negotiable for me."

When he decided to open his own brokerage, he decided to represent LPL Financial because the company has a strong reputation -- ranked by J.D. Power as number one in customer satisfaction for investment performance and number two for customer satisfaction for investment advice -- and the firm's ability to provide a range of advice to big investors and small, just-starting-out investors.

"Folks are leery of Wall Street right now and investing in general," Staley said. "I wanted to make sure I partnered with a company that represents Main Street more than Wall Street -- one that helps me deliver world class independent research, state-of-the-art technology, and the freedom to deliver to my clients what they need.

"Even though this is a new endeavor for me, I work for the same people I’ve always worked for -- my clients," he added.

While LPL Financial was tops in the nation (for Independent Broker Dealers) in revenue in 2009, Staley acknowledges that a lot of people in this area may not have heard of the firm.

"I feel a little like the guy who brought the Tim Horton's to town at first," Staley said. "For a lot of people, this is the first time they're hearing of LP Financial."

Even so, after opening for business at the beginning of December, Staley said he's had a steady flow of new clients walk through his doors -- exceeding his first-month goals. In part, that's the location, but also, Staley said, he's been around town a long time and a lot of people know him.

He picked the location, he said, because he plans to grow and be around for a long time.

It wasn't just sleigh bells you heard ringing in the days before Christmas. It was also cash registers.

Downtown merchants say they are quite pleased with their 2010 holiday season and hope it means there are good things to come in 2011.

"The numbers aren't official, but it was probably our strongest Christmas in a couple of years," said Greg Gluck, owner of Alberty Drugs. "It was certainly better than last year and probably better than the year before, which is probably a good sign for everyone."

Besides filling prescriptions, Alberty sells gift items and greeting cards.

Owners of The Enchanted Florist, Charles Men's Shop, Glass Roots, Adam Miller Toy & Bicycles, Valle Jewelers and 3D Wine and Spirits all say sales were up a bit this year, though nobody is saying "Wow, I can't believe how great it was!"

But any improvement over the past few years is a welcome sign that at last some people have money to spend and they're spending it.

"The top shelf wines sold and the wines on the bottom shelf sold, but the wines in the middle didn't sell as much," said 3D's owner, Dave Buchholtz. "The people who have the money are spending it, and the people who don't, aren't."

At Charles Men's Shop, owner Dave Howe agrees to a point. He said 2010 was a good improvement over 2009's Christmas season, but he said he heard from a lot of customers who were looking for quality from a local shop. He said people seem tired of overpriced, overhyped "buy one get six free" sales.

"People are less apt to drive all over the countryside," Howe said. "They gave us a shot first to see if we can help."

Next door, at The Enchanted Florist, Kathy Saile, said Christmas sales were up and met her expectations for the season.

"We didn't have any product left over and we were able to make all of our deliveries," Saile said.

At Adam Miller, people came in looking for bikes, hobby items, puzzles and unique toys you just can't get in the chain stores, said John Roche.

"The last two weeks we were swamped," Roche said. "It was way better than what I expected."

The strong sales locally matches reports of strong holiday sales nationally. The New York Times reports:

After a 6-percent free fall in 2008 and a 4-percent uptick last year, retail spending rose 5.5 percent in the 50 days before Christmas, exceeding even the more optimistic forecasts, according to MasterCard advisors SpendingPulse, which tracks retail spending.

The rise was seen in just about every retail category. Apparel led the way, with an increase of 11.2 percent. Jewelry was up 8.4 percent, and luxury goods like handbags and expensive department-store clothes increased 6.7 percent.

There was even a slight increase in purchases of home furniture, which had four consecutive years of declining sales. The figures include in-store and online sales.

The day before Christmas, Valle's Jewelers was packed with customers, and co-owner Mary Valle said the store was busy throughout the holiday season.

The store ran several promotions and advertised heavily for Christmas shopping, Valle said, and it seemed to pay off.

"We saw many new people in the store," Valle said. "People wanted to shop in the county and they verbalized it."

Advertising also paid off for Jeremy Almeter, owner of Glass Roots. For the first time in the five-year history of his business, he ran advertising -- exclusively in The Batavian -- promoting his handmade glass Christmas ornaments.

"For the first time, we sold out of ornaments," Almeter said. "We saw at least 20 faces in the store we'd never seen before."

Top: Mary Valle and Kamilla Kabel. Kabel, the former owner of House of K, is helping out at Valle's.Top inset, Dave Howe; bottom, Dave Buchholtz.

WBTA's Geoff Redick contributed to this story.

More than 320 area residents were served a Christmas Day dinner at T.F. Brown's, making it the largest turn out for the annual free meal in the event's 22-year history, according to an announcement by organizers.

