Sackets Harbor meal assembly business closes

SACKETS HARBOR — Just over a year after opening, the owners of Sackets Harbor Kitchen Co. have closed the meal preparation side of their business for good.

Mark A. Pacilio and Daniel H. Menapace said that even though customers were enthusiastic about the idea of making their own meals, there had never been enough people to justify the 109 Barracks Drive business.

"Despite people really loving the concept and the experience, we were never able to develop a strong enough customer base to keep it open," Mr. Menapace said. "We had happy customers; we just didn't have enough of them."

Mr. Pacilio and Mr. Menapace will retain their wholesale and retail operation, Sackets Harbor Trading Co., but will revert to an Internet-based business with no physical location.

The owners were spending this week cleaning the former kitchen space, Mr. Menapace said.

The last official day for business was May 30, although the kitchen stayed open a week longer so Mr. Pacilio and Mr. Menapace could sell off their kitchen equipment.

All that is left now are four refrigerated prep carts and a display refrigerator.

Sackets Harbor Kitchen Co. opened in April 2007 as one of two new meal preparation businesses in the area. The meal assembly industry had been booming for several years, and the partners were hoping to tap into the trend, Mr. Menapace said.

For six months, the popularity and number of customers of the kitchen continued to grow.

After a spike in October, though, business suddenly dwindled away.

"All of a sudden with the holidays, it slowed down," Mr. Menapace said. "I don't know if it was the holiday season or just a coincidence."

Despite early confidence that business would rebound, and a series of promotional events when it did not, traffic over the next six months continued to decline.

"Other than spikes in response to promotions, we weren't getting regular business," Mr. Menapace said. "It was there, but slow and sporadic, not steady or growing."

He said several factors may have contributed to the company's demise, including a slumping economy, high fuel costs and a meal preparation industry that had started to wither after years of impressive growth.

Although competitor Make & Take Gourmet in Watertown opened a few months after Kitchen Co., Mr. Menapace said having a second meal preparation business had made matters better, not worse.

"Part of the challenge is educating the pubic about this new thing in town," he said. "By having two of us, we thought that the public would become aware quicker."

Until the end, Mr. Menapace said, the two owners searched for a solution that would keep their business open, such as a deal to share their rented kitchen space with a caterer.

In August, the company applied for a license to sell wines from a winery in the Finger Lakes, but never received approval.

By the end of May, the two owners had decided to return to their original Web-based, back-office operation and had informed their eight part-time employees, including a kitchen manager.

While they are not likely to get back into any meal preparation business, Mr. Menapace said, the owners might consider a physical location for the Sackets Harbor Trading Co., should the right opportunity present itself.

"We had a lot of great customers who had a lot of fun here," he said. "We really enjoyed running the business. It was a fun business to run."