to work — find out why they say it’s good for business

Barb Belna and her daughter, Chris Belna, with their dogs, Bella (left) and Bailey. Chris Belna owns A La Carte Business Services and Arete HCM Solutions in Syracuse.

Trending: Pets in the Workplace

Small business owners say having pets in the workplace raises morale, customer engagement

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

First-time shoppers at DeVine Designs by Gail in Fulton expect to see floral arrangements by owner Gail Jones and an array of gift items. What they likely don’t expect is a greeting from Kooper and Kali, her great Danes or Mia, her Boston terrier.

“Kooper has more fans than I do,” Jones said. “People now come in to see the dogs, especially Kooper. He can just look over the counter to greet everyone, like he’s saying, “May I help you?”

Her large dogs also offer her companionship and protection if she remains at the shop alone late at night. Jones keeps the dogs behind the counter so they cannot contact customers unless customers want to pet them. She has crate trained the dogs so that if a customer feels uncomfortable, Jones can send them to the back of the store. Mostly, the dogs sleep the day away.

“I think it’s wonderful when I go to stores and see they’re pet friendly,” Jones said. “I think it’s terrific. When people see Kooper, their problems disappear for a few minutes. They want to talk about Kooper and forget about their problems for a little bit.”

Because of his size, many customers ask how tall he is, where he sleeps and how much he weighs. A few ask Jones if she has a saddle for him, even.

“They’re gentle giants,” she said of great Danes.

Unwittingly, Jones has made her pooches part of her store’s branding.

“I have people call who can’t remember the name of my shop — espe

cially people from out of town — and they ask if this is the place with the great Dane,” Jones said. “They remember that this is the right shop where they stopped before. It makes a mark in their memory.”

Flossy, the cat at the dental office

Some people visit the dental office of Anthony J. Tabone, D.D.S. in Auburn for more than just a cleaning or filling. Flossy the cat and her three feline friends, Slick, Walla and Soffi, draw some patients to the office.

Somehow, the office has become a magnet for stray cats. Tabone said that for the past 20 years, he has both housed cats at the office and at his home. He has also found homes for about 300 strays.

“This seems to be a haven for strays and we’re suckers for animals,” he said. “It’s something we feel we have to do. We try to give them the best life they could ask for. The majority are skittish. It’s hard to see an animal looking at you wanting help but it is too afraid.”

He maintains a place for the cats in the back, vaccinates them and feeds them. The cats live at the dental office.

“We are cognizant of patients’ allergies,” Tabone said. “If you walk in, you wouldn’t know we had an animal in here. We have an older woman who comes in just to pet the cats, not even on a day where she has treatments. She comes in to play with the cats for about an hour.”

Nervous patients sometimes visit with the kitties to relieve their anxiety.

So far, no interviewees for positions at the office has mentioned cat allergies. Tabone asks within the first 10 minutes.

“One hundred percent of the people are excited we have cats,” he said. “One hygienist interviewed because of our relationship with cats. She specifically came here because of the cats. Without fail, there has not been anyone to my knowledge who has said ‘Why do you do that?’”

The employees enjoy petting cats during down time as a means of stress relief.

The cats do not roam the office, but patients can interact with the cats whenever they would like.

Tabone compares his cats with therapy dogs in hospitals.

“I’ve had my share of people tell me that why they chose our office is that we have a unique quality to it,” Tabone Gail Jones, owner of DeVine Designs by Gail in Fulton, with Kooper, one of her four dogs at her shop: “Kooper has more fans than I do,” Holmes says. “People now come in to see the dogs, especially Kooper.

Flossy is one of four cats that greet patients at the dental office of Anthony J. Tabone, D.D.S. in Auburn. “We’re suckers for animals,” Tabone says.

Bella and Bailey: Two mascots

Lesley Wilcox is director of operations at A La Carte Business Services and Arete HCM Solutions in Syracuse, which are businesses that welcome two dogs most days of the week.

Wilcox said that Chris Belna, the owner, brings Bailey, and her mother, Barb Belna, who performs administrative work at the businesses, often brings in her pooch, Bella.

“It’s very positive,” Wilcox said. “Bella when she comes in, likes to sing. She will start singing and it’s quite funny. We have treats for them. A lot of times, Bailey lies in her bed under Chris’ desk. They’re well behaved and don’t run around and bark.”

Usually, the dogs attend meetings with Chris and Barb.

“I don’t think we’ve had a client or visitor object,” Wilcox said. “They love everyone who comes in, except UPS, Fed Ex or the Postal Service. Otherwise, they love everyone who comes in. And belly rubs.”

Wilcox thinks that having pets in the office creates a more easygoing atmosphere and brings more fun to the company’s culture. Any applicants are told in advance of the dogs’ presence and so far, it has not been a problem.