Toys were given to more than 140 children.

The annual event, open to anyone in the community, is hosted by Rick, Ben and Mark Mancuso and Joe Teresi with the support of the Batavia Lion's Club.

The meal is a traditional holiday supper with all of the trimmings.

In past years, two seatings were sufficient to meet the demand, but this year, three seatings were required.

The meal was prepared by the staff of T.F. Brown's.

Also contributing to the event this year were Jeffrey “the breadman” Condidorio; Kathy Pettinella of Flower City Produce; US Food Service; Sysco and Jocobstein.

When a friend of Brandi Bruggman's looked down at his Converse one day, he thought they looked like a dirty mess.

He didn't want to throw out an otherwise fine pair of shoes though, so he asked Bruggman if she could paint some art work on the shoes -- they were made out of canvass, after all.

An intriguing challenge, and Brandi gave it a try.

He loved the "new" shoes, and so did his friends.

"Somebody saw the shoes and wanted them, and then somebody saw those shoes and wanted them, and now I have a business," Bruggman said.

The 20-year-old Alexander native sells "Bruggies," as well as hats and other wearable items at Glass Roots, 12 Center St., Batavia, as well as through her Facebook account.

Each item is hand painted, coated to make it waterproof, and inspired by the individual buying it. She said she often talks with the customer, finds out that they like, asks them to provide some adjectives, and then "goes with that vibe."

Ironically, Bruggman said, before she started selling wearable art, she was having a hard time finding a market for the kind of art that hangs on walls. Now, she's selling a lot more wall art.

Often, the people who buy her shoes, or other items, realize how good she is and they commission a painting for a room in their homes.

In all, Bruggman said that since she started creating "Bruggies" in June 2009, she's sold about 200 hand-painted items.

A theater design technician major at Niagara University, with a minor in fine arts, Bruggman would love it if her fledgling business became her full income.

"If I could paint every day, that would be awesome," said Brandi.

Though, the business can't get too big, she cautioned, because she won't let anybody else paint shoes for her. She does it all herself.

Painting clothing has expanded her as an artist, she said, both from working with different materials and techniques. She's learned to use an airbrush to paint T-shirts -- but since each item is custom created, she's often painting subjects she might not otherwise.

"It's cool that I get to draw into new things," Bruggman said. "I draw things I never would have drawn before. The other day I drew a boat. I never drew a boat before.

"It's been opening new avenues of art for me," she added.

Examples of Bruggman's shoes and hats -- as well as a mural she painted -- are on display at Glass Roots, and an order for shoes, or other items, can be placed at the store. Prices for hand-painted Converse start at $85 (other shoes can go for as little as $65). A tote ranges from $20 to $50, hats from $35 to $45.

Seven residents of the Batavia Motel, 3768 W. Main St. Road, were told Thursday evening they had less than 24 hours to vacant the premises.

The Town of Batavia condemned the building because of numerous code violations.

Resident Eric Duda, who was made manager of the complex about seven months ago -- but still had to pay rent -- said he and his fiancé were able to find lodging for themselves and their 10-month-old infant.

But he said everything he owns is stored in rooms and there's no money to move it to other storage on such short notice.

"I figure I'm going to lose all of my possessions," said Duda, whose last extension for unemployment compensation ran out last week.

DSS helped him and his family move, temporarily, into the Mark Trail Motel, but he couldn't take his dog, and as of about 6 p.m. last night, he didn't know what he was going to do with his pet.

The motel has two detached wings. One of the wings has been vacant for some period of time because of a fire in the main office.

All of the residents lived in units on the east side of the property.

The property is owned by Panchal Bhupendrabhai (Duda called him "Sonny"), who lives in Irving, Texas. The assessed value is $55,000. He acquired the 2.9-acre parcel in 2007 from Sarojbahen Patel for $1, who acquired it in 2006 for $55,000. 

Earlier this month, the Town of Batavia authorized a purchase offer of $85,000 to acquire the parcel, which adjoins Kiwanis Park.

Supervisor Greg Post said the condemnation and interest in buying the property are unrelated matters.

The town has been interested since about 2007 or 2008.

"It's a matter of public record," Post said.

He added that "If there were a proper offer to sell the property, we would be willing to negotiate to buy the property."

Post said the living arrangements are a matter between the landlord and tenants.

"We certainly gave the owner time to comply (with code requirements)," Post said.

Still, the condemnation caught residents by surprised, and they all made quick trips to the Department of Social Services on Friday looking for help.

Maken Ithnnascheri, just moved into room #22 on Monday and spent every dime he had on the move and making the space habitable, including repairs and paint. He said he has nowhere to go and no place to take all of his possessions.

