Author: Courtney Kless

Are you looking for somewhere to celebrate Mother’s Day? Are you in desperate need of a night out? No matter the occasion, Phoebe’s Restaurant & Coffee Lounge will leave you feeling satisfied. The restaurant, then called Phoebe’s Garden Café, first opened in 1976 at the intersection of East Genesee Street and Irving Avenue. It would expand a few times in the years that followed, adding the atrium dining room (1980) and coffee lounge (2004), and changing its name to Phoebe’s Restaurant & Coffee Lounge. Today, Phoebe’s offers lunch (Monday-Friday) and dinner (Tuesday-Saturday). The restaurant’s menus feature a variety of soups,…

Hiking is one of my favorite ways to spend my spare time – and I am always looking for new parks and nature preserves to explore. That recently led me to Baltimore Woods. Located in Marcellus, the preserve is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. “It was always set aside to be an educational space,” said Whitney Lash-Marshall, executive director of Baltimore Woods Nature Center. “That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to come to a program led by one of our staff members, but it’s meant to be a place where you experience nature firsthand and build your own personal…

April is Financial Literacy Month, and what better time to teach your child – or teen – about saving and spending money? “The financial services world is complex; it uses a lot of terms that are not readily available or well-known by people,” said Thom Dellwo, a financial education coordinator at Cooperative Federal Credit Union in Syracuse. “The more ways you can give them realistic but safe versions of the real world and money management, the more likely they are to be successful and to not get taken advantage of.” Read on for some ways that parents can do exactly…

Are you looking for a way to treat yourself – and to learn something new? A visit to Syracuse’s Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science & Technology will accomplish both. Then called the Discovery Center of Science, the MOST opened to the public on Nov. 15, 1981 (the museum celebrated its 40th anniversary in November). “It actually opened as just a small little storefront museum on Clinton Street not too far from where we are now, and it came about because parents and families and community leaders were really looking for something like a science museum,” said Lauren Kochian, president…

For her entire life, Paola Benevento’s name has been spelled or pronounced incorrectly. “When you are constantly confronted with that as a kid, it makes you develop anxiety around your name and a discomfort,” she said. “And that’s something that’s really continued to follow me around through life. I’m 30 years old now, and in the last week alone, I’ve had that happen to me three times.” Benevento, a Henninger High School alum, has been a teacher in the South Bronx for eight years, and has noticed a similar frustration in her classroom. “Some of my students have names that…

The weather is warming, and golfers around Central New York will soon be hitting the links. One local organization is working to break down barriers to the sport. “People can play it at any age,” said Greg Callen, the founder of New York Adaptive Golf. “I just felt that it was a good platform for individuals to get out in the sun, to get some socialization, and to think about something versus their injury.” Callen knows from personal experience how important that is. In 2005, he was paralyzed from the waist down after a fall from a balcony. Four years…

Since it was founded by a group of local parents in 1985, LAUNCH has helped individuals become more independent at work, school and home. Family Times recently talked to Julie Freeman, director of education, about the non-profit’s history, its mission, and the services it offers (including three summer programs). This interview was edited for length and clarity. 1. Can you tell me a little about the history behind LAUNCH, and how it grew into what it is today? LAUNCH used to be known as the Learning Disabilities Association of Central New York (LDACNY), and that was founded in 1985. It…

Did you know February is National Children’s Dental Health Month? Family Times recently talked to Qasha Diaz, a lead dental assistant at Pediatric Dentistry & Family Orthodontics in Fayetteville, about some things you can do to keep your child’s teeth healthy – every month of the year. This interview was edited for length and clarity. 1. Can you tell me a little about your background? I was going to school for student teaching, and I’ve always had a passion for dentistry. When my daughter was born in 2008, they were laying off a bunch of student teachers, so I took…

Please note: The Syracuse Crunch updated its attendance policy earlier this month. Click here to learn more. Growing up with two brothers, watching (and playing) sports were a way of life – these days, in my free time, you can often find me sitting in the front of the television, enjoying a football game or a golf tournament. But there is nothing that compares to watching sports live. My husband and I recently headed to the Upstate Medical University Arena to watch the Syracuse Crunch take on the Utica Comets. The Crunch, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate for the…

For three generations, Hercules Candies has been bringing hand crafted sweets to Central New York. Originally named Boston Candy Kitchen, the business was founded in East Syracuse in 1910 by Robert Andrianos and his two brothers (all three were from Greece). In the years that followed, it would change owners (and its location) several times – Robert’s grandson, Steven Andrianos, and his wife, Terry, currently run the business together. In January of 2017, the Andrianos’ oldest son, Craig, launched the Hercules Candies YouTube channel – and business took off. “After about a year, it just blew up. There was really…