PLATTSBURGH — The North Country Chamber of Commerce’s 112th annual awards dinner brought out all the “stars” for its Viva Las Vegas themed, sold-out event Friday night.
More than 375 people attended the event, which featured all the glitz and glam of the Neon City. From sequins and glitter to casino flair, all attendees were encouraged to dress the part to honor the 2024 Business of the Year, Businessperson of the Year, Small Business of the Year, and Trailblazer.
The chamber also honored the 2023 Chamber Board Chairperson for her work on their behalf.
“I believe the Chamber has once again selected and honored an outstanding group of regional business leaders,” Chamber President and CEO Garry Douglas said.
“From regional to small businesses to individuals, they have all made a positive difference in the North Country economy and are continuing to do so. We applaud and congratulate each of them.”
BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
North Country favorite Stewart’s Shops is the chamber’s coveted 2024 business of the year.
Though no stranger to winning awards, Stewart’s Shops’ new chief operating officer, Chad Kiesow, called the honor “humbling.”
“We have been in the market up there (in Plattsburgh) for quite some time doing what we do,” Kiesow said.
He said overall, it has been a great award season for the business, which included recent honors of the Best Milk in New York State and the Best Eggnog in North America, as well as several first place nods for ice cream flavors in the North American Dairy Awards.
“So it’s nice to see recognition that there wasn’t anything splashy or bright that had to get the recognition, it’s just the day in day out servicing of the area we do that appears to have gotten the attention of the community, so it’s flattering.”
Stewart’s has had a strong presence in the North Country and beyond since it was established in 1945. The business originated when the Dake brothers purchased a small dairy and ice cream business in Ballston Spa, which evolved into the first Stewart’s ice cream shop.
Now led by the second and third generations of the Dake family, including Chairman Bill Dake and President Gary Dake, the company is thriving as both a family business and an employee-owned entity.
“Stewart’s is an incredible upstate success story, playing a huge and positive role in the daily needs and lives of communities across the North Country, including a major charitable commitment to many local causes,” Douglas said.
“And they never rest on their laurels, continuing major investment in new and upgraded stores across the landscape. We thank them for their broad and deep role in building the North Country economy and their exemplary commitment to the region and its needs!”
Today, there are over 350 locations in New York and southern Vermont and a workforce exceeding 5,000.
Looking ahead to the future, Kiesow said Stewart’s plans to keep looking for ways to expand its operations, whether that includes adding more locations or new offerings like a chicken maple waffle sandwich this year.
“We have a lot of shops in a small density of area in New York state. So we don’t look at a town and say, ‘Well, we have five stores there, we’ve got it covered.’ There’s always a traffic pattern or a community that isn’t quite served or we’re not convenient to so we’re always out and about looking for other opportunities,” he said.
“We strive to become less and less of your typical store and be more of a meeting spot, or a restaurant or whatever you want the local Stewart’s to be to you. We continue to build out our fruit and food offerings and in particular, really rotating through different flavors and meal items throughout the year to keep things fresh.”
Stewart’s says their success is anchored in vertical integration, employee ownership and strong values.
As an example, Kiesow pointed out that there is plenty of opportunity for their employees to move up the ranks.
“We’re pretty proud of our layers as we would describe them … You can be a shift supervisor, you can be an assistant shop manager, you can be a shop manager and then there’s certainly district staff,” he said.
“It is always heartwarming to see the person who felt they came to us to work their way through college and 10 years later, they look back and they see that they found a career at Stewart’s. That’s a very common story here.”