"I put a nice penny into it," he said. "They came here late last night and said we had to be out by five o’clock, and there’s no way. I have no place else to go. Where are we going to go in the cold?”

"Everything I have in the world," he added, "is in that room."

Ithnnascheri said he isn't currently eligible for DSS assistance to help him find new lodging.

The motel is in quite a state of disrepair, Duda acknowledged. He said the roof over three rooms leaks, there are broken doors and windows and several other problems with the property.

“It’s really just lots of little things," Duda said. "I just don’t know how it lasted as long as it did.”

Over the summer, he and the other tenants put a riser and cement cover over the septic tank, but it still leaks into the woods behind the motel.

The landlord has made various deals with tenants to make repairs at a discount but nothing ever seems to get done, Duda said.

He doesn't take issue with the condemnation, only the timing of it.

"It's something that I don’t understand," Duda said. "In order for a landlord to evict you, you've got 30 days. So how can the town come in and say you’ve got 24 hours and that’s it?

"I don’t know why he (the code enforcement officer) didn’t do this in the summer time when it would be easier for people to move," he added.

The public is invited to tour the new surgical wing at UMMC this afternoon from 3 to 7 p.m.

A free shuttle service from the Bank Street and Washington Street parking lot to the North Street location is available.

Batavia-based Graham Corp., which made its name and money supporting oil exploration and drilling, is moving into the nuclear industry.

Yesterday, Graham announced the acquisition of Michigan-based Energy Steel for $18 million.

The newly acquired company, with 52 employees, is expected to remain in Michigan and no layoffs are expected.

Graham tapped into its $71 million cash reserve to make the purchase, according to the Buffalo News.

Here's a news release sent today from the NY Farm Bureau.

ALBANY -- Dean Norton, a dairy farmer and agricultural consultant from Elba, was re-elected as president of New York Farm Bureau, the state’s largest general farm organization, during the organization’s state annual meeting in Melville, Long Island.

“I am proud to have the opportunity to continue to lead this organization as we face a time of tremendous challenges in the agricultural community,” Norton said. “It’s an opportunity to make a difference in the ability of our farms to continue into the next generation.

"We face both unparalleled challenges and unparalleled opportunities, and need to find better ways, quickly, to maximize the connection between New York farmers and New York consumers, in order to keep the next generation farming.”

Norton is a senior agriculture consultant for Freed, Maxick & Battaglia in Batavia. His family dairy farm also manages a custom trucking operation for forage and commodity harvesting.

He has served as New York Farm Bureau’s president since 2008. His term lasts two years.

New York Farm Bureau is a statewide agricultural organization that represents nearly 30,000 member families.

Photo: File photo of Dean Norton.

He started his first business when he was 16 and just a day before his 21st birthday, Tim Walton has bought out his first company.

Walton, who is the owner and founder of TopLine Shirt Company, has agreed to terms with Marc Tillery, owner of MT Graphixs, to buy out and merge the two companies into one. This will allow Walton to add a wide variety of graphic design services including advertisement design and consulting.

"Marc is a great designer and his company has really proven itself and was something that I wanted to get involved with," Walton said.

MT Graphixs is a design and advertising firm that has clientele based throughout the United States and has done design work for high-end clients including the Grammy Award winning group Boys II Men, R&B group New Edition and John Neilson of Rebel Spirit Clothing -- a line that is often worn by the stars of the MTV hit show "Jersey Shore."

"It's a great opportuniy for both of us," says Walton. "MT (Graphixs) has a long list of clients and it's great to be able to add them to my portfolio and should result in a revenue increase for both of us."

Tillery has a variety of experience in design and advertising.

"We can help you with a plan to get your ads to reach customers, we can design fliers, logos, business cards, T-shirts or whatever else you may need designed," he said.

As part of the deal, Tillery will now be operating full-time out of TopLine's current location at 214 E. Main St. in Batavia.

"I felt like this was the right move for both of us. It gives me an opportunity to be able to work with Tim and offer the customers I have even more services," Tillery said.

The terms of the deal are not being released.

"This addition isn't just going to add more design services," says Walton. "This allows us to become more of an advertising company as a whole and will allow for us to continue to expand into numerous other markets that otherwise would not have been possible."

(Photos - Top, Tim Walton, left, and Marc Tillery; lower, Marc Tillery, left, and Tim Walton.)

A downtown storefront is not the usual place you'd expect to find a batting cage, but Bruce Dedman and partner Mike Sputore have moved their baseball business to a location near Liberty Street.

The facility features two 70-foot cages and hitters can either face off against a machine or live batting-practice pitching.

Pitch 'n Hit Baseball Training Center was previously located on Harvester Avenue. With the location change, Dedman said, the cages will now be open year-around. In the past, the business would shut down in the spring, when players return to their teams.

