At Work - The Observer

30 Supplement to the OBSERVER • Saturday, March 24, 2012 VISION 2012
At home
VISION 2012
Main Street, Westfield
Businesses, community help make downtown strong
By DIANE R. CHODAN
OBSERVER Staff Writer
WESTFIELD —
Business patterns have
changed through the years.
Downtown business districts
have faced fierce competition
from malls and online
shopping.
Nevertheless, in the Village
of Westfield some unique
businesses hang on and
offer special services or
products to residents.
These businesses also
attract customers from out
of the area, creating an economic
impact in the village.
A sampling of Westfield’s
businesses shows that they
have certain things in common.
The businesses are
owned by people who make
their homes in the
Westfield area and are longestablished
ventures. Some
of them are family businesses
that have been handed
down through generations.
Ginny Gollnitz of
Calarco’s Restaurant on
Market Street said the business
can be traced back 77
years. “My grandparents
started as a grocery. Later a
dining room was added,”
she said.
Ginny says she was
“born in the business”
which specializes in Italian
food. Her mom still waitresses
on some days. Her
dad likes to come to the
restaurant and talk to the
patrons. In turn her own
children have worked in the
business, cooking and waitressing.
“One of the draws to the
restaurant is my dad. There
are not many places where
the owner talks to the people.
He makes them feel
like family and they love his
stories.”
The other draw is the
food. Ginny says customers
like her homemade Italian
sauce and her lasagna, as
well as the eggplant parmesan,
pizza and homemade
salad dressing. She said
everything prepared at the
restaurant has an “extra little
touch” which people
enjoy.
Anthony Franchina III,
who owns Tony’s Shoe
Repair on North Portage
Street is a third-generation
shoe repairer who learned
the trade from his dad. He
has a picture showing the
three generations, Anthony
Franchina Sr., Anthony
Franchina Jr. and his image
on a wall in his shop. His
dad still does shoe repair in
Jamestown. Tony has
worked at this trade for 20
years.
Besides shoe repair,
Tony can repair purses, luggage,
and baseball gloves,
which he said, is often
requested this time of year.
In addition, he sells shoes
and boots (and can order
specific brands), does custom
embroidery, and can
replace zippers.
Tony lives in Westfield
with his wife Jackie and
their two daughters Emily,
16, and Elizabeth, 12. He
likes that Westfield is small
and that he gets to know
everybody. On the other
hand, because there are
OBSERVER Photo by Diane R.
Chodan
(Top): Saraf’s Emporium,
one of the unique businesses
in Westfield.
(Right) Calarco’s, a long
time fixture in Westfield,
features Italian cuisine
with a special touch.
fewer people who do shoe
repair, Tony attracts business
from quite a distance.
“People mail me shoes from
all over the country,” he
said.
Larry’s Cantina on North
Portage Street, owned by
John Coe, has been a fixture
in Westfield. Coe said
his grandma bought it from
the original owner in 1965;
See WESTFIELD, Page 31