FULTON — Sweet Cindy’s Gluten Free Bakery in Fulton is finding growth through word of mouth as customers, who enjoy its owner’s creations, spread the word to others.

The bakery — which opened in April 2016 and sells breads, cookies, and cakes — grew its revenue by about 10 percent last year after doubling revenue in the second year, Cindy Swartwood, owner, tells CNYBJ.

Swartwood says she started the bakery because her husband, Todd Swartwood, has a gluten allergy and Cindy had experience baking gluten-free in Canada. 

Gluten is a group of proteins found in a variety of cereal grains. Gluten can cause adverse reactions in some people, which can cause a range of gluten-related disorders, including celiac disease (an autoimmune disorder mainly affecting the small intestine) and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. 

Cindy Swartwood hails from Canada and her husband is an American from Pennsylvania. They split the difference geographically and settled in Fulton, where they bought a building large enough for two businesses and living quarters.

To further its growth, Sweet Cindy’s Gluten Free Bakery is now planning to expand in a couple of ways. The first involves area markets.

 “This year, starting in May, we are expanding our reach to include the [CNY] Regional Market in Syracuse [on Saturdays] and the Watertown farmers market [on Wednesdays]. There are no other gluten-free vendors at the Watertown Market and we expect to do well in both places,” says Swartwood, who is currently the bakery’s only employee.

The business is also planning to expand and improve its facility at 55 W. 1st St. S. in Fulton. 

“As Sweet Cindy’s continues to grow, we will go forward with renovations to the area above the bakery to provide another living space for us and rent out the apartment we are currently in. We are planning changes to the outside edifice, such as color and/or resurfacing of some kind. Also, [planning on] repaving the lot and landscaping and a veranda of sorts in front of the frame part of the building,” Swartwood says.

The entire building is about 10,000 square feet with the bakery occupying 1,440 square feet. The Swartwoods added a floor above the bakery for their apartment.

“There is space for another apartment in the building but it is low on the list of priorities and who knows, we may use it for something completely different,” says Cindy Swartwood.

The business has three small tables in the sales area where patrons can have baked goods and coffee. Swartwood is considering growing to include more social space and possibly hosting a New Year’s Eve gathering. 

The bakery’s menu includes breads, cookies, donuts, and cakes. Swartwood makes cakes and cookies to order.

The bakery’s new offerings include frozen pot pies and lasagna. Swartwood is careful not to call these “dinners” since she believes that connotes eating in. She is considering expanding to include soups which she now offers on Fridays only.

Sweet Cindy’s Gluten Free Bakery’s operating hours are Tuesday to Thursday 7 a.m.-5 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m., and Saturday 7 a.m.-4 p.m.

A new analysis from the Rockefeller Institute of Government estimated that a legal adult-use marijuana industry in New York state could generate up to $4 billion in economic activity and support up to 30,700 jobs annually.

“As state lawmakers debate whether to legalize marijuana for recreational use and given the challenges with federal restrictions, it is critical to present an evidence-driven roadmap for developing and regulating the industry,” Jim Malatras, president of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, said in a news release.

The new analysis projects economic impacts based on a recent report by the New York State Department of Health that estimates the market size of adult-use marijuana in New York to be between $1.7 billion and $3.5 billion, as well as economic-development data from states that have already legalized the drug.

The findings include the following:

• Based on conservative market-size estimates, traditional multiplier analysis finds the recreational marijuana industry would generate at least $3.2 billion in economic output and support 23,747 jobs

• Using marijuana-specific multipliers, the potential economic impact would be more than $4 billion with 30,731 jobs supported

• New York should expect a temporary economic boost from the large-scale investments made shortly after legalization

The analysis also addresses the unknown effects of municipalities opting out of the industry — as of April 2019, Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland, Putnam, and Chemung counties were considering legislation to opt out and were considered likely to ban sales in the event of legalization — as well as the potential effects of legalization in workplaces that enforce drug-free policies. The Rockefeller Institute says an upcoming analysis will examine the fiscal impacts on the state through tax and licensing revenue.

Laura Schultz, director of fiscal analysis and senior economist at the Rockefeller Institute of Government, wrote the report. It is available at: https://rockinst.org/issue-area/the-economic-impact-of-developing-the-adult-use-cannabis-industry-in-new-york.

The Rockefeller Institute of Government is the public-policy research arm of the State University of New York.

SYRACUSE — The Crouse Health Foundation continues its work to raise funding for an upcoming renovation and expansion of neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) at Crouse Health.

Kinney Drugs Foundation has pledged $250,000 to the CrouseCares campaign in support of the NICU project.

The Crouse Health Foundation says it plans to raise $10 million through private gifts to the CrouseCares campaign to support the $31 million NICU expansion and renovation project. The plan is to raise the funds by the end of 2020.

With the $250,000 Kinney Drugs Foundation pledge, the Crouse Health Foundation has raised more than $1.8 million toward the $10 million fundraising goal, Cheryl Abrams, director of communications and digital media at Crouse Health, said in an email response to a CNYBJ inquiry. 

Crouse Health doesn’t plan to start working on the project until it has raised the necessary funding, Robert Allen, VP of communications & government affairs at Crouse Health, added in an email.

Crouse Health in 2018 announced plans to expand its regional NICU to provide more space for “parents to bond with their fragile newborns,” for equipment, and for monitoring and treating critically ill infants. 

A team of neonatologists, nurses, and pediatric specialists from the Crouse NICU annually care for more than 1,000 babies from 14 counties across upstate New York. 

The renovation and expansion of the NICU is a “priority” project of the CrouseCares campaign, which has surpassed $16 million in donations to support capital projects and initiatives at Crouse.

About the Kinney Drugs Foundation

Established in 2002, the Kinney Drugs Foundation annually holds events to “benefit local charities and local families and provides assistance, donations, and care to thousands of families in upstate New York and Vermont,” as described in the Crouse Health Foundation news release. To date, the Kinney Drugs Foundation has provided more than 

$11 million to various national organizations as well as their local chapters, per the news release.

The Kinney Drugs Foundation is the philanthropic arm of KPH Healthcare Services, Inc., which is based in Gouverneur in St. Lawrence County. KPH Healthcare Services includes the  Kinney Drugs regional drug store chain, as well as three commercial businesses, including ProAct Pharmacy Benefits Management, HealthDirect Pharmacy Services, and Noble Health Services. 

CENTRAL SQUARE — U-Haul Company of New York and Vermont, Inc. announced that Blue & White Storage has signed on as a U-Haul dealer to serve the Central Square area.

Blue & White Storage, located at 1 Luther Road in the town of West Monroe, will offer U-Haul trucks, trailers, towing equipment, moving supplies, and in-store pick-up for boxes. Normal business hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, and on-call Sunday.

Blue & White Storage’s principals are Baynard G. and Baynard E. Charpentier, according to a U-Haul news release.