Home Central reopens Vestal store more than a year after fire

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VESTAL, N.Y. — Home Central, a local hardware and home-improvement retail-store operator, recently reopened its Vestal store after a long rebuilding process following a fire that struck 14 months earlier. The Home Central team held a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting event at the rebuilt store on Friday, April 2. The Vestal property was extensively damaged […]

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Firms from Oneonta and Carthage receive New York State service-disabled veteran-owned business certification

Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Nonprofits, Regional News, Small Business, Subscriber Only

New York Office of General Services (OGS) Commissioner RoAnn Destito recently announced that a photography and videography business in Oneonta and a consulting firm in Carthage have been certified as service-disabled veteran-owned businesses (SDVOB). The New York OGS Division of Service-Disabled Veterans’ Business Development (DSDVBD) issued the certification to Otsego Media LLC of Oneonta, which

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Lockheed Martin’s suburban Syracuse plant wins nearly $12 million Navy contract modification

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

SALINA, N.Y. — The Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) plant in the Syracuse area has been awarded an $11.7 million modification to a previously awarded delivery order for the design, prototyping, and qualification testing of submarine electronic-warfare equipment. Work will be performed in Lockheed’s facility in the town of Salina and is expected to be

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Lockheed Martin Owego plant to work on Navy contract for aircraft for Korea

Manufacturing & Engineering, New York News, Regional News, Subscriber Only, Technology

OWEGO, N.Y. — Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (NYSE: LMT) Owego facility was recently awarded a $447.2 million order from the U.S. Navy against a previously issued basic-ordering agreement. This order provides for the production and delivery of 12 MH-60R aircraft for the government of the Republic of Korea. Work will be performed in Owego (52 percent);

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Ithaca Commons building to host new Ithaca College PA program

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Regional News, Subscriber Only

ITHACA, N.Y. — The former Rothschild Building on the downtown Ithaca Commons will undergo renovation work as it will be the home of Ithaca College’s new master’s degree program in physician assistant (PA) studies. The college will use a $1.6 million grant through the New York State Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program (HECap) to

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The college will use a $1.6 million grant through the New York State Higher Education Capital Matching Grant Program (HECap) to help fund the project. The state announced the grant funding in mid-March.

The grant program is part of an initiative to support health-care education by “modernizing facilities and enhancing student learning while supporting economic development,” Ithaca College said. This supplemental instructional site will bring PA students and faculty to the “center of the community that they will help serve.”

Ithaca College says it is recruiting the first class for the new PA master’s program. It has received provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant and approval from the New York State Education Department. It’s part of Ithaca College’s School of Health Sciences and Human Performance (HSHP).

The 27-month master’s degree is designed to attract college graduates who are pursuing health-care careers and who come from undergraduate pre-health profession programs such as health sciences, exercise science, athletic training, biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and psychology.

The entering cohort this fall will include about 30 students, and classes will continue to expand until the program is at its full capacity of 50 students per cohort.

A physician assistant is a medical professional who diagnoses illness, develops and manages treatment plans, prescribes medications, and often serves as a patient’s principal health-care provider in collaboration with a physician. It’s one of the “fastest growing” professions, with the number of jobs expected to increase 31 percent between 2019 and 2029, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and it ranks among the best jobs of 2021, according to U.S. News & World Report.

“Because there’s such a great need for providers in this region, a way to get people to relocate here is to have the program in this region and for them to experience it and fall in love with it, and then stay,” Susan Salahshor, director of the PA program, said.

The program’s focus areas will include rural medicine, family medicine, behavioral and mental-health care, population and community health, and interprofessional education and practice.

Salahshor said it is necessary for the program to have space where students can practice their clinical skills. After exploring options on campus, she recognized a need for an additional space for students. The new space will also include a clinical learning center and a simulation center with advanced technology that will provide students with the chance for hands-on practice and for faculty to observe the students in practice. Additionally, the students will have access to the human anatomy lab on Ithaca College’s main campus.

“This way we are set up for success, not just for three or five years, but for 10 years down the line,” said Salahshor.

New York manufacturing index hits highest level since fall 2017

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index climbed 9 points in April to 26.3, its highest level since October 2017, well before the COVID pandemic started. It was the third straight strong month for the index, which took it from a reading of 3.5 in January all the way up to its current multi-year

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The Empire State Manufacturing Survey general business-conditions index climbed 9 points in April to 26.3, its highest level since October 2017, well before the COVID pandemic started.

It was the third straight strong month for the index, which took it from a reading of 3.5 in January all the way up to its current multi-year high.

The April index number — based on firms responding to the survey — indicates business activity “grew strongly” in New York, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its April 15 report.

The index reading of 26.3 also easily beat economists’ expectations of 20, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal.

