Q: How did Rock Hill start?
In 1989, my brother and I began working with the Londons in the first incarnation of Rock Hill in Greenwich. Their pastries are world-renowned but they had left the original Mrs. London's Bakeshop (in Saratoga) to begin baking traditional European breads from their small farmhouse kitchen. When they started, they were selling bread to a few accounts in Saratoga and at the Union Square Green Market in Manhattan. Two years later, we had three local routes and were selling to some of Manhattan's finest restaurants and shops (places like Aureole and Dean & Deluca). Almost 20 years have passed and we have grown by many factors but we still make the bread the same exact way that we were taught. Anyone can taste the wonderful difference that time and ral ingredients makes in the baking process.
Q: What is the most special thing about Rock Hill?
Lets let the experts answer that one, Dave! We are one of the few bakeries in upstate New York that is rated by the Zagat Guide. New York Magazine said of our breads that "No other sourdough in the city has the same rich layering of flavors under a crackly crust." Bernard Clayton said that "(Rock Hill's founder) ... probably knows more about bread and baking than anyone east of the Appalachians." Vogue Magazine's, Jeffrey Steingarten simply called Rock Hill, "the Paragon of Purism."
Q: What do you like most about your business?
I love our cafe in downtown Glens Falls. I really value the opportunity to meet people and talk with them. It may well be the single most gratifying thing about running my own business. I love to read primarily because a good book can expose you to different thought processes and points of view. Meeting new people and getting the opportunity to know them is the same kind of wonderful gift.
Q: What's your biggest challenge?
Peak oil means steadily increasing gas prices. This, in turn, means that the staples of our trade (like flour and labor) will just keep going up. I find the best way to deal with these increasing costs is to stay as local as is possible. We have always bought a huge percentage of our ingredients locally but now we are also working on finding new local venues to sell our breads, as well. In my experience, the more you support your local economy, the more it supports you back.
Q: What would you want the community to know about you?
We've got the three S's! Great Sandwiches, Salads and Soups! Hands down, the best lunch in town. We are open daily and we have a fantastic Open Mic every Thursday at 7:30 hosted by CE Skidmore (get here early as it fills up fast). Fridays, we host the Friday Film Forum, at which we screen old and new independent documentaries with no admission. If you become a member of our new film club, you can borrow any of our DVD's for free. Come out and mingle and meet people of all stripes. We're all about finding the common ground (and having a fairly-traded, organic latte while you're doing it)!
