Secret Comix Cave

Oneonta has many businesses around town. From restaurants, bars, and stores, The City of the Hills, has a lot to offer. One business that not too many people in town know about is Secret Comix Cave, Oneonta's own comic book store. They are located on 3200 Chestnut Street and they have a lot of comics to choose from. No matter if you are looking to purchase comics of Superman, Batman, Spider-man, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, or Captain American (just to name a few), Secret Comix Cave has got it all. I interviewed owner, Gary Bedenharn, a recently retired science teacher who always had a passion and love for comic books. Bedenharn decided to open up his own comic book store in July. When I asked him about how important comic books are, he said, “I believe as a teacher, reading is key anyways. So, reading keeps your mind going and comic books is a little bit easier on your mind. You see pictures. You don’t have to visualize as much as you would if you grabbed a novel and stuff. And I feel like it’s actually better than watching TV. They could do a lot more in comic books and graphic novels than they can on television.” Secret Comix Cave also has deals and discounts every month, including buy one comic and get one free and 50% off just too name a few. For more information, make sure you check out their website, http://www.secretcomixcave.com/ and check out and like their Facebook page. So, if you are interested in comic books or you just want to read something fun and exciting, Secret Comix Cave is the place for you.

Sal's Pizza

Get to know Sal's Pizza Shop

By: Sonia Cerdeno , Oneonta New York 

Sal's Pizzeria has been satisfying customers since 1977. It is located in 285 South Main Street, Oneonta, NY 13820. Joey Goaly the owner of Sal’s pizzeria here in Oneonta has been operating Sal's pizzeria for a while now with also the help of some of his family members. Not only does Sal's Pizzeria offer pizza slices it also offers plenty of other popular dishes. The shops customers enjoy going to Sal's because of their acceptable prices and it’s a perfect place to hang out with friends. Every employee at Sal’s treats their customer with love and respect. 

 Sal’s has friendly people behind the counter at all times. The amount of people coming in and out the shop is insane which makes the company a great business. Eating a slice or any other dish at Sal's would remind you of eating a slice in the city of New York!   They have a variety of pizza selections and also some selections you might not have heard of . They move quick and get you your food as soon as they can just to put a smile on everyone's face. The food is  greasy good. There is a difference between Sal's Pizzeria and any other pizza shop in town. The atmosphere of the place is a little unappealing but it's fast, delicious and friendly.

                    

                           Don't forget to get your amazing slice from Sal's !

Kies Cuts by Billy Riedel

                                     Number one on the field and anything you want on the sides

Kies Cuts Barber Shop. Billy Riedel

 Casy Kies is a student here at SUNY Oneonta where he enjoys hanging out with friends, playing baseball and his true passion cutting hair. Kies has been cutting hair for four years now. It all started when his friend asked for a basic two all around, no fade no scissors just a basic cut. Knowing that this was not a tough task Kies stepped up to the plate and completed the hair cut with ease. After that he started getting more in depth and learning how to blend, fade, tape up and straight razor shaves. “ It is just a hobby of mine. I enjoy the process of taking something that is over grown and turning it into an art.”

Kies now has his very own room in his house dedicated to cutting hair. “It is like I have my own barber shop. I used to have to cut hair in my bathroom but now I go in my shop and it makes me feel and look a lot more professional.” Since his freshman year here at SUCO Kies’ business has grown significantly. It used to be a cut or two a week and now it is 4-7 a day. “I never thought that I would have business cards or even a client base but now that I do, it makes me want to get that much better.

 Being in his senior year Kies plans on continuing his business out of his home and says that if offered a professional spot he would politely decline because “then my hobby becomes work, and I don’t want that to happen.” Kies will continue cutting hair all semester and year with hopes of growing his name and brand as well as becoming the barber he aspires to be.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU76HYWfvBw

Bluefields Cafe

Bluefields Cafe on Walnut Street in Oneonta is a nonprofit recreational and performance space intended to provide the Oneonta college community with a pressure-free environment to socialize and unwind. Opened in the spring of 2008 as an extension of the Main Street Baptist Church, Bluefields hosts open mics, game nights and showcase events, directing all proceeds to service projects in Nicaragua.

Bluefields is the home base of the church's Campus Ambassadors, who provide guidance and assistance to Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta students. On Friday nights, Campus Ambassadors can be seen in front of the MSBC at the corner of Maple and Main Street giving out water and hot chocolate to traveling students.

A major prerogative of the space is its support of service projects in Nicaragua (the cafe actually takes its name from the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region), and members often travel to Nicaragua to participate. Fundraising occurs at Bluefields events, garage sales, labor sales and in private donations.

