Want some coffee with your sugar?

Published in The Post-Star (G1)
9/7/06

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- As the evening sunlight slipped off the sidewalks of Broadway last Sunday, several glowing Skidmore students emerged from the new Saratoga Coffee Traders storefront, having discovered the stash of "retro-themed" candy inside.

"Oh my God! Did you know they have Lemonheads? I used to love those!" squealed one of the girls.

When Jon Galt and Mike Zimmerman first met a dozen years ago, they never dreamed it would lead to scenes like this.

Their degrees are in acting and film, respectively, not business. And even when they stumbled into retail about five years ago through a "serendipitous" series of events, their chosen niche was health food, not candy.

After two years in Ballston Spa, they moved their business to Saratoga Springs and added a yoga studio and coffee shop. The store, called Healthy Nation, built up a loyal -- but limited -- customer base in its location on the far southern end of Broadway.

"There wasn't a lot of foot traffic, and there was no place to park," Zimmerman said. "And I think the name was too vague. People didn't know they could get coffee there."

So when their landlord announced plans to tear down the building this year, they decided it was time to close and regroup.

This time, they've rented a storefront right in the heart of downtown, and picked "a hit-you-over-the-head blatant" name and logo, Zimmerman explained. The logo depicts the Spirit of Life, a famous Saratoga statue, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a lollipop in the other.

"We're hoping maybe the third time will be the charm," he said.

The decor is simple, letting the art on the walls take center stage. They have added a few creative touches -- like chairs upholstered in old coffee sacks, and a single, slender stalk of bamboo decorating each table -- giving the place a casual elegance. The menu includes salads, wraps, snack platters, bagels and locally made ice cream.

They have scrapped the health-food part of the business, replacing it with candy, the irony of which does not escape them.

"We thought people wanted granola," joked Galt. "They don't! They want Gummi Bears and Jelly Bellies!"

But they haven't given up the part of the business that both of them are most passionate about -- all of their coffees and teas are 100 percent "fair trade," which means that the growers of the coffee beans receive a living wage for their work. It's more expensive that way, but the prices at
Saratoga Coffee Traders are on par with other local coffee shops.

"We're going to eat that loss because this is something we value. ... If I can sell a cup of coffee and make 80 cents profit, but making, say, 50 cents means that someone else gets access to education, running water and food -- well, why do I need to make that extra profit?" Zimmerman said. "I really believe that non fair-trade coffee is killing people in the Third World."

Their brews are also totally organic, since coffee and tea grown in other countries is often sprayed with pesticides that have long been banned in the United States for their toxicity to humans.

This isn't just a marketing gimmick, they said, it's a soapbox.

"I believe it's part of our duty to educate the public about it," Galt said.

But the dueling Angelina/Jennifer tip jar on the counter?

Yeah, that's a gimmick.

---
IF YOU GO
Saratoga Coffee Traders, 447 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, is open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays, which will eventually feature live music. The art gallery currently features "The Saratoga Race Track: Up Close and Personal," an exhibit of oil paintings by Rumara Jewett. Future exhibits will rotate on a six-week basis.