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For Sherburne native Savannah Collins, launching Kozmo’s Hometown Eatery marked a turning point.
Collins, 36, together with partner Kris Maiurano, opened the cafe at 23 North Broad St. in Norwich in early March.
“We always worked in the restaurant industry,” she said. “And I know, for myself, I’m in long-term recovery, so it’s been really cool to be open in a town where I was known for all this crazy stuff. But we decided to do this because we’ve been working for other people our whole lives. We worked on (the space) for like four months before opening.”
Kozmo’s, named for Collins’ and Maiurano’s young son, offers breakfast and lunch.
“The best way to put it is like a diner-catessa; like if a diner and a deli had a baby,” Collins said. “It’s all diner in the morning, until 11, and we do specialty waffles and Everything Bagelry does our bagels and we have Foggy Hollow Maple Syrup. We try to locally source our stuff … and any little local thing I can find to get my hands on, I do.
“Traditionally, this was Garf’s Diner for 28 years,” she continued. “So, we brought back a lot of Garf’s classics and had a lot of support from the original owner, and we threw our own mixes in. We’re famous for our soups and we do something different than anyone else around here, which is soups in bread bowls, and chilled soups when it’s hot, like strawberry soup. Anything in a bread bowl, people go crazy.”
While honoring the classics, Collins said, she has also been inspired by area businesses to branch out.
“We try to find cool combinations, like how Wise Guys Sammys (in Oneonta) does stuff off the cuff,” she said. “We have a following like that, and they’re on Facebook checking every day. We do tons of different kinds of food items, (such as) homemade sorbets with edible flowers … and the chunky goddess salad, everybody loved. I try to keep everything fresh and homemade. So, it’s a little bit classier than a typical diner, but not snobby at all. There’s a really cool vibe here and all the walls are covered in artwork from local artists and soon we will be having local bands and music.”
Collins said her past has spurred her to spread positivity.
“The opportunity came out of nowhere with our location, and it’s one of the best in the town, but Norwich has so many things that are in the paper that are awful, so it’s been nice to bring a little bit of light,” she said. “It’s starting to clean up this side of the street … and we’re super involved; we did an Easter thing that was free to the community and all this cool stuff. You have to be able to give back to a community and, for myself in recovery, I have to do that. It’s been so wonderful.”
Customers, Collins said, are appreciative.
“We have wonderful feedback,” she said. “It’s ‘thank you so much for bringing something back here’ and ‘this is good food.’ We have people who are from Norwich and we had people from Connecticut who came in because they heard it was good, so we get people from all over the place and a lot of locals, or people traveling through. And we have all sorts; from the older crowd and business people, to everybody and their brother coming in. We get a lot of families and a lot of kids in here, so we’re really lucky.”
As Kozmo’s establishes itself, Collins said, she hopes to expand offerings.
“Come summertime, we will be open later, and we are participating in Saturday Mornings in the Park and Music in the Park,” she said. “We’re going to have fish fries on Friday outside and try to do open mics; there’s no alcohol here, but it will still be cool. It’s like its own organism and people create what is here.”
That sense of community, Collins said, keeps her motivated.
“It’s our whole family; our kids work here and it’s a family business,” she said. “My mom works here, and customers become like family. We have regulars starting to come in, and it’s so nice to hear, when you come in at four in the morning to cook the food and make sure it’s right, that feedback. And it’s really cool to have my own kitchen where it’s a positive vibe. I’ve worked in so many where people are yelling, and this is a great place for young people to start working: there are no negative vibes and no sexual harassment and nobody’s going to yell at you. I don’t like that and don’t like that energy getting into food. I like food made with love.”
Kozmo’s Hometown Eatery is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; 7 to 2 Saturday; and closed Sunday.
For more information and specials, find “Kozmo’s Hometown Eatery” on Facebook or follow @kozmoshometowneatery on Instagram.