The Empire State survey found 39 percent of respondents reported that conditions had improved over the month, while 12 percent indicated that conditions had worsened, the New York Fed said.

Survey details

The new-orders index rose 18 points to 26.9 and the shipments index climbed to 25.0, pointing to “strong gains” in orders and shipments, the New York Fed said.

Unfilled orders were “notably higher.” The delivery-times index surged 17 points to 28.1, breaking the previous record by 12 points, pointing to “significantly longer” delivery times. Inventories moved higher.

The index for number of employees increased 5 points to 13.9, and the average-workweek index edged up to 12.7, indicating ongoing gains in employment and hours worked.

The prices-paid index rose 10 points to 74.7, its highest level since 2008, pointing to “sharp” input-price increases. The prices-received index jumped 11 points to 34.9, a record high, indicating that selling prices increased “at the fastest pace in more than [20] years,” the New York Fed said.

The index for future business conditions rose 3 points to 39.8, suggesting that firms remained optimistic about future conditions. The indexes for future new orders and shipments both came in above 40. The indexes for future prices paid and future prices received continued to “march upward.”

The index for future employment climbed to a record high, with close to half of firms expecting to increase employment in the months ahead. The capital-expenditures index rose to 31.5, and the technology-spending index came in at 21.9.

The New York Fed distributes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey on the first day of each month to the same pool of about 200 manufacturing executives in New York. On average, about 100 executives return responses.

Irwin’s Fine Food awarded final 2021 grant from Utica’s Be a Neighbor Fund

Regional News, Small Business, Subscriber Only

UTICA, N.Y. — The Greater Utica Be a Neighbor Fund awarded its “fifth and final” grant to Irwin’s Fine Food of Utica. The $3,000 award will be disbursed in $1,000 installments over three months, per a news release about the grant award. Katie Reilly of Made in Utica tells CNYBJ that organizers aren’t planning for

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UTICA, N.Y. — The Greater Utica Be a Neighbor Fund awarded its “fifth and final” grant to Irwin’s Fine Food of Utica.

The $3,000 award will be disbursed in $1,000 installments over three months, per a news release about the grant award.

Katie Reilly of Made in Utica tells CNYBJ that organizers aren’t planning for additional grants this year, but they’re “not opposed” to awarding an annual grant. But if so, that wouldn’t start until 2022, she adds.

Located at 240 Genesee St. in Utica, Irwin’s Fine Food is open weekdays for lunches and is known for its cookies and catering.

The partners involved in the Be A Neighbor Fund on April 8 “surprised” Irwin’s Fine Food owner Linda Irwin with the grant. Irwin looks forward to the future, saying “I love being in downtown Utica and feel that it’s worth sticking it out. I see good things happening in Utica and I really would like to continue to be a part of it.”

Irwin’s Fine Food has had its “costs increase vastly” in the past year. The restaurant had a “tremendous drop” in revenue due to reduced capacity, remote workers, and catering that has “all but stopped” due to restrictions on numbers allowed at events.

Those factors contributed to an approximate decline in revenue of $21,000, per the news release.

The Be A Neighbor Fund is a joint project of three local businesses, Universal Bookkeeper, Made In Utica, and McGrogan Design, under the nonprofit Handshake.City.

Fund organizers raised money through community donations and corporate contributions to distribute awards to locally owned businesses that have had revenue-generation difficulties due to pandemic restrictions.

The fund’s organizers considered 37 applications and 80 nominations. Recipients were chosen based on factors such as financial need, longevity, community involvement, and public nominations.

Since launching Feb. 1, the fund raised more than $27,000 and provided financial awards to five local businesses. Besides Irwin’s Fine Food, the Be A Neighbor Fund recipients included Cafe Domenico, Mello’s Subs, Bodywise Pure Pilates, and Simmer Jamacian Restaurant.

The three local companies got together back in January, hoping to figure out a way to help other small businesses that were struggling due to COVID-19. The Be A Neighbor Fund resulted from their discussion.

First Source Federal Credit Union of New Hartford sponsored the Be A Neighbor Fund Award for Irwin’s Fine Food. Tom Neumann, president and CEO of First Source, said providing this funding was an “easy decision.”

“[Irwin’s Fine Food is] a staple in Utica, being in business for over 20 years. Known for their cookies and family atmosphere, it would be unfortunate to lose a business like this. We really wanted to help and are so glad we are able to provide this grant,” Neumann said.

CNY ATD receives CARE PLUS recognition for talent development

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Also received CARE designation for 15th year SYRACUSE — CNY ATD announced it has been recognized by the Association of Talent Development (ATD) for 100 percent achievement of chapter-affiliation requirements to receive the CARE designation. CNY ATD has successfully met the set of performance guidelines for running an ATD chapter like a business, while consistently

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PAR gets boost from $500M acquisition of California firm

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — PAR Technology Corp.  (NYSE: PAR), a provider of restaurant software, recently acquired a San Mateo, California firm that focuses on loyalty and guest-engagement products. New Hartford–based PAR acquired Punchh Inc. for about $500 million in cash and shares of PAR common stock. The acquisition was announced and closed on April 8.

