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Business, Family-Style
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Business New Haven
8/9/1999
By: BNH
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Farace's Market, located at 306 Race Brook Road in Orange, is a family business that literally involves the entire family. Now run by Richard Farace, the third generation in the business, it's a store with a personal touch.
When did Farace's first open, and when did it move to Orange?
My grandfather [James] and father [Gerald] began the business in 1948 at 511 Howard Avenue in New Haven, where the firehouse is now located. Called Jimmie's Quality Market, it was a small location with two aisles, a meat counter and a six-foot fresh-produce section. Ninety percent of their business was delivery. My father wanted a bigger store and decided to move in 1967. My grandfather had to be convinced to come out to Orange; he wanted to stay at the old site but it was just too small.
How many people in your family are or have been involved in the business?
My grandmother [Peggy] worked in the store until she died six years ago. She was a kind of good-will ambassador, answering the phone and talking to everyone. In the early days she handled the cash register. My grandfather always handled the meat counter and my father handled the rest of the business. When my parents married in 1959 my mother [Phyllis] began working here. My brother David and I grew up in the store and we both worked here when we were in high school. My wife [Janice} worked here for six years until our first child was born. My grandfather still worked behind the meat counter until two years ago. He was 89 when he retired.
Most of the non-Farace employees have worked here for years, too. Why do they stay so long?
We're lucky we don't have much turnover in hired help. They stay because we make them feel like family - they are our extended family. Some even spend the holidays with us. We treat them the way we want to be treated. To keep things going smoothly we have to bend a little.
Were you always expected to go into the family business?
No, in fact when I was home in the summertime when I was in college my father wouldn't let me work here. He wanted my to get the feel of work outside the family business, so I worked on the grounds crew at Race Brook Country Club. My father really never wanted me to go into this business. The hours are very long. But when he died in 1984 my mother needed help. I was going to work here for a short time and my brother was going to take over, but he went into the computer business. So I stayed.
What accounts for the success of the business?
It works because what my father and grandfather started hasn't changed - we're a grocery store on a very personal level. It's that simple. We don't sell flowers and hardware; that's not what we do. We provide a service meat counter, rare these days. Our prepared foods are all made by my mother. We do phone orders and delivery and catering. We know 95 percent of our customer's names. My father used to walk around here Christmas Eve with a Santa's hat serving eggnog and cookies. Frankly, we do things big stores just can't do.
Do you want your children to go into the business?
No. I start baking at 5:30 a.m. and don't leave here most nights until 7 p.m. I spend more time here than at home. And things happen - then the hours are longer.
Naugatuck Expands Courses
WATERBURY - Naugatuck Valley Community-Technical College is offering fall courses that can be taken at home for credit. Designed for students who need flexibility in course scheduling and learning media, the curricula employ a combination of printed course materials, the Internet, CD-ROM and e-mail. Some courses may include face-to-face sessions. Courses being offered include composition, technical writing, introduction of multimedia, elementary statistics, pre-algebra, principles of marketing, digital imaging and general psychology. Fall classes begin September 7.
NVCTC is also offering express courses in a number of subjects that can be completed in eight weeks. To meet the overwhelming demand for homemaker/home-health aides, the school offers several HHA training sessions for the fall semester. The behavioral and social science division will offer three new options to students interested in careers in criminal justice/public safety: law enforcement, corrections and security. The behavioral and social sciences division has created a child and family services option for students interested in careers in human services. Included are disabilities specialist, gerontology, mental health and social work. For a course schedule call 203-575-8049.
Lunchtime Entertainment on the New Haven Green
NEW HAVEN - The "Do Downtown" series of entertainments for downtown workers and visitors continues on Thursdays on the New Haven Green. The free programs, sponsored by the Town Green Special Services District, run through August. On August 12 Kim Myers, a keyboard artist and singer who performs jazz, rock, soul, R&B, gospel and standards, will perform from noon to 1 p.m. Karen Wagner and Gary Shure bring their "Broadway Cabaret" from 1 to 2 p.m. The Amazing Andy will be walking Chapel Street from Church to York, performing magic tricks and juggling from 12:30 to 1:30.
On August 19 the Passum Glory String Band strums fiddle, banjo and guitar from noon to 1 p.m. From 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. the New Haven Ravens bring "Speed Pitch" the Green. Participants can test their pitching arm and speed against the pros in the radar gun-equipped pitching cage. All events will take place in Chapel Square Mall in case of rain. The lunchtime programs are designed to get more people out on the streets and generate a more positive impressive of the city. For particulars call 203-401-4245.
Connecticut Limo To Expand Routes
MILFORD - Connecticut Limousine has announced that it will add ten new express routes to Bradley International Airport starting October 31. The express routes will originate from Fairfield County, Danbury and the eastern Connecticut/Groton areas. Exact times and fares will be announced at a later date. The decision to add the express routes came after Southwest Airlines announced plans to provide 12 nonstop daily flights from Bradley International Airport, with connections to 29 other U.S. cities.
UB Offers Degree in Acupuncture
BRIDGEPORT - The University of Bridgeport's College of Chiropractic has been granted approval by the state's Department of Higher Education to begin offering a master of science degree in acupuncture, according to the university, the "first comprehensive college or university in New England to offer such a degree." The inaugural class will begin in January.
