Business notebook: More about Taste of Warwick

Warwick - The 14th annual “Taste of Warwick,” a celebration of the area’s best restaurants, chefs, farms, wineries and a sense of community, will take place next Tuesday, Sept. 11, from 6-9 p.m., at the Warwick Valley Winery, 114 Little York Road. Sponsors of this year’s event are Gilsenan Designs, Inc. and Kuiken Brothers Kitchen and Bath. This year’s participating restaurants just announced are Iron Forge Inn, Jean-Claude’s Patisserie, Bobolink Dairy, Maggie’s in the Alley, Pennings Farm Kitchen, Quaker Creek, Dairy Swirl, Charlotte’s Tea Room, Backyard Grill, Harpoon Bay Seafood Restaurant, Halligan’s Public House, Landmark Inn, W. Rogowski Farm, Amarone’s, Mama’s Boy and Le Baron Restaurant. Peck’s Wine & Spirits and The Warwick Valley Winery will offer wine tasting. Tickets must be purchased in advance and may still be available at participating businesses including Charlotte’s Tea Room at Greetings and Salutations, Frazzleberries, The Inkwell, Mima’s of Warwick, New Beginnings Treatment Spa, Peck’s Wines and Spirits, Rader Floral Designs and Ye Jolly Onion Inn. They can also be purchased in person at the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce caboose office on South St. or purchased and charged by calling Executive Director Michael Johndrow at 986-2720. Renovations at Warwick Car Wash One of the benefits of taking your car to the Warwick Car Wash at 18 Elm St. for a Mobil Express Oil Change or a New York State Inspection is that no appointment is necessary. And, now, even the waiting time has been made more pleasant after recent renovations that include more comfortable seating, a 42-inch flat screen television, 150-gallon salt water fish tank, magazines, coffee, ice cream and a large selection of reasonably priced gifts and automotive accessories. Renovations and improvements to the facility also include new signs explaining services and specials. “I’ve been thinking about some of these changes since I first purchased the business in 1998,” said Paul Leduc who, before becoming owner, had worked for Warwick Car Wash since he was 16 years old. Leduc has recently introduced new car wash packages such as the “Quick detailer,” which takes no longer than an ordinary car wash but includes shampooing floor mats and polishing the dashboard with Armor All. Another innovative idea is the Car Wash Club, a six-month plan that allows unlimited car washes for $32.50 per month. “You save money even if you only wash your car once each week,” said Leduc. “And it’s especially useful during winter when the roads are salted and you need to wash your car more often.” Another one-stop feature on the facility grounds is a full service gas station and a propane tank refill center. For the do-it-yourself types, Warwick Car Wash also has four self-service bays. And at this time of year, some people find the power wash equipment does a great job cleaning their pool filters. Sports memorabilia This coming October, Ken and Betsy Mitchell, owners of Track 7 Postal Center, 5 First St., Warwick, will celebrate their first business anniversary. And they’ve also expanded their retail department to include a large selection of authentic signed sports memorabilia. Although the main focus of their business continues to be shipping as an authorized center for FedEx and DHL, mailbox rentals, packaging services and shipping supplies, Track 7 has always offered additional products and services. Included among these are greeting cards, boxes, faxing, scanning, printing, black and white copying and passport photos. New regulations requiring passports for travel to and from Canada and Mexico and the fact that passports can be ordered at the Warwick Post Office, make this passport photo service especially convenient. Track 7 has also increased its greeting card selection in addition to adding sports memorabilia. “It’s a good marriage for our shipping business,” said Betsy Mitchell. “Sports memorabilia make great gifts and we not only have a great selection but we can package and ship your purchase. It’s a one stop service.” All signed photographs and the like come framed. Cases are available for other items such as signed footballs, baseballs and helmets and everything is sold with a certificate of authenticity. The selection ranges from a framed collection of news articles autographed by Joe Dimagio to a football with Joe Nemeth’s signature. Track 7 Postal Center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. For information call: 544-1810. For the record Thirty eight local businesses contributed merchandise and services worth a total of more than $1,000 in gifts presented to this year’s “Queen for a Day,” Betty Garrison, during the 10th annual celebration of Ladies Night Out. For the record they are: Accola, Akins, B. Page, Bink, Café a la Mode, Corwin Florist, The Country Life, Eclectic Eye, Etched in Time, Frank’s Pizza, Frazzleberries, Giant Copy Shop, Greetings and Salutations, Gurda TV, Harvest Moon Café, The Inkwell, Iriniri, Jacqueline’s Boutique, Jean-Claude’s Artisan Bakery & Dessert Café, Jenna and Company, Kokopelli, The Pear Tree, La Petite Cuisine, Liz’s Jewlery, Mima’s, Newhard’s, Peck’s Wine and Spirits, Queen Village Nails, Salon de Carol, Silken Wool, Style Counsel, Style Counsel Men, Ten Railroad Avenue, The Toy Chest, Victorian Treasures, Village Music, Yesterday’s and Zana’s.