A landmark former diner dating to the 1940s is today sought out by mid-Hudson Valley residents seeking a new life for their vintage furniture.
Inside the portal of the onetime Andy”™s Diner on Route 9 in Wappingers Falls, a dedicated craftsman labors over repairs to often neglected heirlooms. Glenn DiCocco has been plying his trade since his father, Louis, owned the shop and named it Sunburst Antiques, reflecting the sunburst pattern standard on antique drawers. His son retained the Sunburst designation upon renaming it Sunburst Furniture Repair & Restoration to reflect its new purpose.
“It”™s about restoring my clients”™ families,” says the Sunburst craftsman. “That”™s what”™s so valuable about my business. It”™s not just the piece of wood. It”™s what”™s behind it. They walk by that piece, and they”™re walking by their mother or father. You can”™t put a price on that.”
DiCocco cut his professional teeth in auto body work. Born in Yonkers, raised in Wappingers Falls and graduating from John Jay High School, he moved to Florida, worked in the auto body field and attended Palm Beach Junior College. Returning home, he earned an associate degree from Dutchess Community College.
“People don”™t realize how much labor is involved,” says DiCocco, self-taught in addition to attending seminars on retouching and repair. His contracts include several moving companies, liable for claims if any harm comes to furniture in transit. “I do a lot of work for West Point personnel,” he adds. “The military moves so much that damage to furniture is inevitable.”
The most challenging job that DiCocco ever tackled was reassembling a Hoosier, whose owners didn”™t think it could be repaired. “It was from an old farm house and brought to me in boxes,” he says of the massive piece of furniture. “It was a big kitchen hutch with oak roll top intended for storing bread, spices and kitchen utensils.” DiCocco counts assembling and restoring the piece as a high point of his professional life.
Then there was the all-wooden Amish wheelchair from the 1800s brought in for recaning and the seat needing to be rewoven. Wooden wheels and spokes were also restored.
A tiger maple dresser from the 1800s required extensive detail work. “The name derives from the type of figure that has stripes running prominently perpendicular to the grain of the wood, vaguely resembling a tiger”™s coat,” he says. “This is my favorite wood. The correct stain and finish highlight the furniture.”
DiCocco finds rosewood the most difficult on which to work. “It”™s hard, dense and resists the drill,” he says of the wood, derived from trees often grown in Southeast Asia.
The older pieces that he works on, dating to the 19th century, are usually cherry or maple.
Among the most memorable pieces worked on in the former diner is a harvest table owned by actor Timothy Hutton. “It was used in a movie set,” DiCocco says. “There was a hole running through to accommodate a lamp and hide wires. After its film use, I filled in the hole to blend and at his request made massive legs fashioned to look like they had been originals.”
DiCocco grimaces as he talks of new furniture. “It”™s made of inferior materials that can”™t be worked on in the manner that we work on wood,” he says.
The craftsman”™s wife, Roseann, is employed by the Hudson Valley Credit Union. His daughter, Lea DiCocco, is assistant manager of Hobby Lobby in Wappingers Falls. In his spare time, DiCocco rides motorcycles and fishes, gravitating toward Long Island Sound stripers and blue fish.
Challenging Careers focuses on the exciting and unusual business lives of Hudson Valley residents. Comments or suggestions may be emailed to Catherine Portman-Laux at cplaux@optonline.net.
