Hot chocolate business owners enjoying the sweet taste of success

 By Anna Tuckett/Conrad Rowe
 hardnewscafe.usu.edu/?p=11210

The owners of a local gourmet hot cocoa shop — built into a remodeled Airstream trailer — have been pleasantly surprised by the support they’ve received since the shop’s grand opening on Halloween.

“There has been a good reaction and we are being invited to a lot of events,” said Tyler Strazzo, who owns Mugg Cocoa and Donuts with his wife, Wyatte, “so much that we actually have had to turn some down.”

Tyler Strazzo, a California native, has his mother to thank for the idea.

“My mom said that we needed to open a hot chocolate truck up here in Logan,” he said.

He and his wife liked the idea, but spent two years considering it before they decided to “take the plunge.”

“We pitched the idea to two of our friends and they decided to do it with us,” he said.

The Strazzos were expecting business to be much slower.

“I figured if would be slower because we were new and we haven’t had our footprint here in the valley yet but it actually has been doing really well,” Wyatte Strazzo said. “We didn’t realize we had so many friends supporting us until we started this.”

On the shop’s social media platforms, customers have nothing but positive things to say.

“The S’mores hot chocolate was delicious,” Chase Anderson said on the shop’s Facebook page. “Love seeing creative businesses like this pop-up in Cache Valley.”

“Me and my husband went tonight and loved it,” Hannah Mann said in a comment on one of the shop’s Instagram pictures. “So yummy.”

The shop is located in front of Lynn’s Audio Video on north Main Street in Logan, but can go mobile for special events.

Bret Hancey, the owner of the electronic store, said he supports what the couple is doing and was eager to rent the space to them for a decent price.

“We love this location,” Wyatte Strazzo said. “Bret is so great to us.”

The business had some problems in the beginning.

“Our water heater froze and cracked so we had to take it back and get a new one,” Tyler Strazzo said. “Also, there was a leak in the water tank. Then to top it all off, about a week ago, our business partners decided they were too busy to help us run Mugg so I bought their half of the business out.”

But with plenty of wintertime events to attend — and a lot of families and students to satiate on Cache County’s cold winter nights — the Strazzos are feeling confident that Mugg’s future will be sweet. The couple is already considering opening in other locations — possibly in Salt Lake City or Provo.

Downtown building owners hope new shop will contribute to Logan’s historic district

By Anna Tuckett

A new antique shop opened in downtown Logan on Black Friday, but it wasn’t easy convincing the building’s owners that it “can make it in a historic district.”

The Main Street building has been in the Hicken family for 35 years and was the former home of the family’s menswear store, The Kater Shop. Brothers Steve and Lynn Hicken are the current owners of the building.

Steve Hicken said he had many inquiries from potential renters about the building, but he knew the businesses wouldn’t help revive downtown Logan. Then he met Linda Gillespie and Shelly Wagstaff, the owners of Cache Valley Antiques.

“These ladies have been working on this plan for decades,” Hicken said. “This type of store is invaluable to a historic district.”

Gillespie and Wagstaff came up with a proposal that included ways their business would positively contribute to the restoration of downtown.

Wagstaff said the proposal included items such as supporting the Logan Downtown Alliance, participating in Gallery Walk and working with the Cache Valley Gardeners’ Market.

“We are going to participate in almost anything we can,” Wagstaff said.

After much thought about what to do with his family's building, Steve Hicken researched ideas to improve the historic district.

Steve Hicken said in order to return downtown to its "original vibrancy," it needs the “right mix of things.” He believes the antique shop is one of these things.

The antique shop sells high-quality, used items, including many Mormon history pieces. It uses a business model in which vendors fill the shelves and then the shop collects a 12 percent commission on the sales.

Wagstaff said she thinks the business will be successful because it carries a wide variety of affordable antiques that appeal to all styles and budgets.

Center hopes new therapist will help male survivors seek help

By Anna Tuckett
hardnewscafe.usu.edu/?p=11182

A local domestic violence and sexual assault center said it hopes to see more men seeking help after its first male therapist was hired in October.

Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse’s new therapist, Mark Radel, is a licensed clinical psychologist who treats survivors of domestic and sexual assault with psychotherapy.

James Boyd, who is in charge of marketing for the center, said even though Radel wasn’t hired based on gender, having a male therapist will help the center reach people who may have been hesitant before.

“Men represent a quarter of those affected by domestic violence and sexual assault,” Boyd said. “Yet we see so few.”

Radel agreed that having a male therapist at the center could potentially attract more male survivors.

“As a male therapist, I may not evoke as much detrimental anxiety with a male survivor,” Radel said.

A male survivor, he said, “may also feel that we can relate more and he may open up about the abuse or violence sooner in therapy, making therapy that much more effective.”

One of the center’s caseworkers focuses on diversity, with a special emphasis on men.

“I would encourage any man to come here just as I would any woman,” Boyd said.

Since starting at the center, Radel said he has only had contact with one male survivor.

Both Boyd and Radel agreed that the disproportionate number of men seeking help for domestic violence and sexual assault is a result of culture.

