Sweet Arts Bakery prospers, provides homey environment for students

The Livingston County Chamber of Commerce announced Sweets Arts Bakery as a finalist for the Business in Excellence Award for the 2016 Downtown Business of the Year, next to Jane’s Pantry and winner, Nunda Family Pharmacy. Sweet Arts Bakery is a cozy, sweet smelling bakery located on 95 Main St. that opened over a year and a half ago. Originally founded as a small family business in Avon nearly five years ago by Ruth Ann Lewis and her husband, Sweet Arts has grown to be a successful local business. Due to the heavy pedestrian traffic, however, Sweet Arts opened a second location in Geneseo. The move provided a surge of business, as its storefront appeal attracted many more customers.

“The business grew a lot bigger than I had originally planned,” Lewis said. “But it ended up working out.”

Observing a gap in the market for custom made cakes, Lewis found herself developing the original Sweet Arts bakeshop in Avon. At the time, this was convenient because of its proximity to Lewis’ home and small operation style. Sweet Arts, however, eventually grew into a more extensive store that offered coffee, cookies, cinnamon rolls and other treats.

Although she has a degree in business, Lewis doesn’t just focus on the corporate side of things. The bakery is alternatively focused on building a strong community and serving as a place for people to relax.

“I love seeing people come in and connect,” Lewis said. “I wanted to make Sweet Arts a place where people can come and study or just have a cup of coffee with a friend.”

Lewis’ focus on community reveals a great deal about her character, as it continually impacts the way Sweet Arts Bakery runs. Determined to make Geneseo a better, friendlier place, she successfully developed a comfortable space that makes students feel more at home in the midst a college atmosphere that can sometimes feel foreign.

The concept of providing a getaway for students resonated with her own family. As a mother of two college-aged children, she hopes that they can also find a place that feels like home on their respective campuses.

“I really wanted to provide my kids with valuable life experiences and have them understand what it’s like to run a business with people skills in mind,” Lewis said.

Lewis originally strove to set a good example and initiate work experience for her kids, but that meant putting aside her passion to bake cakes—which started at a very young age. Near the cash register stands a framed photo of herself as a six-year-old dabbling with cooking supplies in the kitchen.

Lewis’ combination of skills as a small business owner and a parent have molded Sweet Arts into a flourishing business, while also maintaining its cozy atmosphere and all the treats it has to offer.

How to successfully navigate friends with benefits

The idea of having a friends with benefits relationship—two friends who have sex without a romantic relationship or commitment—can be very temping and convenient while in college. Due to the fact that students live away from their parents and in close proximity to many other people their age, friends with benefits relationships tend to be popular. In theory, a limited relationship involves having sex with one person while also staying single and having the freedom to have sex with other people at the same time. Friends with benefits are more reliable than a hookup, but less reliable than a significant other. While this may sound like a good idea, these friendships oftentimes do not work.

Having friends with benefits comes with one small detail that everyone tends to forget about when first jumping into one of these relationships—you spend a chunk of time with someone that you find physically attractive. This aspect heightens the probability of developing feelings for this person.

While feelings are not always necessarily a bad thing, friendships involving sex can get messy if the other person does not reciprocate those feelings. Sex does not by any means always have to be serious; people generally use it to connect and as a result display feelings of love. Two people need to take this into consideration when deciding to become friends with benefits.

Just like any other relationship—whether romantic or platonic—communication is key for people participating in friends with benefits relationships. In order for these relationships to work, both parties must openly discuss their expectations for the relationship and set concrete ground rules before a bad situation occurs and feelings get hurt.

Some important things to discuss in a friends with benefits relationship include whether or not both parties will engage in sex with other people or just each other, whether they have any interest in hanging out in addition to having sex and whether they have feelings for one another at the moment.

By ensuring that each party understands the other’s desires and expectations, both people are completely aware of what they sign up for when it comes to their friends with benefits relationship. In addition, setting some ground rules helps make for a successful friends with benefits relationship.

Lastly, it is important to practice safe sex in any relationship, whether it be a one-night stand, a romantic relationship or a friend with benefits. Many times, a friends with benefits relationship is non-exclusive. Having sex with more than one person increases the likelihood of spreading sexually transmitted diseases, which makes protection and communication integral to maintaining your own personal health.

Though friends with benefits can come with many risks, STDs and unplanned pregnancies aren’t the type of risks you should take. Many friends with benefits relationships do not end well, so remaining cautious is how you can protect yourself.

It’s encouraged to ask what your partner expects out of the friends with benefits relationship. But, most importantly, don’t be afraid to tell them what you expect as well.

Local bartender drops out of Geneseo, pursues passion for breweries

Born and raised in Letchworth State Park, Steve Parker is the bartender and manager at the infamous Idle Hour bar on Center St. in Geneseo. He is going on his fourth year of employment at the establishment and has since moved from Letchworth to reside in the Geneseo Village. A former chemistry and education major at Geneseo, Parker originally intended to become a high school chemistry teacher before realizing his true passion for breweries. He subsequently dropped out of Geneseo as a sophomore and—after the Idle Hour owner saw him picking up kegs—was offered a position at the bar.

Parker accepted, and has since become a familiar face to all bar goers in town.

“When I was doing my student teaching here at Geneseo, I realized that teaching wasn’t for me,” Parker said. “Working at a bar for the past four years has made me realize my passion for breweries and beer.”

Parker started at the Idle carrying kegs, later becoming a bouncer, bartender and eventually, manager. Parker’s passion for breweries is very apparent—one of his favorite hobbies is trying different types of beer. He estimates that over the course of his life he has tasted a thousand types of beer. In addition, he uses an app called “Untapped,” which is, in Parker’s words, “Facebook for beer.”

When Parker is not bartending, he also enjoys playing rugby. During his time at Geneseo, Parker was a member of Geneseo men’s rugby team and now works as their head coach.

“I’ve been a coach for three years,” Parker said in a phone interview. “I started off as an assistant coach, which I did for two years, and this year I became the head coach of the team.”

As a bartender, Parker has witnessed numerous crazy instances during his time at the Idle. He recounted one incident where a man in a wheelchair stood up and started asking if he could pick people up over his shoulder.

When asked about fake ID’s—an inevitable problem in a college town—Steve laughed and told a particularly interesting story. He recounted that as a bouncer, one must hold ID’s under a hologram light to verify authenticity. When examined under the light, one particular ID read, “This is a fake.” Parker found this humorous and handed it back to the student, questioning how much he paid for the ID. The student replied, “$100.”

Around closing time at work, Parker enjoys playing metal—his favorite genre of music, while friends and regular customers stop in to visit. He mentioned playing Tiny Tim’s “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” for fun, although now it probably signals closing time to customers.

With plenty of interesting stories to share, Parker made it clear that the Idle remains a great place to go—legally, of course.

Correction: September 23, 2016

The original headline for this article read that Steve Parker dropped out of college. Parker graduated from Genesee Community College in 2015 with associate's degrees in chemistry and education transfer.