UTICA — Art & Vine, Utica’s first “paint and sip” business, formally opened in downtown on Nov. 10. 

Located on 157 Genesee St. in a 1,419-square-foot space, the business is owner Connie Pratt’s first venture.

In a “paint and sip” business, beer or wine is offered while patrons participate in an art class. The U.S. Small Business Administration reported this year that the nation has 200 paint and sip businesses nationwide, most of them independent and artist-owned.

Pratt earned a master’s degree in fine arts in painting and drawing from Syracuse University, and has experience teaching both college and high-school classes. 

She will continue to work at Westmoreland High School, where she teaches classes like digital photography and general drawing. She hopes her business will eventually grow into her primary source of income. 

Pratt had no trouble acquiring the space — she and her husband Philip Szeliga have owned the building on Genesee Street for 11 years. Her personal studio is located on the third floor, and Szeliga’s engineering consulting business, Human Electronics Inc., occupies the second floor. A software technology company previously leased the first floor. When that business moved out last year, Pratt jumped on the opportunity. 

“I just happened to see this type of business profiled on the ‘Today Show’, and I thought ‘I can do this. I teach every day,’” Pratt says. 

Renovations to the space cost a total of $40,000, and Pratt and her husband used their own cash to fund them. One of the contractors they hired was Boscar Electric Co. Inc. of Utica. 

Although the formal grand opening took place Nov. 10, Art & Vine began offering classes Sept. 18. Welcoming both public and private parties, Pratt says classes are “perfect” for corporate team building, fundraising, family paint days, children’s parties, birthday parties, and bachelorette parties. Walk-ins are currently available only Saturdays, and private parties can reserve the space on Thursdays. Both private and public classes cost $38 per person. The maximum capacity is 40 people per class.

Pratt provides customers with paint, a canvas, and brushes. Each session features one of her original paintings, and Pratt leads patrons step-by-step through her process. Participants can drink beer or wine while they paint, and at the end of the night, take home their completed paintings. Pratt is currently leading all the classes herself, but hopes to one day hire other local artists to offer classes featuring their work.

“People leave so happy at the end of the class,” says Pratt. “It’s nice to expose people to the process of painting. It’s definitely not a serious class. We have a lot of fun.” 

Thursday and Saturday classes run from 7 to 9 p.m., but drinks are served at 6:30 p.m. As demand increases, she plans to add more walk-in sessions to the schedule. Classes can be reserved online at www.uticaartandvine.com.       

Contact the Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com

CLAY — Syracuse Crate, a six-year-old online retailer of gift boxes that include products made in Central New York, has a new owner who has plans to expand the offerings.

It’s a method for people and businesses to ship the area’s “iconic” foods around the world, says Thomas Connors, sole owner of Syracuse Crate. 

“There’s an emotional attachment to things [such as] Hofmann’s Hot Dogs and Hinerwadel’s salt potatoes,” says Connors, a 1993 graduate of Bishop Ludden High School.

Connors spoke with the Business Journal News Network on Nov. 13. 

Syracuse Crate is a way for someone in Alaska to share a salt potato or for someone in North Carolina to share Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans. Its Facebook page describes Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans as the “pride of Mexico, N.Y.”

“It’s a great way to bring the best of Central New York to the rest of the world,” says Connors.

Even though Syracuse Crate has mostly featured food items, Connors wants to add other cultural items to the package options, such as an historic Syracuse calendar or a compilation CD with songs from local artists.

“It started off as a food thing but I want to grow it into a Central New York cultural package,” he says. 

Operations
After purchasing Syracuse Crate in June, Connors handled all operations from his home in the town of Camillus. That included acquiring supplies, keeping track of online orders, and assembling the orders by hand in his basement, he says. 

“My plan was, in a year, to outsource it to a fulfillment company where they would be able to house all the inventory, [and] I [would] just keep them stocked,” says Connors.

One day he was visiting Pioneer Warehousing & Distribution in Clay, where Pastabilities, a restaurant in Syracuse’s Armory Square area, stores its Hot Tomato Oil, an item that Syracuse Crate includes in one of its crate packages.

That same day, Pioneer’s management asked if Connors needed any help with his fulfillment efforts.

“I’m at that point because I’m spending four or five hours per day, running around, trying to build crates, and hurrying up trying to get them to UPS in time to make the cut off [for shipping],” Connors recalls explaining to Pioneer management.

After a few meetings on the topic, he described the packing and shipping process and Pioneer provided him a flat rate per order, which he declined to disclose.

Connors has an agreement to use 500 square feet of space at Pioneer’s facility, and they’ll discuss a different rate once he exceeds the agreed-upon space allotment, he says.

Connors added Pioneer to Syracuse Crate’s operations in September, he says.

Purchasing the business
Connors first became familiar with Syracuse Crate after reading a newspaper article about it in 2008. 

“I just thought it was an amazing idea,” says Connors.

He would buy the products and take them with him when he was living in both New York City and later Philadelphia after graduating from Fordham University in 1997.

When he returned to the area in 2007, he would perform music at local venues, such as Kitty Hoynes in Armory Square. While doing so, he met Luke Naughton, who originally launched Syracuse Crate, and the two developed a “great friendship,” says Connors. 

The two started discussions in late 2013 about Connors leaving his position as manager of domestic-transportation services at Mohawk Global Logistics and helping with the operation of Syracuse Crate. 

“In the spring, Luke informed me that he was going to be leaving Kitty Hoynes and opening …the Pale and Bucket … and he wasn’t going to have time for Syracuse Crate,” says Connors. 

Naugthon told Connors he could sell the business to him or to someone else. The two worked out a deal that would make Connors the next owner. 

“I had great visions for it immediately,” he says. 

Connors declined to disclose how much he paid to purchase the company, but indicated he used his own money to complete the transaction.

He left his previous job at Mohawk Global Logistics in June, he adds.

Generating sales
Connors believes Syracuse Crate has, up until now, served mostly as a holiday business with about 90 percent of its sales occurring between November and December. But the customers who would ship crates as gifts during the holidays would also ship them throughout the year for occasions such as birthdays, he notes.

Connors wants to highlight a monthly reason to purchase a crate, such as Valentine’s Day, March Madness and St. Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day.

“The goal is to make this a year-round thing,” he says. 

Connors has turned to social media to generate awareness about the business, saying he was “surprised” at how many people weren’t aware of the company. 

He’s also working on advertising for both television and radio.

Connors says the firm’s revenue is up 300 percent compared to 2013 and he expects the upcoming holiday season to be “robust.”

“If we can keep building the business, then … our goal of doubling [revenue] next year is very reasonable [and] attainable,” says Connors.        

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com