“Due to the social stigma from others as well as internal feelings of shame, male survivors often do not seek therapy services,” Radel said. “They may seek to cope in other ways.”

The center’s services include a 24-hour crisis hotline, counseling, transitional housing and legal help for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

More information is available at: www.capsa.org.

Common Ground Outdoor Adventures looking to community for additional donations for lodge

By Anna Tuckett
hardnewscafe.usu.edu/?p=11178

A local adaptive-recreation organization will need to partner with additional groups before starting construction on a new, year-round lodge at Beaver Mountain Ski Area.

After bids for the long sought-after lodge came back $100,000 over budget, Common Ground Outdoor Adventures decided to postpone construction until the snow melts in the spring. To fund the building, the organization has asked additional groups from the valley to help raise donations in the form of money, building materials and labor.

Sammie Macfarlane, the organization’s executive director, attended a meeting on Dec. 2 with prospective partners who she hopes will “rally the community behind the cause.”

“With the few staff that work here, adding this huge project onto our plate is pretty hard,” Macfarlane said. “So we need help from as many members from the community as possible.”

To this point contributions have primarily consisted of in-kind support, grant money and large donations from corporations and individuals.

Macfarlane said she will announce the names of the additional groups when arrangements are finalized.

The organization originally planned on the lodge’s completion by the fall, before the start of the skiing season.

Beaver Mountain operations manager Travis Seeholzer said he thinks postponing construction was a good decision.

“This will enable us to get it right,” Seeholzer said. “It makes more sense to stand back and do it correctly.”

The ski area has helped raise funds for the lodge at its facilities and via social media. It has also donated the land where the lodge will be built.

Seeholzer said the ski area will continue raising money for the lodge fund.

The lodge will be a 4,000 square-foot “home” at the ski area for Common Ground Outdoor Adventures members. It will include storage for adaptive equipment, accessible bathrooms and locker areas, and a large deck.

The organization said the building will allow it to operate more efficiently and provide opportunities for more members of the community. More information available at: cgadventures.org/Beaver-Mtn-Lodge.

Holiday handmade gift market planners and vendors hoping to make new venue permanent

By Anna Tuckett
hardnewscafe.usu.edu/?p=11137

After 12 years at The Bullen Center at Utah State University, a market specializing in handmade gifts for the holidays has been forced to temporarily change its venue to the Natural Philosophy building, where planners and vendors hope it will stay.

On Dec. 11 and 12 the Winter Gift Market will celebrate its 13th year as “Cache Valley’s premier artisan market for the holidays” but for the first time it will move due to scheduling conflicts.

The market’s event planner, Joy Brisighella, said vendors are excited for the change because mainly roadside parking at the old downtown venue, located off of Main Street, made setting up and taking down booths difficult.

“It was a nightmare to take down my booth,” said Reggie Jennings, who sells handmade wooden products at the market. “It is probably the hardest event I do.”

The Natural Philosophy building, located on Church Street, has a parking lot within 20 feet of its east entrance.

“The big parking lot that’s just outside, it can’t be beat,” Brisighella said.

The larger size of the new venue will allow the market to host 39 vendors this year, as opposed to its usual 35. As a result of wider walkways customers will be able to bring strollers, which have been limited in the past.

Brisighella said she thinks people will like the flow of the new venue’s layout.

Nathan Huntzinger, who sells honey and beeswax products with his brothers at the market, said he hopes the accessibility of the new building will bring in more customers.

The Natural Philosophy building is currently posted for sale.

“I might be sad if whoever buys it doesn’t turn it into an event center,” Brisighella said. “Because I would consider booking it next year.”

The market is part of the downtown Gallery Walk, a walking art gallery where Logan businesses feature the work of local artists, and includes live music and free admission. More information available on the Winter Gift Market’s Facebook page.

Donation center needing more volunteers

By Anna Tuckett

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore began seeing an increase in donations the week before Thanksgiving, but needs more volunteers to meet the donation center’s new demand.

The center began accepting donations, including new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials and appliances, when it opened in Sept. 2014. Aside from the paid directors, the center relies on volunteers to organize, clean, and sort the donated merchandise.

“This is the time of year when people are remodeling their kitchens for Thanksgiving and Christmas,” said Todd Cottle, the director of the center. “This morning I came back to five new sinks that had been dropped off at the ReStore.”

Even with an influx of volunteers during the holiday season, the center said it needs more help to meet the growing need.

Cottle said the demand wasn’t as high the first holiday season the center was open because there weren’t enough people who knew about it, but now its getting large enough that he is considering looking for a new location.

During the majority of the year the center’s volunteers are mainly organizations, such as local companies and Boy Scout troops. But during Nov. and Dec. families call the center looking for opportunities to serve the community.

Cottle said during the holiday season people call the center after the Food Pantry meets its capacity. He said he hopes someday the center will have enough volunteers that he will have to turn people down.

The center sells the items people donate to the community at lowered prices. It is self-sustainable and any extra money the center makes is used to “build homes, community, and hope locally and around the world.”

More information available at: cachevalleyhabitatrestore.org.