Arts at the Crossroads
MERIDEN - The Meriden Arts Council and the city of Meriden sponsor Meriden's first-ever juried arts festival, Arts at the Crossroads. The two-day event will take place from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. September 18-19 in downtown Meriden. It is a cooperative effort to enhance and support arts and culture in the area.
Clinton Chamber Concerts
CLINTON - The Clinton Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the last of its 1999 Smith Barney Concert Series on August 12. The concert will feature Tuxedo Junction, playing big-band favorites from the 1940s as well as Dixieland jazz. The concert will take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Vece Gazebo, Pierson School, Main Street, Clinton. It's free.
Hamden Welcomes New Eatery
HAMDEN - Mayor Barbara A. DeNicola recently participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Cape Cod West Restaurant at 2582 Whitney Avenue. Opened in June, the restaurant is owned by Joe Celentano, who grew up in the New Haven area and has 15 years of restaurant experience. Cape Cod West is open for lunch and dinner daily except Monday. It specializes in seafood served in a nautical setting that reflects the Cape Cod theme.
Milford Oyster Fest
MILFORD - The 25th Milford Oyster Festival will take place August 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Milford Green. The event encompasses the entire downtown area including Harbor Landing. Typically drawing more than 60,000 attendees, the event offers entertainment with such notables as Jefferson Starship, scads of food, children's entertainment and rides and an arts and crafts show with more than 200 exhibitors. Classic cars and '50s entertainment will take place at Harbor Landing. Free shuttle buses will originate from the Connecticut Post Mall, Jonathan Law High School and Eisenhower Park. For more information call 203-877-7921.
Placement Organization Opens
MILFORD - First Choice College Placement has opened its doors at 121 W. Main St., Milford. Managed and operated by Brian Schartz and James Maroney, the firm specializes in educational consultation. Servicing Fairfield and New Haven counties, the company offers consultation on college admission, selection and financial processes as well as special services for the placement of athletes.
Ciaburri & Co. Opens New Division
WOODBRIDGE - Ciaburri & Co. has opened a new division, Ciaburri Bank Strategies, which will perform consulting services for community banks and other financial institutions with resources of less than $1 billion. The new division will be led by Michael M. Ciaburri and Joseph V. Ciaburri, founder and former chief executive officer of the Bank of New Haven. Formed in 1992, Ciaburri & Co. specializes in raising debt capital for smaller, closely held corporations.
Small Business Counseling Offered
WATERBURY - The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and Silas Bronson Library have joined forces to provide free counseling to people running or starting small businesses in the Waterbury area. A team will provide hands-on, been-there counseling in general management, marketing, finance, manufacturing, retail, engineering and human resources. SCORE counselors' free advice will be available by appointment on Thursday afternoons and some Tuesdays by calling the library at 203-574-8233.
NHSB Opens New Branch in Southwick
CHESHIRE - New Haven Savings Bank has open a limited-hours (9 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays) branch at Southwick in Cheshire. The new branch will serve residents of the retirement community and will offer full teller services and a complete array of banking services.
Farmers' Market Comes To City
NEW HAVEN - For busy city-types who can't make it to the country to purchase fresh Connecticut produce, the Farmer's Market has come to New Haven. Every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. local farmers are selling seasonal crops at the Ninth Square Farmers' Market, located in Pitkin Plaza on Orange Street between Court and Chapel streets. Sponsored by the Town Green Special Services District, the market will run through the end of October or until the produce run out.
Cheshire Firm Nabs Award
CHESHIRE - The Southern New England chapter of the American Fisheries Society has awarded Milone & MacBroom Inc. the "Outstanding Organization Award" in recognition of the firm's "commitment to maintaining aquatic habit and restoring fishery resources throughout Connecticut using innovation engineering solutions." Based in Cheshire with a regional office in South Carolina, Milone & MacBroom is a multidisciplinary engineering, landscape architecture and environmental-science organization. It is currently working with the state's Department of Environmental Protection to analyze alternatives for anadromous fish passage around seven Connecticut dams.
Liberty Bank To Pay Chamber Dues
MIDDLETOWN - Liberty Bank has offered businesses who are not already members of their local chamber of commerce to pay their basic chamber dues for the first year of membership if the business closes a commercial loan at Liberty. "We want to encourage non-member businesses to become a part of this valuable network, not only for their own benefit, but to strengthen the chambers as well," says William Ryczek, executive vice president for commercial banking at Liberty.
Promotional Products Company Adds Web Site
CHESHIRE - Barker Specialty Co. has unveiled a Web site, www.barkerspecialty.com. The Internet has helped to make it easier for companies of all sizes to enter the global marketplace. The promotional products company, 50 years old next year, added its own site to give customers 24-hour-a-day accessibility to its product line.
Betty Boop & Friends Come To Medical Center
MERIDEN - Herbert and Gloria Barker of Barker Animation Art Galleries have donated original artwork of Betty Boop, Pudgy, Casper, Popeye, Wimpy and Swee'Pea to the MidState Medical Center. Fifty pieces will be on permanent display at the medical facility.
Fleet Adds Business-Solutions Centers
HARTFORD - Fleet Bank has added 14 Business Solutions Centers to branches in Connecticut. Each is managed by a specially trained branch manager and small-business specialist to help process loan applications, open new accounts and answer general inquiries for small-business customers. New locations include East Haven, Guilford, Milford, New Haven and West Haven.
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