On a recent Saturday morning, a Westchester County couple walked into Acorn Farm and Garden Center in Harrison to satisfy their sweet tooth. After chomping down on a freshly baked sugar-raised donut, Robert Yamuder looked up with a grin.
“We were driving by and sold by the donut sign outside,” Yamuder, the village administrator in Pelham, said. “We bought every kind of donut they have here ”“ sugar, cinnamon and plain. This place has a nice down-to-earth feel.”
Acorn sits on a stretch of Mamaroneck Avenue surrounded by corporate office parks. Its unique setup, not to mention stock of gazebos and storage sheds, often gets a double take from the passengers of the 60,000 cars that drive by on the thoroughfare each day.
The size of the storefront is deceivingly small, but Acorn serves as a rest stop for many locals and out-of-towners. It”™s run by three generations of a Westchester County-bred family.
Behind the counter on that recent Saturday sat Pat Acocella, the 81-year-old patriarch, who is this year celebrating the 50th anniversary of the store.
“We”™re just a little spoke in a big wheel,” Acocella said. “Most of our business is done with private homeowners. Some want cabanas to go with their pools. Others want an outdoor shed to put their lawn mowers and snow blowers in. We don”™t sub-contract anything to install the sheds, gazebos, pergolas, picnic tables or wishing wells. We have seven manufacturers, and they deliver everything pre-made and in pieces. We just build it.”
There was never a moment when Acocella felt like he couldn”™t build something he envisioned. As a craftsman who grew up in New Rochelle, he spent most of his life creating woodwork projects using his hands. Even as a young boy, he knew the importance of manual labor because his father taught him how to garden.
“My father said to me if you didn”™t have calluses on your hands when you were a boy, you weren”™t a man,” Acocella said, fiddling with a strap of his black suspenders.
When Acocella was old enough to get a job, he threw on a hard hat and worked as an electrician for a private construction company. After acquiring more hands-on skills, Acocella decided to start his own business, Acorn, in 1963. He bought a 1.25-acre property on Mamaroneck Avenue near Interstate 95 and ran Acorn first as a gardening center, then as a fruit stand and finally added the outdoor living equipment to his inventory list. He said his business grew purely from word of mouth and passersby.
Acocella said he became a business owner by complete accident. He just wanted to throw his passion for woodwork and gardening into a blender and ended up selling an assortment of goods including sheds, gazebos and gardening goods on the side of a road.
If you ask Acocella how his business successfully operated for the past 50 years, he”™ll take no credit. He attributed everything to the help he received from his daughter, Diane Tenaglia, and his son, Pat Acocella, Jr., who are both co-managers of Acorn.
“I mostly sweep the floor,” Acocella said. “Pat, Jr. and Diane do most of the work.”
Tenaglia said out of all of the items Acorn sells, the gazebos were hit hardest by the recession.
“The sale of gazebos has quieted down because of the economic recession,” she said. “It wasn”™t really a necessity but rather a luxury. Last year, we sold a total of four to five gazebos.”
Acorn is not your ordinary one-stop shop for gardening, produce and outdoor needs. It caters to the needs of the community and serves as a meet-up spot. Some residents regularly stop by to chat with the owners.
“I used to come here and shop when I was younger,” said Alice Sands, a 50-year Mamaroneck resident. “I would walk here with my friend and then grab a milkshake from up the road. Now I come here with my neighbor.”
On Sundays, Sands and neighbor Diana Teti meet up for coffee and donuts at Acorn. They are among the store”™s regular customers, and the family knows them by name.
“Those are my girls, and I know they”™ll be back next week,” said Victoria Corbalis, Acocella”™s 19-year-old granddaughter, who looked up to watch the neighbors leave and ducked down to finish restocking the shelves.
Corbalis, who is the youngest worker at Acorn, started out by sweeping the floors and then over time learned how to restock the shelves and make pie boxes. She said although she”™ll give up her summers to work here, she”™s not looking to work at her grandpa”™s business full-time.
“It”™s been nice having a job growing up and never having to look for one,” Corbalis, who is studying theater technical design, said. “Working here, I saw the ups and downs of the economy and what happens to businesses. I also got to spent 24/7 with my family, but it”™s almost time to move on.”
Although Corbalis won”™t be jumping on the bandwagon with the 50-year rich family tradition that kept the business alive, she”™s keeping the family tradition of earning calluses alive. Acocella isn’t that disappointed. He knows everyone should follow their dreams.
“For me, my passion is gadget making,” Acocella said. “I make dollies and wheels and things that move around, and I”™ll spend most of my time in my workshop.”
Yeah to the Acocella Family! Patsy Sr, Diane, Patsy Jr, Jane, Victoria! Great article and proud to say that I worked there for two days “making the donuts” for Diane! Love the place and love the family!!!!