The batting cages were just an off-season workout, Dedman said.

Genesee Community College's ball team is putting the cages to good use, and several high school players also work out at the facility, Dedman said.

He's also working on arrangements to make provisions for softball players.

Most hitters pay for monthly memberships, but half-hour and hourly rates are also available.

The business is located at 214 E. Main St. Hours: 3 to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Appointments are also accepted.

Hitters should use scheduly.com For more information, write to pitchnhit@gmail.com or call (716) 560-0031.

GCC was filled with young entrepreneurs today as students from more than a dozen high schools in the region participated in a trade fair, selling wares from their virtual businesses.

Debbie Dunlevy, college tech prep project director at GCC, explains the program:

In September 2003, six districts in the GLOW Region, with the assistance of the College Tech Prep program at GCC, began a pilot program related to the Business Career Cluster. There have been up to 11 GLOW school districts participating in the program and currently there are nine with a company. This program integrates an Entrepreneurship class with the international Virtual Enterprise program.

Students enrolled in the class seek to establish a business from the ground up. They design a business plan, decide on a product to “sell," design a marketing a plan, work with payroll and taxes and, in general, learn about all aspects of running a business without assuming any of the actual risks since the entire project is completed virtually using the internet, fax, phone and U.S. Mail.

Students participate in a Trade Fair during the fall term and an end of year competition in the spring semester. All of the schools are members of the Rochester Area Consortium, which includes 10 Monroe County secondary schools, three Erie County schools, plus the nine from the GLOW Region.

At the Trade Fair, students set up displays with the objective of getting visitors to “purchase” their product. Awards are given to the top three schools in the areas of best booth, salesmanship and most sales. Money from the Trade Fair sales is deposited into the company accounts.

All visitors are given $10,000 in virtual money to spend at any of the booths.

This program exemplifies the main goal of College Tech Prep program, which is to provide rigorous academics coupled with hands on or practical application.

UPDATE 12/10  11:12 a.m.: See correction below.

After just over a year in business, Kingdon Family Market in Pavilion will soon close. The economy proved too tough, the customers too few and the big-box competition too fierce.

Sometime this month, Vicki and Jeff Kingdon will no longer be the green grocer entrepreneurs they have been.

"I'll be looking for a job," Vicki said this afternoon. "We tried, but it just didn't work out. We can't afford to keep it open. We're throwing out more money than we're taking in."

The couple had no prior grocery experience, but the building came at a good price and so they made a "spur of the moment" decision to operate a full-service store, with fresh produce, meat, bread -- the works.

They had no employees so they did everything themselves.

"It's tough," Vicki said. "We spent a lot of money, but people are going to Walmart and Tops. We are not in a co-op."

Meaning, they aren't able to pool collective resources and buy in bulk like chain stores.

The last time Pavilion had an independent grocery store was about four years ago.

The Kingdons aren't sure what they'll do with the building at this point, which is located at 6946 Ellicott St. Road.

The best part of the whole thing?

"Meeting new people."

There are lots of bright lights in Batavia this time of year, but a legendary one has been turned off.

When you drive down Main Street tonight, the familiar green and red neon sign of Pontillo's will be dark.

The restaurant will be open, but under a new name: Batavia's Original.

Earlier this year, the location's new owner, Batavia Pizza, LLC, a creation of Thomas Masaschi, Jeffrey Reddish and Jason Teller out of Rochester, were served with a lawsuit charging trademark infringement by the Pontillo family in Rochester.

No word on the status of the suit.

For our previous coverage of issues related to this Pontillo's location, click here.

Liberty Pumps, Inc., has been named among the nation's fastest-growing, privately held companies for the fourth-straight year by "Inc. Magazine."

The manufacturing firm is located at 7000 Appletree Ave. in Bergen.

The publication released its "5,000 list" earlier this month. Businesses are rated based on total sales growth over the last three calendar years.

Liberty Pumps grew 23 percent during that time, to an annual revenue of $33 million, according to the magazine.

The company's management is modest about its performance.

Says its President Charlie Cook:

"Our formula for success is not exotic or complicated, but its execution is critical and strenuous. There are four elements to the formula: creation of products with unique, innovative features that are not available from competitors; maintaining a level of responsiveness and customer service that is unmatched in our industry; benchmark-level sales and marketing presence in terms of attention to customers and quality of materials for advertising and display; and great, dedicated people throughout the organization who are committed to excel in these elements."

He also noted that the formula is reflected in an annual strategic plan, which is created by a consensus of all department managers after a thorough review of a considerable amount of data.

"It is extremely gratifying to observe people at every level in every department so committed to giving customers the best products, service and support possible," said Cook in a news release.