By JADA HART
Staff Writer
With newer ways to be creative and connect, many small business owners and creators are on the rise in Albany N.Y. They are giving back to the community while also trying to discover how the city can support them.
One of them is Mike Milliron. 31, the CEO and owner of one of Albany’s newest coffee shops on 811 Madison Ave, Iron Coffee Co. The roastery opened up on Sept. 18, 2021, making it Milliron’s second location for his shop after his Iron Coffee Co. cafe in Hoosick Falls, N.Y.
Milliron, born and raised in Schoharie County, N.Y. moved to Albany in 2009 and began roasting his own coffee in 2014, “right off of Delaware ave on Marshall street, in a garage of course where all businesses seem to start,” he says.
Six months into his newfound hobby, Milliron was invited to work at a highland games event in Catskills, N.Y. where he was able to network and actively work on roasting for others. It was then he decided to upgrade his home roaster, and in 2017 he opened the first Iron Coffee Co. in Hoosick Falls. When looking to expand the brand, Milliron cites the city of Albany being a part of the inspiration not only for the shop, but also his overall business.
“We were looking all over the place… we were looking up in Burlington, Troy, and Saratoga, and then COVID came through and everyone was pretty nervous obviously and I wasn’t too sure what to do, what kind of moves to make. But because of that, I’m like ‘alright. I want to get back to my roots of living and everything, and I wanted to do something about it.’ So that’s when I really started looking into Albany, and that’s when Duke told me about the spot,” he states.
Iron Coffee Co. is right in between Blooms by Marie and Duke’s Barber Shop of Albany. Though business for Milliron has only been operating for the past few months, he shares how supported he feels by the community, surrounding businesses, and the city. He states the mayor was present for the ribbon-cutting and he is “constantly engaging with other businesses” on the block and surrounding area.
“There’s a lot of business owners that are my age, young business owners, that are doing exactly what I’m doing. We all go back and forth on social media and we tag each other in a lot of things and it’s been extremely welcoming… it’s extremely supportive, I’m very fortunate for that.”
The College of Saint Rose also shares Madison Avenue with Milliron. Though he explains times can get very busy with students passing through and intimidation at first, he has “no complaints so far.”
Iron Coffee Co. offers different forms of espresso, brand merchandise such as shirts, stickers, lighters, and more for the community. They offer a ten percent discount to students and healthcare professionals and are hoping to expand the brand even further in Albany with local events.
Milliron has plans of getting his coffee ground and cold brew cans from Iron Coffee Co. into local stores, purchasing a warehouse, and even collaborating with businesses in the area.
Milliron has shared his gratitude for his new success and has a positive outlook on the future of working in Albany. The relationship between Iron Coffee Co. and the community supplies an example of the ongoing relationship between local businesses and the city of Albany. Additional thoughts regarding the local business community Milliron states “I’m not too sure if there’s anything more I can ask from the city of Albany, cause it’s the people that run the show” and “It’s the backbone of America, to begin with… It’s everything to me.”
Tamera White, Troy resident, and owner of the Lark Street Mercantile, speaks similarly but offers more insight into business owners who are simultaneously creators and artists within the Albany community.
Lark Street Mercantile is a vendor-based retail store featuring makers and artists from upstate New York that opened in March of 2020. “Small businesses within a small business,” described by White, the shop sells art, clothing, furniture, accessories, cosmetics, and provides sewing services.
Once a previous vendor who sold sewing goods for the shop, White became manager of the store in January 2021 and became the owner in August 2021, since the owners were moving out of state.
“The previous owners… their vision was to create a space that’s accessible for local artist to have their stuff in a prime retail location and be able to afford that… and helping people just starting their business was really vision which I thought was a really great idea, so that’s what I’ve continued as well.”
White, like Milliron, feels very supported by the community, citing Lark street and center square as a source of support. Despite what she calls “the strange circumstances of last year,” referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, she is very grateful for those who engage with the store by coming to see it, working with it and purchasing products.
“I feel like there’s an intention within the community to support these small local businesses. I feel like people realize the value, and they appreciate being able to buy things that were made by people in their own neighborhood.”
White shares how she’s felt the support by the city of Albany as well citing the Lark Street Business Improvement District (BID) as an organization that has been actively engaged with Lark Street Mechintile.
Lark Street BID is a non profit organization who cites their goal on their website “to build, sustain, and enhance a unique and prosperous living and business community for the residents, visitors, and merchants of the Lark Street Neighborhood of Albany, N.Y.” The organization is responsible for some of Albany’s popular events such as LarkFest, Art on Lark and A Taste of Lark street, giving Capital Region residents and businesses an opportunity to connect and collaborate. White, shares that these events often bring her more visitors and customers.
White says the only true problem with working in the area is the minimal parking accessibility, but other than that hasn’t faced much challenges.
Similar to Milliron, she cites the pandemic and the city’s reaction to it as an intimidating factor in running the business, but was able to see the light in it.
“It affected the spirit… as a small business owner even before I owned this store and I think that was a huge challenge for everybody, but I think it helped people realize how important that is and how important being able to engage with people is. Out of something really challenging and kind of devastating I think that there’s always learning from that and it opens our eyes to different ways of doing things.”
White shares that her business offers “the community needs,” and in the future the store will be expanding by offering produce, the ability to stock more items and provide easier visibility.
She hopes the city can provide more opportunity for people to open a business such as funding and space and hopes they can continue monitoring along with ongoing support of those who are present in the community.
Jehlani Commander is a senior communications student at the College of Saint Rose who is also a local business owner. At 21, she is the owner of her own clothing brand, LILWAVE, that specializes in making t-shirts, jackets, sneakers and “a little bit of everything else.”
Commander speaks from experience as an in-house business owner and maker as she’s been running LILWAVE since 2015 and moved her business when she got to Albany in 2018.
According to her website, “LILWAVE is a black-owned unisex apparel brand that stands for Learn, Win, Evolve. We focus on igniting cultural shifts and getting people to “FEEL” again in style and quality. We firmly believe that evolution calls for the acceptance of struggle, diversity, and individuality.”
The business was inspired by classmates as a means to make profit and have fun but eventually grew into a long term passion for fashion, art and design.
Commander cites the only con to working in the community as it being “very small” and hopes to branch out to other locations and potentially open a small shop for Albany. However she looks forward to opening up new collections and admires the rise of other business owners.
“There is a lot of talent in Albany, and I really love to see it.”