The cafe also hosts bridal showers, baby showers and other celebrations for the community.

Main View Gallery

By: Michelle Pena and Eileen Argueta (Oneonta, NY) --

Main View Gallery & Studio located on the cross streets of Main and Fairview

      Main View Art Gallery is a center where artistic individuals can express their creative outlet. It is a non-profit organization through the Arc Ostego. Arc Ostego's mission is to create opportunities and provide support for people with intellectual disabilities and special needs fulfill their ambitious goals. The Art Gallery & Studio got its name because it is on the cross streets of MAIN and FairVIEW. Program participants find it very family-orientated and enjoy themselves every time they step into this place.

     There is no place like the Main View Gallery they are very friendly. It is open to the public to buy art and brouse around but they can't actually join the program as it is open only to qualified applicants. Also students can go in and intern/community service but they will have to apply and get some screenings done. I would suggest anyone to stop by and just say Hi! Its a great center!

   
Final video package can be found here --

Green Earth at SUNY Oneonta

               Green Earth at SUNY Oneonta 

By Rosario Rodriguez (Oneonta, NY) 




     For most college students, healthy food is the last thing on their minds. Although Green Earth, located on 4 Market Street, has offered a different perspective that makes students from both Oneonta and Hartwick school go and explore. As their Assistant Manager, Adam Rava states, "We are a health market specializing in different dietary needs. In vitamins and supplements and health groceries." This means that not only does Green Earth offer a much healthy life style, but also a better environment other than just party scenes. Even just by entering, there are customers that love the vibes and atmosphere. As a customer you can sit and order their famous panini or you can go grocery shopping. The company offers all natural, organic products or health vitamins. 

     Not only does Green Earth provide a healthier life style with the students, but it also provides a much happier and safe space to the community as a whole. The relationships that are built are rather personal. Almost as if it was a family business that has been there since the beginning of time. The company does not work with third party distributers, rather they work hands on with local farmers and growers. For Green Earth, their goal is to provide the best and most efficient products as they would want to provide for their community. 

     Not only does Green Earth let you sit and eat and explore the store, but now you can order and have it delivered to your home! So if you are looking for good place to eat, make sure to check what Green Earth has to offer. Make sure to double check their products as well at http://www.greenearthoneonta.com/community. 

Hometown Deli & Grocery

By Chris Clark (Oneonta, NY)

Hometown Deli & Grocery (c) Chris Clark 2016

There's nothing quite like a local deli, and here in Oneonta there is plenty to choose from. One of the best, however, has to be Hometown Deli & Grocery. Hometown Deli & Grocery features fresh, hand-cut meats, produce, micro beers, and groceries. With nearly 300 craft beers to choose from, Hometown Deli has the largest craft beer selection in the area. Cody, a long time employee at Hometown Deli, gave me some more insight about their specialties. 

"The two biggest things for us are our subs and our beer selection. We have about 350 different kinds of beer. We do them as individual picks and we do them as six packs and four packs as well. We also have an assortment of beer on tap, we sell them in growlers."

Hometown Deli & Grocery beer tap (c) Chris Clark 2016

Hometown Deli attracts many costumers daily, local and non-local. They've even had the likes of Dave Chappelle and Donnell Rawlings stop by for some breakfast sandwiches and coffee. Many people enjoy Hometown Deli because of the quality of their sub sandwiches and their vast selection of beer.

"They offer amazing sandwiches as breakfast, lunch, and dinner options" one customer explained. 

Another customer added, "Hometown Deli has a lot of beer to choose from and even kegs if you need them. It's also walking distance from pretty much anywhere in Oneonta which is very convenient". 

Be sure to check out Hometown Deli & Grocery for some of the best beer and subs in town. Located at 61 Spruce Street in Oneonta. 

Susquehanna Animal Shelter

photo via Jennfier Yung 

The Susquehanna Animal Shelter has cared for and rescued a countless number of cats and dogs.  Rebecca Daly, the administrative assistant plays a large role in the animal shelter's day to day operations. Daly, serves as the receptionist as well as many other roles with in the shelter including; running the social media acounts,  helping with events, and facilitating adoptions. The shelter does not recieve any funding from Otsego Country and roles soley off of donations. The animal shelter is always taking donations of any kind. However, the shelter is in need of monatary donations. After a recent influx of cats that came from a hoarding house in West Oneonta, the shelter needs money to care and give the necessary medical  treatment for all the animals that were rescued.

