Barbara Smith's Visit

About an hour after closing on 12/23 Barbara Smith came to visit AT THE WAREHOUSE. It was perfect timing since the customers and vendors were gone, so Camille and I and Barbara spent a great deal of time discussion the area and the business. She loved the place and she is friendly, articulate, funny and caring. We are going to be attending some of the local neighborhood association meetings and hopefully hold some AT THE WAREHOUSE. Our goal has always been to get the local politicians involved. It's great to add her to the short but growing list. I asked Barbara to get the word out to Corey Ellis and with the right support, hopefully we can have a robust outdoor Farmers Market come spring.

Reaching Out to Our Ward Leader

Below you can find a copy of an email I sent to the Hon. Barbara Smith, ward leader for our district. Hopefully she will respond. In the past several phone calls have gone unanswere. Please tell us about your experience with local leaders.


Dear Ms. Smith:

Since June 2nd, AT THE WAREHOUSE has been open and features a weekend multi-vendor market including locally made crafts, specialty foods, a dance studio, café and all in the backdrop of an architectural salvage business. As the ward leader of that district, I once again invite you to come down and see the place. We have live music from 11am – 2 pm on Saturday and Sunday. We are a member of the Albany Visitors and Convention Bureau and have helped not for profit agencies including the regional food bank, Sheppard’s Purse, Greyhound and Mokawk Hudson Humane Society and NY bike safety coalition by granting free use of our space for various purposes. If you stop by, please ask for Camille or Fred.

You can visit our website, which is currently being updated http://www.atthewarehouse.net




Sincerely,

Fred from Silver Fox Enterprises

Off To A Slow Start

Well, it's two whole weeks (seems that much time has passed) and not one comment. I would have thought someone would have stumbled on the blog site or one of the customers or vendors from At The Warehouse would have put in a few words. I'll have to put on my strategy cap and think about this one. I've been looking at the blogs from Brooklyn, NY. Talking about having it together, there is one or more from each neighborhood. It's a great way to communicate. Now Google Albany and blogs and what do you get. HA, did you think I would just tell you. And don't say how can you compare Albany to New York. I'm not, it's neighborhood to neighborhood. That's what I hope can happen in North Albany. It's a long way away since there are hardly any tenants. Well there is Matt from Bomber's just down the street. So come follow Matt and find an old building and turn it into a great loft space or a kick ass restaurant or an art colony.

Fresh Produce On Wheels

At The Warehouse has been struggling to get Albany residents to support the weekend Farmer's Market component, particularly the produce section. For this to run year round there has to be the support to prevent the wastage. We urge all locals to come down and get their fresh vegetables, locally made cheeses, honey and wine. However, we have to come up with a new tactic. Let's bring the fresh produce, cheeses and honey to the areas that most need it. Starting tomorrow we will start a dialog about using our large truck to make stops in areas under served for fresh produce. We will be looking into the licensing requirements, ability to park on the street and support from the City (technical not financial). A mobile Farmer's market. I got the idea from "Ned's Mobile Grocery" which was published in the Oct. edition of SmallBiz. I'll have to call her and thank her, even if it doesn't pan out. If anyone reading this can get Corey Ellis to contact us, please do. Attempts in the past have been unsuccessful.

Condos On Broadway

Those of you who have passed by the huge sign on Broadway know there are condos coming. If you missed the sign, please turn your license in right away to DMV. The word is that once a number are sold, the old building is coming down and a high rise condo unit is going up. The top 5 or 6 floor will have view of the Hudson River. Sounds great. Has anyone seen the model? I'll be contacting the representatives to get some info. The starting price seems right. It's just what we need in North Albany. Publish Post

Today AT THE WAREHOUSE

It wasn't the typical Saturday AT THE WAREHOUSE http://atthewarehouse.net. In what started out as a slow day, the parking lot stayed almost completely full from the afternoon until about 3pm. Why? There were quite a few regulars; however, Huck Finns Warehouse was having another "sale" and getting rid of their carpet remnants at $99.00. Was that it?

We met quite a few out of towner's and the energy was incredible for most. Without Reason, a phenomenal duo, played their wide range of music from old Beatles to blues. Today was also a Greyhound Adoption Clinic Day and two of those fabulous dogs found homes. We are proud to offer our space free to such great pet friendly causes. Dutch, our Warehouse Dog, did show some signs of jealousy.

We started to inform people about the blog site and we hope it will spark some interest. If you were here today, place a post and let us hear of your experience. We want your true impressions.

Welcome to the New North Albany Blog

The industrail area in North Albany is undergoing a slow, but visible, gentrification. The first pioneer into the conversion was Noche Lounge -- an upscale night club located on Broadway. Next came At The Warehouse, a place with a weekend market including craft vendors, farm market, specialty food n a backdrop of architectural salvage with free live music located at 20 Learned Street, just behind Miss Albany Diner and Noche. http://www.atthewarehouse.net During the weeknights, salsa lesson are held there as well. http://albanysalsa.com

Several large companies have purchased properties in the area and conversion to condos is slowly underway. This blog was set up to generate interest into the area, locate suitable available properties for commercial and residential purposes and to involve the community.

Given time, this area may evolve into the premier living and social section of Albany? Why? Parking, parking and yes parking. In addition, old warehouses are a prime place for renovation into great loft spaces.

So I'd love to hear from you and please place comments about the local establishments in the area: Noche, At The Warehouse, Miss Albany Diner, Thatcher Pub, etc.

Since this is the first day and first blog, look forward to frequent updates and pics. Hopefully in time we will have local advertisers on here as well.