Blogging the News

As I walked into the small Norwegian store in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Bay Ridge, I could smell this distinct sweet aroma in the air. Store owners Helene Bakke and her daughter Arlene Rutuelo of Nordic Delicacies frequently use the spice cardamom in their baked goods. Their Kransekaker which is a traditional almond cake decorated with candies and Norwegian style waffles, which are to die for; are just a few of the numerous baked good available at this store. Nordic Delicacies also sells their “finger-licking”, famous lamb ribs and their “don’t knock it till you try it” fish pudding made with fresh cod.

As I noticed the decor in the store, my eyes were ready to pop out of my head. Scandinavian decorations in conjunction with their culture filled the store. The vibrant colors of red and blue flew freely amongst the store. Directly through the front door, customers can expect to be drawn to the food display case filled with all types prepared foods. Next to the display case is another display case but with small gifts and items. Nordic Delicacies sells authentic Norwegian cook books, assorted Norwegian style napkins, and even an electric iron to make your own delicious cookies. This store is located on 3^rd avenue between Bay Ridge Avenue and Ovington Avenue. Simply hop on the next R train and get off at Bay Ridge Avenue. The store is only a block away from the train station.

Nordic Delicacies would’ve been just another store back in the 1950s but a community once rich with Norwegians was beginning to dwindle and disappear in the 1970s. Many of the Norwegian immigrants that lived in Bay Ridge from the 1950s and 1960s had moved away because of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which put a stop on all the immigrants coming into America from Norway. However, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 opened the door for immigrants from other countries to enter America, such as Morocco and Ireland.

In 1987, Bakke and Rutuelo decided that they didn’t want to see their culture disappear from Bay Ridge. They opened Nordic Delicacies to preserve their culture in a neighborhood they call home.

“We felt a little sad and decided that we didn’t want to see our culture die.” says Rutuelo. “So we took steps to find location and after a year we opened this store.”

Using unwritten recipes passed down from previous generations, Rutuelo cooks her dishes to sell to those that still demand it. However, she didn’t always know how to cook the dishes.

“When we first started here, it drove me crazy because she did a pinch of that and a pinch of this but I would tell my mom I needed recipes!” says Rutuelo. “Hers was always perfect and I struggled but now 28-years later, I can do the same thing.”

When Nordic Delicacies first opened in 1987, most of their customers were walk-in customers who would order from the neighborhood. However as the diversity of the residents changed in the neighborhood so did the customers. What started as a favor to some loyal customers who moved away from Brooklyn became an everyday occurrence.

“We did it as a favor to some of our customers who begged us to ship to Ohio.” says Rutuelo. “I didn’t even know what mail order was back then but now we ship throughout all 50 states.”

Customers who wish to order from Nordic Delicacies can go to their website and print out an order form. Customers will need to fill out the form and mail it to the store or have the other option of calling in to place their order. Another option that is always available is the walk in option as customers can expect to be greeted warmly by the family as they take in the consuming smell of the delicious authentic Norwegian food.

Nordic Delicacies manages to stay in business because of their dedication to their community in providing a Norwegian cultural store. With big corporate stores like Target and Costco taking over Brooklyn, it is difficult for small businesses like Nordic Delicacies to stay open. Many residents buy their foods at the big businesses. When asked how they compete against the big stores Rutuelo responded by saying “Costco doesn’t sell Norwegian food.”

Mom & Pops of Brooklyn is a blog site created to bring readers information about small businesses in one of the greatest cities in America. In a world where big corporations rule the business industry, numerous mom and pop shops around Brooklyn strive to survive and stay in business. This blog will provide small business owners with the opportunity to share their success stories. Small business owners will be able to share their rich history with readers. Articles will be filled with details on the shop and of the business. They will also include quotes from conducted interviews. This blog will provide small business owners with a voice.

The small business blog is a project that will give small businesses a voice in the community. Small businesses in Brooklyn have no outlet to tell the community about their business. In a day and age where big corporations are taking over the market industry, small businesses must fight to survive. People usually choose the big corporate businesses because they can provide a vast amount of products that a small business cannot. Prices are also usually cheaper in the big corporation than a small business.

The blog will allow owners to market themselves to the public in order to give them a small chance of competing against these big corporations. With such rich history, the blog will cover small businesses in Brooklyn. Brooklyn has many small businesses that have been around for decades in many different neighborhoods with an abundance of history.

The audeience of this blog is for people who live in Brooklyn who are proud of their home. Many Brooklyn residents are unaware of the histories of the small businesses in their neighborhoods. With this blog, they will discover the many small businesses and will actually be able to visit the businesses. The other target audience for this blog will be people who are not from Brooklyn. Often people form a harsh preconception about Brooklyn before they even enter the borough. The blog will provide them with businesses that have been around for a long time to provide them with history.