For any others considering office pets, Wilcox said that if the animals are well-behaved, “why not? It creates a different type of atmosphere and another ‘teammate’ or a mascot for the business. It puts a smile on people’s faces. Why not give it a try?”

Walla, one of four cats at a dental office in Auburn.

For people seeking both a cat fix and caffeine fix, Alisha Reynolds recently opened Pawsativitea CNY in the CNY Regional Market. Reynolds has worked on opening the cat café since January; however, the pandemic put her plans on hold a few months.

The café offers the typical coffee shop fare — beverages and baked goods — and it includes a separate cat lounge area, where customers can mingle with more than a dozen felines available for adoption through the SPCA and from CNY Cat Coalition and other cat rescues. Guests unable to adopt a cat are also welcomed to simply enjoy the feline’s company.

“There’s a bunch of colleges in the area and if the students miss their cats at home, they can drop in and get their fix,” Reynolds said. “It’s also for people who live in apartments that don’t allow pets. If they move to a different place, they can take one home.”

The locally sourced cats will have their adoptions processed through their respective organizations. Those from out-of-town rescues, Reynolds will handle by requiring an application and a fee to cover the alterations and first rounds of vaccination shots.

Reynolds earned a bachelor’s degree in fine art and an associate degree in culinary art from Mohawk Valley Community College. Her café reflects her education, as she features feline art and she bakes some of the cookies, muffins and cupcakes. A local bakery will make vegan treats. Gluten-free goodies are also in the works.

The shop also sells a few locally made gifts and cat items.

Reynolds first visited a cat café while visiting Norfolk, Virginia. in 2017. That planted the idea to start one back home in Central New York. Reynolds didn’t forget her dream of the cat café but continued working until the time was right. She has enjoyed cats her entire life. At home, she keeps four cats, plus 11 birds.

“I’ve had so many missed opportunities; I wanted to do something for myself,” she said.

Last December, she was working three jobs, one in retail, another at a restaurant and a third in banking. Despite this, she filed her LLC, signed a lease Dec. 31 and worked on renovating her rental space until late August 2020. Her lease included three spaces that she Alisha Reynolds first visited a cat café while in Norfolk, Virginia. “I’ve had so many missed opportunities; I wanted to do something for myself,” she says.

joined to form the café.

Reynolds partners with shelters to provide the cats available for adoption. The cats live at the café with their own litter and feeding area away from the seating area. The “kitty side” occupies two-thirds of the 1,200 total square feet.

She and her husband, Ron, put a lot of sweat equity into the shop to prepare it for customers. They purchased and refurbished seating and crafted a wood slab for the shop’s countertop.

“People can just watch,” Reynolds said. “A few people want to go see cats but their friend might be allergic.”

The café features a double door buffer system to make sure no kitties slip into the café side. Only beverages are allowed into the cat room.

“The health inspector said that it’s a cool concept and as long as we keep everything where it belongs, that’s okay,” Reynolds said.

Pawsativity Café CNY (https:// pawsitiviteacny.wixsite.com/home) is at CNY Regional Market, 2100 Park Street, Space 309.

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

A wedding party of Gino and Selma Ruggio last year at Bayshore on the shore of Lake Ontario. This is one the few events that took place at the popular venue, run by Broadwell Hospitality Group. Approximately 80% of the weddings BHG had on the books this year were postponed and 5% were canceled. Photo of Marianne Natoli-Horning.

Left at the Altar

CNY wedding industry trying to make up for canceled, postponed 2020 weddings

Anightmare scenario for anyone involved in a wedding — from the wedding party to even the DJ — is that either the bride or groom will have cold feet. Their nerves get the best of them and they pull the plug at the last minute.

While not a common phenomenon, it’s not unheard of. What is unheard of, however, is an entire season’s worth of brides and grooms getting cold feet.

Yet, that’s exactly what businesses in the wedding industry have been grappling with since the start of the year.

The spread of COVID-19 put weddings on hold when the state went into lockdown in March and later on when regions started to reopen, gatherings were capped at 50 people. A court ruling

By Payne Horning

eventually expanded that to 50% of a wedding venue’s capacity, but the uncertainties and many state regulations prompted many couples to rethink their plans — some canceling altogether, others postponing, and a few deciding to move forward with their 2020 date, but with substantial changes.

It’s not just the wedding parties that are affected, though.

Hundreds of businesses in Central New York count on the revenue that the annual wedding season brings in, like the Broadwell Hospitality Group (BHG). It owns the wedding venues Bayshore on the shore of Lake Ontario and Alexandria’s, which utilizes the Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center at Oswego’s Best Western Plus located on the Oswego River.

“Financially speaking, it’s probably been as bad as it can be,” said John Sheffield, business development manager for the Lake Ontario Event & Conference Center. “Make no mistake; this has been a terrible year financially for all businesses that cater events. There is simply no making up for lost revenue. The only saving grace is that most of our New York state conferences and weddings have decided to postpone until 2021, and we will still have them but we, and those in our industry, have lost a year.”

