Jennifer Conway, president and CEO of the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce made the announcement jointly with Richard (Rick) Dodd and Sylvana Dodd, founding members of STIR and owners of P.S. Restaurant in Vestal. The alliance is effective immediately.
They say the partnership came about after the STIR founding members approached the chamber to to ask for help growing the organization because “they realized that dependence on volunteer staffing isn’t a viable long-term option,” the release stated.
“For the past five years Southern Tier Independent Restaurants, Inc. has been promoting the patronage of locally owned independent restaurants while the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce has been a fierce advocate for local businesses in general. By combining the strengths of the two organizations both missions will be enhanced,” Rick Dodd, president of STIR, said in the release.
“We are very excited to partner with STIR and provide support for their organization of independently owned restaurants in our community,” Conway, the Greater Binghamton Chamber’s leader, added.
As part of its efforts to promote locally owned eateries, STIR also sponsors scholarships for SUNY-Broome Hospitality Program and Broome/Tioga BOCES Culinary Arts Program students.
Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com