There is a need for this blog because small businesses owners are continuously losing their business because of big corporations. Small businesses cannot compete with the big corporations that draw all the customers away. Newly opened Coffee Lab in Bay Ridge must draw in their customers to make enough money to stay open. They struggle to keep customers since there is a Starbucks and Dunkin’ donuts a couple of blocks away. Another business Aloha Grinds closed a couple of years ago because they did not have enough money to pay the lease. Aloha Grinds was a Hawaiian styled café. Even though they served food on top of their coffee, they could not make enough money to stay open. They did not have enough customers.

I will be creative in how I write my stories, seeking out the most interesting businesses. I want to find the small businesses that have been around for the longest times and share with the community about their stories. I intend to find small ma-and-pa shops that will allow me to share their story and interview them. The blog posts will go further than simply talking about the current situation of the business. I intend to talk about the business in the most successful time and plan to get every detail that I can. Some question that I’ll like to find the answer to are Why did they start the business in the first place, and How do they still stay open now?

I plan to attract my readers by finding different small businesses. I plan to post a different business each time that will cover many different businesses. For example, I may find a business that is all about sports which will attract sports fans. I may also find small restaurants with great food that will attract people who like to eat. I may also find a small bar that will attract people who enjoy alcohol and the social life. I plan to give my readers a taste of a little bit of everything. There are so many different types of businesses out there and I would be doing my readers a disservice if I did not give them many different options.

Competitive Analysis

News coverage of small businesses from major newspaper, The New York Times already exists. The goal of You’re the Boss blog by The New York Times is geared towards other business owners. Their blogs creates an atmosphere that other business owners can get news, ask questions and learn from one another mistakes. People in the community need a blog that is focused on getting them interesting information about businesses that they would want to go to.

The Huffington Post has many small business blogs but none share the goal of my blog. Most of their blogs are about new small businesses that have just opened and are successful. I want to find businesses that have been around for a long time.

Another blog worth noting is BusinessWeek’s The New Entrepreneur. This blog covers the news, trends and ideas that matter to entrepreneur. This blog covers heavily on what is new and interesting to entrepreneur. They do not target old businesses that have been there for a long time.

I believe there is a great need for this blog because there is an audience for it. There are other small business owners and people that look to support small businesses in their community. I plan to cover the void of a blog that focuses on old small businesses.

Editorial Plan

Types of content:

My plan is to write a featured story on each business that I decide to write about. I think that I should include as much detail about the business as I can in my blog post. My articles will range anywhere from 500 words to 1000 words. The content will be a brief history of the business, how the business is doing now, and the significance of the business. There will be a lot of quotes in my articles from the business owners if they allow me to interview them and a lot of quotes from customers of the business.

Number of updates:

I plan to update the blog once a week. Each blog post will consist of one article. I believe that it will take time for me to conduct the interviews that I need for my articles. I will also need the time to write the articles for the readers. I plan to have at least 14 articles by the end of the semester.

Time to create post:

It will take me approximately 2 hours to conduct an interview. Then it will take me another 2-3 hours to create the article.

Multimedia:

I will include 1-2 photos per blog post. I think that if I include too many photos it will distract the viewer away from the content of the writing. I want the writing to be the strength of the blog.

Possible interviews:

-Arlene Rutuelo- Owner of Nordic Delicacies

Idea #1: My blog idea is to write about the many small businesses in Brooklyn that have been around for decades. There are a lot of local small businesses in my neighborhood in Brooklyn that have been in business for a long time. For example, Di Fara’s is a pizzeria in Midwood that has been successfully serving arguably the best pizza in New York since 1964 when the pizzeria moved to its location from sunset park. Di Fara is owned by Domenico DeMarco who is the only person in the pizzeria who can touch the pies while cooking. He makes the pizza by hand and sprinkles fresh olive oil and cuts fresh basil with a scissor onto the specialty pizza. There are plenty of other businesses that I intend to write about that are not in the food industry as I know you’ve asked us to stay away from food blogs. I think that this blog is needed because with so many franchises and big companies, people forget about the local small businesses in their neighborhood. This blog would cover the void of news on small businesses in Brooklyn.

Idea #2: My second blog idea is to write about the many landmarks in New York City that many people may not know of. Everyone knows about the big landmarks in New York City like the Empire State building or the Statue of Liberty but not a lot of people know about the Brooklyn Navy yard. Built in 1801, the Brooklyn Navy yard provided a docking place for many merchant ships in the early 1800s. The Navy yard also held many battleships in World War II. Another landmark would be greenwood cemetery in Brooklyn that was built in1838. I believe this blog would fill the void of an informative blog about landmarks in New York that aren’t as famous as the other ones.