Downtown Oxford

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by: Jessica Lewis

Although many of the businesses in downtown Oxford have been operating for many years, some new ones are starting to pop-up and some business owners think that could be a good sign for the future of Oxford.

Ken and Nancy Ryan opened Canal Street Hardware 17 years ago as a retirement project. At the time, the couple had no idea the business would grow to include such a vast array of items nor that they would learn so much.

Ken explained that over the years he has developed a loyal customer base in Oxford. “Dairy farmers are good customers. Oxford is fortunate to have more dairy farmers than any other town in the county,” Ken said. The store owner explained that he has seen a lot of new customers as well. “If you’re doing a good job on something, word gets around,” he said.

Canal Street Hardware currently employs three full-time and three part- time workers in addition to the two owners.

Ken explained that there are challenges to owning your own business, including high taxes in Chenango County, the cost of workers’ compensation and the occasional difficult customer. “The challenges are different with your own business, but it beats working for anybody else by a whole lot,” Ken said.

One thing people may not realize about the Oxford business, Ken and Nancy say, is that they can special order any item and that they stand behind every product they sell. “If you have a problem, bring it to us and we’ll take it on for you,” Ken said, explaining that he thinks the store can out-perform the big box retailers on the service side.

While the Ryans have been in the business for years, they say they are still learning things every day. “You get asked about things a lot, and you learn a lot, but just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, someone shows you something you didn’t know,” Ken said.

Like the Ryans, Charles Race started Race’s Plaques and Trophies as part of his retirement plan. Race, who wears many hats, has been in the trophy business since 1975, but his business didn’t make it to Oxford until 1983. As the current Village Justice, a licensed insurance broker and the past owner of Chenango Medical Home Care, it’s hard to imagine how Race has time to attend to all of his duties. “It gives me something to do every day,” he said when asked about his busy schedule.

Race has scaled the business back a little bit over the years, especially after the flood of 2006. “I used to do hundreds a week for auto shows and it just got to be too much.” He explained the process of building trophies or plaques which can involve cutting columns, assembling pieces, cutting brass, creating a base and engraving items. “I can engrave anything as long as it is flat,” Race said, explaining his electronic computerized engraver.

Race regularly provides trophies for the Rite-Aid Drug Quiz, Clyde Cole Trophies, plaques for area fire departments, Rotary Clubs and town and village offices.

When compared with Canal Street Hardware and Race’s Plaques and Trophies, Kathleen Moser and her cafe Clachan Coffee House is relatively new to the downtown scene. Going into her fourth year as an Oxford business owner, Moser opened the shop because she liked coffee and knew she wanted to live and work in the Oxford area. “I thought this was something I could do,” Moser said.

With an array of beverages, including coffee from South Otselic’s Chenango Roasters and two Rochester area roasters, Moser tries to give her customers a gourmet experience.

She also tries to offer her customers an array of ever-changing items. Locally baked food items, made by Julie Ives of Guilford, are constantly on hand. Additionally, Moser keeps an assortment of goods made by local vendors. While some of the products Moser has offered since the shop opened – like a line of hats and shirts with the coffee house logo, and local photography – the inventory has grown to include locally produced honey and similar items.

Like other Oxford business owners, Moser has more than one passion. Photography has always been one of her hobbies, and Moser sells her own line of postcards and note cards in the shop.

While the shop attracts the young and the old, Moser explained there have been many challenges. “The seasonal challenge is always difficult. At some parts of the year, you’re holding your breath and trying to remember if it was this slow the year before. That in and of itself is a challenge,” Moser said. But the business owner says the biggest challenge is trying to compete with larger retailers. “The biggest challenge as a small business owner is being a small business owner,” Moser said. She explained that big box retailers are able to get more products at a cheaper price, and it is hard for small businesses to compete. To battle that set back, Moser has utilized advertising, discount cards and trying to read her customers to know what they will like.

In the coming year, Moser hopes to add to her business by selling gourmet, whole bean coffee by the bag. “I want the shop to become a destination point for gourmet coffee,” she said.

The coffee shop owner explained that she thinks Oxford is heading in a good direction. With two new businesses – Doughnut World and China Wok – opening within the next couple of months, Moser hopes the additions to Oxford’s downtown will enhance all of the other businesses.

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