VINTAGE CHIC GRAND REOPENING DOUBLES THE SIZE OF THE FORMER SHOWROOM
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
6pm – 8pm
1609 Upper Union St., Schenectady
Space renovations DOUBLE the size of the showroom!
Quite a feat during challenging economic times.
Join Donna Thomas to celebrate the Grand Re-opening of Vintage Chic, a unique (and very green) decorating shop featuring recycled & upcycled, upscale & cottage style home furnishings and home accessories including vintage and antique lighting.  The walls have come tumbling down, doubling the space at 1609 Union Street, Schenectady.

MICHAELS SHOE SERVICE RELOCATES ON UPPER UNION STREET

Michael’s Shoe Service, the only full-service shoe and leather repair shop left in Schenectady County, has moved from 1605 Upper Union Street to 1613 Upper Union Street. The business, which was founded in 1926, is owned and operated by Michael Mastroianni, the third generation of his family to practice the almost lost art of the cobbler trade.

Mastroianni, a Pedorthic graduate of Oklahoma State University, is an Orthopedic Technician. Aside from standard shoe and leather repair, he frequently does custom shoe modifications for clients. The shop carries a full shoe and foot care inventory and is a distributor of the popular Spenco line of Foot Care Products including shoe insoles, arch supports, heel pads and orthotics.

The business was started by Mastroianni’s grandfather and namesake 86 years ago near the Statue of Lawrence the Indian at the corner of Front, Green and Church Streets in Schenectady’s Stockade District. Michael Mastroianni learned the shoemaker’s trade from his father the late Anthony Mastroianni. Before joining the family business, Michael enjoyed a corporate career in banking most recently in Cleveland, Ohio. He and his family returned to Schenectady and Michael’s Shoe Service in 1997 at which time he resumed a partnership with his father in the shoe repair shop. Michael’s mother Bernie and his wife Kim, who also works as a school nurse, both work in the shop.

Michael Mastroianni is credited with bringing the concept of forming a BID (Business Improvement District) to the Upper Union Street area. He has worked tirelessly convincing his fellow business people to embrace the concept of forming a special tax district which has resulted in significant improvements in storefront facades, streetscape amenities, unified marketing efforts, and improved parking in the five block area comprised of almost 80 separate businesses. The Upper Union Street BID celebrated its 10 Anniversary in August 2011 and marked the completion of a $4 million streetscape project on October 28, 2011.