©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com
By Margaret MacDonald
The husband-and-wife team Tami and John Demers celebrated the two-year anniversary of their business, the Perfect Noodle, in May.
Located at 205 Park Ave., Mechanicville, between Dunkin Donuts and McDonald’s the store offers homemade pasta and a sense of community as well.
Growing up in Mechanicville before relocating to Stillwater, Tami remembers an Italian corner store “on every corner,” family-owned operations where larger grocery chains have now taken over.
As a child, her grandmother and mother made fresh homemade pasta – something Demers did for her kids, too.
Having wanted to open a business for some time (being a stay-at-home mom), she sought to recreate that sense of community that nourished her as a child.
She proposed the idea to her husband, who conceded with a challenge: If Tami bought pasta from Arthur Avenue in New York City to compare to her own—and he couldn’t tell the difference—they would open the store.
Her pasta was a success with her husband and the idea moved forward.
The Perfect Noodle offers retail and bulk orders, sandwiches, soups, and daily specials.
John works full time at Bast Hatfield Construction in Clifton Park, but owns the store.
Keeping the old days alive played a big part in the Demers’ decision to open the store, she said, and community involvement and support is integral to that vision.
They try to keep their offerings as local as possible, consistently carving out shelf space for local crafters. Demers hired someone to make fresh sausage for the operation.
Starting a business is not easy and is scary, she said. She advised that prospective startups and entrepreneurs “don’t go in expecting to make money, at least for a few years.”
Demers said she loves what she is going and also enjoys meeting and getting to know new people through the store.
Though it’s a struggle to get a new business off the ground, there have thus far been few issues. Customer flow isn’t yet as busy as they’d hoped, but the venture has been very well received by the city at large.
The Perfect Noodle is on Facebook and can be reached by email at info@theperfectnoodle.com.