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NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — PAR Technology Corp.  (NYSE: PAR), a provider of restaurant software, recently acquired a San Mateo, California firm that focuses on loyalty and guest-engagement products.

New Hartford–based PAR acquired Punchh Inc. for about $500 million in cash and shares of PAR common stock. The acquisition was announced and closed on April 8. PAR’s stock price jumped 25 percent that day and kept most of those gains over the next two weeks.

Punchh will retain its name and brand under the PAR umbrella, Chris Byrnes, VP of business & financial relations at PAR Technology, tells CNYBJ in an email.

PAR says the acquisition will enable it to be a “unified commerce cloud platform for enterprise restaurants” and positions PAR to lead with integrated point-of-sale, back office, payment, and guest-engagement products.

With its Brink POS (point-of-sale) product, PAR has been a Punchh partner “for many years,” Shyam Rao, co-founder and president of Punchh, said in a release.

“We’ve gotten to know them while jointly servicing customers and have always been impressed with their focus on their customer’s success,” Rao said. “PAR’s point-of-sale and back-office solutions combined with our loyalty and engagement platform give customers an end-to-end solution for top-line growth, profitable guest relationships and operational efficiencies. We’re excited to join the PAR team and further our offerings to the hospitality industry.”

Punchh had about 275 employees at the time of the acquisition, according to Byrnes. PAR’s total employee count is now a little more than 1,400.

PAR Technology, through its wholly owned subsidiary ParTech, Inc., services more than 100,000 restaurants in over 110 countries that use its point-of-sale hardware and SaaS software.

Financing the acquisition

PAR financed the cash portion of the purchase price through a combination of equity and debt.

It included proceeds from the sale of $160 million of PAR common stock to PAR Act III, LLC and to funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. It also included a $180 million senior secured-term loan under a credit agreement with Owl Rock First Lien Master Fund, L.P., as administrative and collateral agent.

Keith Pascal, Act III partner, joins the board of directors of PAR Technology Corporation and, Ron Shaich, Act III managing partner and founder of Panera Bread, also takes a board-observer seat, PAR said.

“We are thrilled to join this journey with PAR and Punchh,” Shaich said. “As a founder and long-time CEO of a large restaurant company, I understand first-hand the struggles of trying to power a large enterprise by gluing together disparate technologies from multiple vendors which results in silos of data, increased management costs and barriers to agile innovation. I believe PAR’s vision of a unified commerce cloud will enable more restaurant enterprises to compete effectively and efficiently in the digital arms race.”

Downtown Committee starts two programs for Syracuse businesses

Nonprofits, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc. has announced two marketing programs to help downtown businesses. The Downtown Syracuse Foundation is using a $20,000 award from the Syracuse Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) to help pay for the programs. The SEDCO COVID-19 relief funding comes from the federal CARES Act, the Downtown Committee said. The

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc. has announced two marketing programs to help downtown businesses.

The Downtown Syracuse Foundation is using a $20,000 award from the Syracuse Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO) to help pay for the programs. The SEDCO COVID-19 relief funding comes from the federal CARES Act, the Downtown Committee said.

The Downtown Syracuse Foundation is the charitable-giving branch of the Downtown Committee, Alice Maggiore, director of communications for the Downtown Committee, says.

Both programs seek to highlight businesses that have reopened, to “enhance connections” with businesses located throughout the city of Syracuse, and to attract visitors to the downtown area.

Cooperative marketing program

Businesses located throughout the 82 blocks of downtown Syracuse can partner with other downtown businesses to host an event or special promotion designed to attract visitors into downtown.

Each business collaboration is eligible to win $500 in paid marketing services provided by the Downtown Syracuse Foundation.

Applications opened April 19. Businesses can apply through May 6.

More information is available at https://downtownsyracuse.com/do-business. Applications must be submitted to Laurie Reed (LReed@DowntownSyracuse.com), marketing director of the Downtown Committee by 3 p.m. on the May 6 deadline.

“Downtown is open for business” campaign

To provide visual cues that downtown Syracuse is open for business, every street-level downtown business that wants a “Downtown is Open” flag may order one, free of charge. The flags will be available in five different colors and will be customized with the logo of each business, the Downtown Committee said.

The flags will be installed next month.

Funding provided by SEDCO will cover the cost of each flag and installation.

Interested businesses should contact Heather Schroeder, director of the Downtown Committee’s economic-development program at (315) 470-1958 or by email at HSchroeder@DowntownSyracuse.com.

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