The town of Esopus isn”™t letting the grass grown under its feet. A group of business owners got together to resurrect the town”™s former business group to promote its attractions, restaurants, hiking trails and historic sites.
Howard Slotnick, owner of Slotnick’s Signs in Rifton, and four other businesses sat down to discuss reviving the Esopus Businessmen”™s Association.
“One thing was certain,” Slotnick said. “It definitely needed a new name.” The Esopus Business Alliance was born in 2009, a byproduct of the Great Recession.
Slotnick, who had to cut back on advertising in the Yellow Pages, started “networking, networking and networking; going to mixers where I’d run into existing and potential customers.” Slotnick and Jessica Winchell, owner of the Global Palate Restaurant in West Park, met at one function through a mutual friend. “I was just as excited about the prospect of starting our own business alliance. We were caught in the upheaval of the crash, and we are a town with a mountain between us. …There was definitely a need to pull everyone together.” She joined and was chosen as the alliance”™s vice president.
There are more than 200 businesses in the town and 65 of them have joined the EBA to date.
“We”™ve got some great members,” said Slotnick, “and not all of them are businesses ”“ Scenic Hudson and the John Burroughs Society are among them.” Nonprofits and faith-based organizations are encouraged to join.
“Belonging to this group has really given me a sense of community,” Winchell said. “My business is so time-consuming, I felt disconnected. Now, I”™ve seen people coming into the restaurant and we know each other and have things in common to talk about.”
The Esopus Business Alliance joined the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce so its members would have more opportunities to network.
“I also attend roundtable discussions and report back to the group what”™s happening here in the county,” Slotnick said. Members can participate if they are available, and Slotnick and Winchell. “We’ve had mixers at Mount St. Alphonsus and at the Esopus Lighthouse so our business owners can become more aware of what we have to offer people coming into Ulster. The idea is to encourage people to shop local and for our businesses to keep money in the community, as well as to build up our reputation as a destination.”
“It’s all about what the business owner is willing to put into it. If they get involved, they also reap the benefits of getting to know potential customers and their neighbors,” Slotnick said.
For Winchell and her husband, Brad, who opened Global Palate in early 2008, they were thrilled to be hitting all the numbers they projected in their business plan.
“Eight months later, the bottom fell out. We had to cut our sous chef back to two days a week and do much of the work we had hired others for on our own. People weren”™t spending very much. It has gotten much better and we”™ve persevered. Becoming involved in the alliance helped a lot.”
He gauges how business is doing by looking up the new business listings in HV Biz. “The village of New Paltz is also a great barometer. Two years ago, there were no new businesses. …Today, we’re seeing things returning pretty much back to normal and a lot of new business startups.” He also belongs to the New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce as well as the Rondout Business Association.
Winchell considers Port Ewen “a Rhinebeck in waiting. Now that Howard has been hired by the town to put up tourism signs, it”™s going to be a lot easier for people to stop and see how many attractions we have here. As he said, we”™re a town with a mountain in the middle. Getting together is definitely helping to make locals and visitors aware of the trails, kayaking and historic sites we have here, and we have some wonderful businesses and restaurants.”
Many towns and villages are grouping together to help boost the economy, and Esopus is riding the wave. Slotnick and Winchell hope that as new members come on board the EBA will become stronger and more active in the town.
The next EBA mixer will be held June 27 at The Hudson Valley School of Massage in West Park. Prospective members are encouraged to “give us a try,” said Slotnick. To learn more, visit esopusbusinessalliance.org.