 Almost all of the animals that are in the Shelter are currently up for adoption and looking for their forever home. Daly, stressed the importance of going to a local shelter when looking for your next pet. There are currently millions of perfect cats and dogs sitting in shelters waiting to be adopted. One would be suprised to see how many loving and beautiful dogs there are, that did not exactly have the best start to their lives or could no longer be cared for.

The Susquehanna Animal Shelter is located at 4841 NY-28 in Cooperstown New York. Their hour of operations are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm. The Susquehanna Animal Shelter is always accepting volunteers to come help out with animals. To find out how you can Volunteer, one should contact Rebecca Daly and ask how to go out about volunteering.

Red Rabbit Relics, Your Local Homegoods Store

     Red Rabbit Relics Homegood store also known as Theresa's Emporium located in Oneonta on Main street. Theresa Cytesky is part owner with her sister of this store in Oneonta. Theresa's store was originally a collection of four different stores however they all cohesively meshed together into one Emporium. You can't even tell where one section of the store would start and the other ended.She was born in raised in Oneonta and says that the fact that their store being located in a small town like Oneonta does affect their store however,  "From other stores on main street what makes me different is, there really isn't a all inclusive store on Main street. My store has so many different things." "Our store isn't as busy as NYC by any means however we have a lot of local loyal customers that which helps, since everybody knows everybody they make an effort to shop local."


     Theresa explained that her prices vary anywhere from 5 dollars to 100 dollars. Her inventory varies to any home decor needs and has great gifts for the holiday season. When asked if the competition on Main street affects her store Theresa had a lot to say, "I tell everybody that the more the merrier it's a misconception that one gift shop is a good thing so people have more than one shop because people have more things to come for." Theresa also explained that her cliental is mostly local however during Christmas time she has customers that come around once a year. Theresa's Emporium is a very successful HomeGoods store on main street perfect                                                                                  for all your gifts this holiday season.

More Than Just Fins and Feathers

Fin and Feather of Oneonta

By John Gerardi (Oneonta, NY)--

Sarah Bettiol and her husband opened up Fin and Feather, a tropical pet store, about a year ago.  Since then, they have gotten more popular since their opening, getting business mainly from families with kids between the ages of 5 and 16.  Sarah says that their busiest time of the year had been winter when she speculated that families would be home more often and want a new pet to keep them company.

Sarah had wanted to open up a pet shop ever since she was little.

"I started working at a pet shop when I was 16 and I knew I wanted to own one some day." -Sarah Bettiol

Mixing Business with Pleasure

For the Bettiols, however, it is not all fun and games.  They not only take care of all of the animals, but also all of the financial aspects of the store as well.  Their success thus far is completely independent and they are proud of this.  Their passion is what sets them aside from other franchised pet stores.  They love their animals and look for the best possible homes for them to permanently reside in.  While in the store, they treat each animal as if it's their own, whether it's a huge iguana or a tiny mouse.

Expanding Their Horizons

The Bettiols are looking to expand soon, hopefully bringing in cats and dogs.  Their two year plan is already in effect for this production.  The Bettiols are determined and working hard every day to continue to improve their business in every way that they can! 

Nate's Tire and Auto

There are many different Mechanics located in Oneonta. This causes many college students in Oneonta to be unsure of where they should take their car. One SUNY Oneonta student, Connor Chapman said "I look for someone who is friendly, someone who is not there just to make a buck but actually cares about you like as a customer." This is something that many people do look for in a mechanic as well as obviously the price. 
One mechanic located in Oneonta that many people over look is Nate's Tire and Auto. Which is located at 4 Railroad Ave, next to the depot. According to Nate Fheldon who owns Nate's Tire and Auto "I mean the depot has been around for 20 something years. So a lot of traffic to the area a lot of people who like to eat there. So I would say it defiantly helps the business a lot." 

Nate's Tire and Auto
(C) https://www.facebook.com/Nates-Tire-and-Auto-761653790644129/

Nate does most of the work by himself. He only gets help from his wife on the financials and book keeping. Nate works on a repairs all the vehicles he gets by himself. He works long hours and stays past his scheduled closing time regularly. So that he can catch up on work or to simply make sure his garage is clean and organized. Even putting in extra time most days Nate still only gets to a handful of cars a day. 
Nate puts in a lot of work in order to provide the best car support in Oneonta. He likes to be personal with people. He also believes that the best way to spread word about a buisness is word of mouth. Hearing from a friend about someone who did a good job on your car. Instead of seeing a commercial on TV or on the Internet.