Approximately 80% of the weddings BHG had on the books this year were postponed and 5% were canceled. Sheffield notes that even those wed-

dings that have gone forward weren’t the same experience as originally planned due to the state rules that affect almost every aspect of the event. Fewer people are allowed to attend, guests must wear masks whenever they are not seated, hors d’ouevres stations are not being used anymore — even the buffet was impacted as only the staff are able to handle the shared utensils.

The situation has been no better for Springside Farm LLC, an agritourism farm in Fabius. The venue’s 5,000-square-foot Harvest Barn and bucolic scene make Springside a popular destination for weddings. Yet owner Paulie Drexler said that of the 21 that were on the calendar from March through September only two have taken place. Five celebrations were canceled and 12 have been moved to 2021. One bride even threatened a lawsuit because the state-mandated capacity limits interfered with her plans.

Drexler said in some ways, though, she’s more fortunate than others.

“We actually prefer to tell people that we’re a farm that hosts weddings, not the other way around,” Drexler said. “So, for some wedding venues this has been like, ‘Oh, my God!’ because it was their entire way they made income. We have alternatives.”

Springside enjoys an influx of visitors every fall for their pumpkin patch and corn maze and have thousands of trees ready for the picking this Christmas season, which Drexler says will “save her bacon” this year. Still, it’s hard to ignore the fallout from the pandemic.

Weddings provide a lump sum of several thousand dollars per event to venues and vendors. With cancelations, that money is gone. Drexler has even refunded some of the nonrefundable deposits couples are contractually obligated to pay. There’s also the drop in the total foot traffic this year that weddings bring to Springside each summer, which usually can be counted on to bring guests back for the pumpkin patch or Christmas trees later on. And then there’s the fact that even those weddings that were pushed to 2021 come with a cost.

“It’s impacted next year because we’re honoring the contract for this year’s prices,” Drexler said.

Jonathan Paduano, owner of Classy Cat Entertainment that provides DJing and related wedding services, said postponements also take a spot that could have otherwise been used for another event.

“For those couples that have post

The cancelation of most wedding parties over the last few months has affect hundreds of businesses in Central New York that count on the revenue that the annual wedding season brings

poned to 2021 — a tradeoff of that is the postponement kind of takes over a day that we could have otherwise sold,” Paduano said. “So in that case, it is lost revenue. As an entertainment company, it’s definitely going to be a struggle monetarily.”

Rather than writing off the entire 2020 season, though, wedding industry businesses like Paduano’s are finding creative ways to fill the void.

Paduano said his company’s smartphone trivia game, which started as a way to entertain wedding parties during the rehearsal dinners, has now taken off as its own business. Classy Cats offers a live, virtual trivia night for businesses looking for ways to let their employees get together in a safe environment. Le Moyne College in Syracuse jumped on board as well to give students and even the school’s alumni a way to socialize while avoiding any spread of the coronavirus.

Perhaps the best thing about this new endeavor, Paduano said, is the additional exposure it gives to his business. Drexler is using the same tactic. She has rented out Springside out for group exercise classes this summer and started offering pancake breakfasts with blueberries that were grown on the farm. These events may just be “crumbs” compared to what a wedding brings in, she said, but the wedding business will eventually ramp back up and this puts Springside on the radar of every new visitor they can get on the farm.

“The exercise classes, for example, we just get a very low rental fee for the facility. We don’t charge much,” She said. “It’s good, but we put it in the category of maybe they’ll come back in the fall. Usually I credit that stuff to just another form of marketing, really, for other things.”

And even if the coronavirus does not disappear as suddenly as it arrived, weddings won’t cease altogether. Those in the industry are already experimenting with workarounds like catering their packages and prices to smaller events.

Paduano said couples are exploring new arrangements as well. He worked one wedding recently where the bride and groom decided to hold two marriage parties in one weekend. The celebration was repeated to ensure that their entire guest list was able to share in their special moment while still complying with the state-mandated capacity limits.

“It was a great idea, and it worked out exceptionally,” Paduano said. “They got exactly what they wanted and got to do it twice, which is not common. I mean, they’re one of a few rare people that can say they celebrated the best day of their lives two times. That’s just one of the creative ideas that are couples come up with.”

Sheffield also credits couples for how cooperative they have been. He said BHG’s relationships with its customers has actually strengthened this year due to the need for increased communication. But perhaps the most meaningful thing Sheffield said he has seen is how many couples moved forward with their vows in small ceremonies or at the courthouse, choosing to wait for the party. It’s a reminder that weddings are not just about extravagant affairs, but about the love they celebrate.

“All of these couples remaining true to their wedding plans has warmed our hearts on a personal level because this shows us that where these new couples are concerned, their commitment to one another is what is most important to them,” Sheffield said. “It speaks well of the human heart in times such as these.”