Shirley and Mike Martin planned to open their new business – Jo’s Li’l Cupcakes – on Election Day, but they needed a few extra days to complete the interior renovation of the shop that had long housed Chris’s Flowers Etc. at 141 First St., in the village.
The ovens went into overdrive and the doors swung open on Tuesday, Nov. 13.
Mike’s contractor brother, Jeff Martin, gave the room a wide-open feel complemented by a couple tables and a few easy chairs and a rock’n’roll décor accentuated by electric guitar imagery and a tabletop collage of concert tickets.
Comfort is a bonus at Jo’s Li’l Cupcake where the namesake confection gets top-billing. Every day the Martins bake 15 different colorful cupcake varieties from orange to pumpkin to peanut butter. They sell them for $1 each or $5 for a six-pack.
Customers can wash down the puny pastries with Paul de Lima coffee, tea, cider or gourmet soda pop made by Cooper’s Cave Ale Company of Glens Falls. The orange cream soda tastes like a carbonated creamsicle. Deelish! Shirley also bakes mini-pies, cakes ($5 each) and specialty breads ($3) and cookies (two for $1).
While Jo’s is named after the Martins’ pet terrier, you won’t find Jo wandering around the premises — “Because we sell food for humans, we really can’t have him in here,” Mike explained — but the shop also sells pet treats, a real bargain at three for $2.
Got an idea for a brand new kind of mini-cupcake? “We love special orders,” Mike said. “Ask us about Jo’s li’l party pack.” Call Jo’s at 632-8269.
Sam & The Twisters
On Aug. 13, when the oldies band Smokin’ played for Liverpool Is The Place at Johnson Park, hundreds of friends and fans of drummer Jan Fetterly turned out to bid the old Twister good-bye. He and his wife, Nancy, are starting a new life in sunny Arizona.
This weekend Smokin’ hosts another send-off for Fetterly with a Sam & The Twisters reunion from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, at the Goodtime Banquet Hall, 526 Teall Ave., in Syracuse.
Fifty years ago the Twisters featured leader-guitarist Sam Amato along with guitarist Mickey Palumbo, bassist Al Wolf and Fetterly. Amato died Feb. 17, 2011, in Florida after a long battle with cancer. On Nov. 24, Fetterly, Wolf and Palumbo will welcome Smokin’ guitarist Frank Rhodes to the stage to fill in for the late bandleader.
During the band’s heyday Sam & The Twisters packed places like the Red Dog Saloon, Hewitt’s, The Brookside, the Holiday Bowl, the Fayetteville Inn and Liverpool’s own Club 320.
In 1963, Sam & The Twisters and the Bigtree Sisters backed up Baron Daemon (Channel 9’s Mike Price) to wax “The Transylvania Twist.” The disc sold 12,000 copies to become the area’s top-selling 45 rpm record ever. Mike Price will appear at the Nov. 24 performance to share recollections of portraying Baron Daemon.
The Nov. 24 dance party is open to the public. Admission costs $10 in advance or $15 at the door, and that includes a sandwich buffet, antipasto and coffee. Legal beverages will be available for sale at the Goodtime Banquet Hall bar, located on the top floor of Klub Polski, the Polish-American Citizens Club.
For tickets, call Goodtime Banquet Hall owner Mickey Vendetti at 345-1002, or purchase them from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily at Gilligan’s Pub, 3601 James St.; mickeyvendetti.com.
‘Eat & Greet’
Thanksgiving weekend is a swell time for reunions. It’s true for families and it’s true for long-lived rock’n’roll bands.
Sam & The Twisters revive the Sixties Saturday night on Teall Avenue (see above), while another local rock legend, Todd Hobin, hosts an “Eat & Greet” CD release party at Nov. 24, at Monirae’s (formerly the Red Door North), on County Route 10, in Pennelville.
“My band is celebrating its first album release in decades,” Hobin said, “so we’re throwing a party on Saturday night.”
A home-cooked $15 dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m., followed by an acoustic set at 8:30 and an electric set at 10 p.m. Admission to the rock set only will cost $10; 668-1248; [email protected].
Diggin’ up Tulip Street
What the heck’s happening under the house-sized plastic roof in front of Ophelia’s Place at 407 Tulip St.?
A few weeks back Ophelia’s Place had a water main break.
“The Onondaga County Water Authority was there promptly to repair it,” reported Ophelia’s Dan Clausen. “Unfortunately, they shot the new water line through concrete-encased Verizon lines.”
Now everyone’s patiently waiting for Verizon to repair its injured fiber-optic cables.
Meanwhile, Dan and his crew at the Café at 407 had a little fun with the unsightly construction site. “We told some inquisitive folks that we were starting an exclusive underground club, and this was going to be the new entrance,” Dan said. “Not sure any of them bought it.”
