Video Transcript: Baldwinsville restaurant offers different approach as small businesses struggle statewide
Janice Ha: For many small businesses, the past few years haven’t been easy.
Corinne Johnston: Shipping is affecting a lot of the costs of things. it’s affecting our profit margin
Ha: From rising costs to expensive bills, many are having to adapt just to stay open.
Johnston: I had a message from UPS saying that there was going to be an additional tariff of $91 on something that was imported and that’s just on the shipping cost so when you factor that into the cost of the merchandise and then what we have to mark up our merchandise when we bring it in here. I don’t normally like the pass that along to our customers it’s just the product, it’s marked up enough.
Ha: But in Baldwinsville, one space is offering a different approach. Olive’s Eatery is home to 10 unique small businesses, giving owners a place to sell their products without the cost of a traditional storefront. That flexibility can make a huge difference.
Kelly Vann: The space at Olive’s is so amazing that the staff at Olive’s staffs my store for me so I can come in and do inventory and restock but I don’t have to be here full-time.
Ha: According to recent data, small business growth in New York has fallen behind the national average. Making support systems like this even more important.
Vann: So the collaboration and the collective of the women supporting each other, keeping an eye on each other’s shops and just helping create a space that doesn’t require me to be here full-time.
Ha: As small businesses continue to face economic challenges, spaces like Olive’s Eatery are providing not just opportunity, but a way for owners to keep growing. With NCC News, I’m Janice Ha.
BALDWINSVILLE, NY (NCC News) — For many small businesses, the past few years haven’t been easy.
“Shipping is affecting a lot of the costs of things. It’s affecting our profit margin,” said Corinne Johnston, owner of MallyMae Boutique at Olive’s Eatery.
From rising costs to expensive bills, many small business owners say they are having to adapt just to stay open. Johnston described how unexpected fees are cutting into already tight corners.
“I had a message from UPS saying that there was going to be an additional tariff of $91 on something that was imported and that’s just on the shipping cost,” Johnston said. “When you factor that into the cost of the merchandise and then what we have to mark up… I don’t normally like to pass that along to our customers.”
But in Baldwinsville, one business is offering a different approach.
Olive’s Eatery is not only a restaurant and coffee shop, it is also home to 10 individually owned boutiques. The shared space allows small business owners to sell their products without the full financial burden of operating a traditional storefront.
Rather than managing a store independently, business owners benefit from resources such as staffing, utilities, and other operating costs.
“The space at Olive’s is so amazing that the staff at Olive’s staffs my store for me,” said Kelly Vann, owner of Lit Actually Romance Bookshop at Olive’s Eatery.
“I can come in and do inventory and restock but I don’t have to be here full-time,” she said.
For many, that flexibility can make a huge difference in keeping their business running.
Shop owners also say the space offers a sense of collaboration and support.
“The collaboration and the collective of the women supporting each other, keeping an eye on each other’s shops and just helping create a space that doesn’t require me to be here full-time,” Vann said.
As small businesses continue to face economic challenges, places like Olive’s Eatery are providing not just opportunity, but a way for owners to keep growing.