SYRACUSE — The pandemic has been a period filled with pivots and constant reinvention for every business sector, especially the restaurant industry. After Défi Cuisine, of which Nick Salvetti was co-owner, closed during the pandemic, he and his wife, Laurie Salvetti, put their efforts into rebranding and exploring a concept more in line with the changing pandemic reality. 

They are now co-owners of Board & Bar Charcuterie, which they say is Syracuse’s first and only restaurant centered entirely around the charcuterie-board approach to dining. 

“We needed to change and to adapt to the new normal,” Nick says. “I don’t think it’s going to ever change back. I think people will always be a little more leery about it.” 

Before the pandemic, Défi Cuisine had developed a reputation of being a fine-dining restaurant, “a destination,” Nick says. The concept — very intimate dining in an open kitchen, in which customers interacted with the chef — simply did not lend itself to take-out or outdoor seating, the new staples of pandemic-era dining. 

“It was the perfect time to make changes,” he says. 

Board & Bar Charcuterie opened earlier this summer at 208 W. Water St. in downtown Syracuse, the space that once housed Défi Cuisine. It offers a variety of meal options, all delivered to patrons on charcuterie boards. 

The concept was inspired by the Salvettis’ own approach to food. Not only do their eating habits include a lot of proteins, cheeses, and vegetables — the charcuterie board basics — but they found themselves picking at an assortment of options, rather than sitting down for traditional full meals. 

“We would catch ourselves eating the smorgasbord at home,” Laurie says with a laugh. 

So, they created similar options for their customers. People dining at Board & Bar Charcuterie get to choose from a range of charcuterie options, like traditional, seafood, and vegan boards. The menu even includes a handful of dessert boards, as well as, on the weekends, a variety of brunch boards. 

The goal is to offer a multitude of options with every board — each of which has an assortment of different items — bringing customers back again and again. Thus far, their clientele has run the gamut, from younger to older diners and families as well. Sensitive to dietary restrictions, the Salvettis aim to have something for everyone. 

“Each bite can be something different,” Nick says. 

The owners are hoping their charcuterie-board concept will give patrons the chance to connect with each other while they share a meal, something people certainly missed during the worst of the pandemic. 

“The overall concept gives people the opportunity to interact with one another,” Laurie says. 

They hope to encourage this with the restaurant’s look and feel, as well. While the open-kitchen layout remains — with the chef located in the center of the action – they are aiming for a relaxed, casual feel, they say. Board & Bar Charcuterie also has outdoor seating it unveiled in August, with music and string lights at night.

For those not comfortable with dining in a restaurant setting, the team created the charcuterie boards with to-go orders in mind, making them easily packed as take-out options. 

While the pandemic hit the restaurant industry particularly hard — an industry that was already risky to enter during normal times, with high failure rates — it provided the ideal backdrop for an establishment like Board & Bar Charcuterie. The exact timing was fortuitous. When restrictions began to ease and restaurants opened beyond take-out only, Board & Bar Charcuterie opened its doors. 

“It helped out and worked in our favor, being something new and exciting for people to look forward to,” Laurie says. 

Now, even with the possibility of more pandemic restrictions and changes coming in the fall, the duo is confident their charcuterie-board business model will see success — even if they are forced to offer take-out only. 

Along with the pandemic timing being opportune in some ways, the Salvettis are happy to be a part of the revitalization they see in downtown Syracuse, as well. 

In terms of the restaurant industry, Nick remarked that in the past four or five years, there seem to be many more different restaurant options in the downtown-restaurant scene. With the millennial and younger generations having developed a less fine-dining approach to deciding where to gather for dinner, he predicts those changes will continue. 

“It’s fun to be on the cusp of something here, where things are changing,” Nick says. “You can feel it. People want a new concept and something that’s different.”       

SYRACUSE — Ecodessa — the rebranded name of the downtown Syracuse store that originally opened as Gypsy Freedom — has been operating under its new moniker since June 1.

The store, which describes itself as the region’s “first sustainable retail fashion company,” sells women’s clothing and accessories. It is located at 312 S. Salina St. in the Pike Block building.

Caeresa Richardson, the store’s sole owner, is an engineer and originally from Buffalo. She is also a 2007 graduate of Syracuse University, earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in fashion design.

Besides rebranding the store, Richardson has been using a social-media show to help attract customers, something she created to help boost business amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

Rebranding

Sometimes after launching, a business makes a change based on learning more about its targeted customer base.

Such is the case with Ecodessa. It opened as Gypsy Freedom on Aug. 31, 2020, but over time, Richardson realized she needed a new name.

“Over the year, I learned really who my customer was … my target market being middle-age professional women mostly that need beautiful clothing to wear to and from work in their daily lives,” says Richardson, who spoke with CNYBJ on Aug. 20.

She believes the store’s original name sounded too “youthful” and made it difficult to attract the customer base she was targeting. 

“And Ecodessa is definitely a lot more representative of that modern, professional woman,” Richardson adds.

The new name is a nod to Richardson’s grandmother, Odessa, and the Eco part is based on the store’s “eco-loving values.”

Ecodessa “closely represents a lifestyle brand dedicated to elevating purpose driven, sustainable-fashion brands and empowering women to support brands that align with their values,” per a news release about the store’s rebrand.

The store sells women’s clothing and accessories from “ethical, sustainable, and socially conscious” fashion brands.

Richardson acknowledges that rebranding a business is “actually really not easy.” 

“It’s very difficult, especially when you’ve done as much as we did to get our brand out there during [the COVID-19 pandemic],” she says. 

Richardson says that she had to update the store’s website, signage, and marketing materials. 

In-store purchases generate about 70 percent of the store’s revenue, while online shopping accounts for the other 30 percent, she says. 

Sip & Shop show 

Richardson created a digital Sip & Shop show that she offered every month live on Facebook and Instagram. It gets more than 400 viewers per month, she says. 

She calls it a “key” component of her business that allowed the store to grow during the pandemic.

Sip & Shop allowed consumers to have a beverage and watch as Richardson and her models showed off the store’s new arrivals.

“To improve the production, I introduced live models … my brand ambassadors who I use for every Sip & Shop,” she adds. 

She called the online shows a “great way” to get to know her customers, to replace the pop-up shops that were cancelled, and to sell many of the items that the store had in inventory during that time.

The Sip & Shop shows are currently held on the third Thursday of every month, live on Facebook and Instagram. Richardson had to make an exception on Aug. 19 as she was among the participants in the KeyBank Business Boost & Build virtual-pitch event. She had hoped to secure the $10,000 grand prize to make her Sip & Shop show into a series on YouTube.

Instead, Richardson ended the evening in fourth place, securing $1,500. She planned to use that funding for the August Sip & Shop show, which was scheduled for Aug. 26 at Commonspace on Warren Street. It was slated to be a live event, so she could have an audience, something she says her customers had requested.

The show was also going to serve as a celebration of the store’s one-year anniversary. In addition, Richardson planned to “use that broadcast to pitch to other investors so I can get the funding that I need to hopefully to turn it into my own show,” she says.