New Cape Vincent shop mixes coffee with interior design

CNY Business Journal (1996+), Sep 29, 2006 by Erbstoesser, Greg

CAPE VINCENT - North Country entrepreneur Genevieve Chavoustie has created an eclectic business combination by pairing an interior design-consulting business with a gourmet coffee shop.

After more than a year in planning, Chavoustie has set Dec. 1 as the target date, to open her Taste of Design Coffee Shop and Interior Design Center in the center of Cape Vincent in St. Lawrence County.

"There's no cafe like this in Cape Vincent. It started as a small idea," she says of her initial plan to open a gourmet coffee shop.

However, Chavoustie's idea quickly evolved into combining the cafe with her desire to operate her own interior-design business, catering to both residential and commercial clients.

Chavoustie and her husband, Michael, are now busy renovating the first floor of a two-story historic downtown building at 288 E. Broadway St., known locally as the Gregor Building.

The couple purchased the structure in September 2005, Jefferson County records show the couple purchased the building, which she says was built in 1898, for $53,000.

Chavoustie says she has done her homework in developing her business plan.

After researching different coffee companies and flavors, Chavoustie selected Seattle's Best Coffee as the brand she'll serve at her new cafe.

The menu will include Tazo-brand teas, chilled yogurt, and smoothies. She also will offer fresh, homemade muffins and cookies, as well as croissants and bagels.

The shop will feature wireless Internet access and complimentary newspapers and magazines, she says.

"We'll have a few tables and a counter where people can sit, and have a good cup of coffee," she says

The cafe will take up about 800 square feet of the front of the first floor, while Chavoustie will operate the interior-design business in about 400 square feet at the rear of the first floor, she says.

"I want the office to be relaxed and informal," she says. It will have different fabric and wallpaper samples on display.

Chavoustie says she is retaining much of the original character of the building's interior such as its wainscoting and wooden floors. "The colors will be raspberry and cranberry," she says.

The plan is to turn the second-floor space into an apartment, she adds.

Chavoustie says she secured a U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loan through HSBC Bank for close to $250,000 to finance her business venture.

Chavoustie hired Infinite Media, a Watertown-based advertising and media-design firm, to design a logo for her new business, as well as a promotional brochure. A Taste of Design Web site is also in the works, according to Jamie A. Mayer, Infinite Media owner.

Chavoustie, 27, received her degree in interior design from Marie-Victorin College, in Montreal, Canada, in 2000. She has worked as an interior designer with a Montreal-based residential interior-design firm as well as an assistant manager for a Canadian furniture store, she explains.

Her husband, Michael, 32, is manager of his familyowned Aubrey's Inn, a restaurant located in downtown Cape Vincent.

Chavoustie says she plans to oversee both coffee shop and design business through the slow, winter months with the help of a part-time worker for the cafe. More employees will be added during the busy summer tourist season next year, she explains.

Chavoustie ultimately plans to hire an interior designer to assist her as her design business grows.