Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Restaurant adapts to stay hot
Jarek and Susan Wysocki, Culinary Institute of America alumni, are among the thousands of business persons fighting the good fight in a bad economy.
When they bought a small café near Vassar College seven years ago, using equity from their city of Poughkeepsie home to do it, good food and reasonable prices – as well as Jarek’s signature pastries –became a hit among locals and Vassar students.
In 2005, the couple decided to expand Babycakes, tripling it in size and adding dinner to their menu, applying for a liquor license in the process to become a full-service restaurant. A healthy influx of students from Vassar benefited local businesses during the school year, and people were “still dining out and spending,” said Susan. “Summers were slow, but we had tourists coming in. When September rolled around, we counted on students who liked to have lunch off campus, just as other local restaurants did.”
Unfortunately, 2005 was the same September that the state Dept. of Transportation started reconstruction on College Avenue, putting in needed improvements. “Essentially, the streets became a mini-war zone,” said Susan. “Construction lasted for months, and this became an area to avoid. We still had our college students coming in, but as far as bringing in people from the surrounding areas, business had definitely fallen off.”
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