The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Stacey Pfeffer

Flourishing, Despite COVID: Musician & Consummate Artist Drew Bordeaux

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Drew and Tammy PHOTO By Donna Mueller

Drew Bordeaux recalls a time when the music scene in Northern Westchester and its environs was bustling. The Mount Kisco born and bred singer/songwriter who plays both guitar and violin would play upwards of 150 gigs a year at local venues including the now defunct Winston’s in Mount Kisco, Village Social in Mount Kisco and Lucy’s in Pleasantville. At these smaller venues, he enjoyed getting to know his fan base. But he also played larger venues in the tri-state area with some well-known musicians including Lauryn Hill, Boz Skaggs, KT Tunstall and the Gin Blossoms.

All this, in addition to holding down a job in his boutique digital marketing firm, Silver Rush Media, and doing fashion photo shoots and portraits of celebrities like actor Kiefer Sutherland, and musicians including Grace Potter, Ani DiFranco and Steve Earle. To say that he’s a Renaissance man is an understatement. And COVID hasn’t stopped him from creating and coming up with innovative solutions to continue his many creative pursuits albeit in new formats. 

PHOTO By Donna Mueller

A Musician at Heart 

The eloquent Harvard educated Bordeaux first fell in love with playing violin in first grade. He recalls many afternoons spent at the Westchester Conservatory of Music and Hoff-Barthelson Music School. Growing up blues music was a fixture in his household. “BB King was my first concert,” he recalls.

After picking up guitar and playing in some indie bands in college, he credits musicians such as John Mayer and Dave Matthews for influencing his music. He played at several Manhattan venues in the eponymous Bordeaux Group post college such as The Bitter End and the National Underground. The managers from those venues recommended him for several gigs which led to a jam-packed gig schedule “much to the chagrin of my friends and family,” notes Bordeaux. 

A Pandemic Pivot

But of course all of that came to a screeching halt in March of 2020 and with that Bordeaux’s gigs. In the beginning of the pandemic, he was literally itching to perform. “Every day felt like a year.” But after talking with his fellow creatives, he decided to experiment and try new platforms to perform. By April, he was performing from his Tarrytown home via Livestream. “This gave me the opportunity to be in pajamas one minute and performing the next.” 

Bordeaux used several of his Livestream performances to raise funds for causes near and dear to his heart such as MusiCares COVID-19 Relief, a Grammy created program to help music industry professionals during the pandemic and also a local beloved landmark, Tarrytown Music Hall. “It was great to have family and friends donate too to these causes who normally might not be able to see me perform.” 

A silver lining of the pandemic is that Bordeaux has had time to finally start working on an album which will be released this spring titled Impulse/Instinct. Bordeaux fans will be happy to hear him playing loop-based acoustic guitar a la Ed Sheeran. “If you’ve seen me perform, it won’t deviate too much from that.” He’s been busy researching platforms for him to release the album himself like Spotify.

He’s also found that the pandemic can actually be liberating for creatives like himself. “Now is the time that we can literally do anything–all preconceived notions about what would or wouldn’t work have gone out the window.” For instance, he has been doing virtual Zoom photo shoots. One photo shoot featuring local  Chappaqua fashion model Danielle Zinaich wound up in Vogue. 

Elevate20 Photography Project

Bordeaux also used his photography skills this past summer for a photo series project he titled Elevate20. Bordeaux’s wife Tammy started working at the Tribeca Film Festival about three weeks before the pandemic hit. They watched a Tribeca-produced documentary in partnership with MCM about the music and fashion scene in NYC together called “The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion” and Bordeaux was instantly inspired by this amazing community of musicians and fashion designers.

“The Elevate20 series was the nexus of my photography with the Black Lives Matters movement,” he explained. Bordeaux posted to his Instagram this summer that he was looking to do pro bono photo shoots for 20 Black creatives. So for instance if a model needed to update his/her “look book” or a musician needed a new album cover, Bordeaux would photograph it. “I wanted to uplift people and do my best work for people of color. I met amazing musicians and designers through the project.” Photos from the series can be viewed on drewbordeaux.com.

Raising Awareness About Racial Inequality 

The subject of race also propelled him to write several essays on the topic after the George Floyd killing this past spring. “When the video came out, I didn’t want to watch it. I was cynical enough to know how it ends. But when I did see it, it was a turning point. 

I had friends calling me and asking me what they could do to help. My Facebook became a diary and chronicle of my thoughts and feelings about the social unrest that was happening and a way to have a dialogue with people [about race] at a time when I didn’t necessarily feel it was that safe to go out and protest.”

His social media feed and essays caught the attention of editors at Bedford & New Canaan Magazine and they approached him about becoming the arts/culture editor there as well as photographing for various stories. “Any chance I have to be creative this year, I’m like, let’s go,” he explained.

Obviously, Bordeaux has a lot on his plate but when he has downtime, he enjoys spending time at the Tarrytown Sleepy Hollow (TASH) farmers market of which his wife is co-president. With both in creative fields, they’ve had to pivot and rethink how to approach their jobs. “The Tribeca Film Festival this year is going to be this immersive and reimagined experience. I can’t wait,” he said.

Like all of us, Bordeaux is waiting for some sense of normalcy to resume. Once Covid is behind us, he wants to go to his favorite restaurant Mint in Tarrytown for brunch with his wife. “I just want to sit in our window seat and feel transported like you are in Europe.” He also wants to go to a rock concert. “That was one of the last things I did before the pandemic started and I remember standing there thinking this is the last time I am doing this for a while. I just want to feel the music wash over me again.” 

More Locals with a Writing Flair: Kat Nemec

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Graphic artist Kat Nemec didn’t originally intend to write a blog. A few years ago, she took her college age son on a cross country trip to the West Coast to help him relocate there. Along the way she chronicled their journey on Facebook with twice daily photos and posts. She posted frequently to keep her daughter updated on their journey as she felt mom guilt that her daughter was missing out on the experience. Facebook readers liked her posts so much that they encouraged her to keep writing and start a blog. One of her Facebook followers was writing coach Wendy Fried who owns Pleasantville-based Wordcraft. She strongly encouraged Nemec to start a blog and suggested the Swoon name as Nemec frequently used that word or signed off her posts with it.

Nemec describes herself as an over-sharer who uses a lot of adjectives and prefers stream of consciousness writing. Topics covered include childhood memories, her parents love affair and the joy of cooking. She is not afraid though to tackle more difficult subjects such as talking about sex with your kids, 9/11, and even her family’s experience with the Armenian genocide. 

“I’m not a writer,” claims Nemec but after reading her refreshingly honest posts you may feel differently. “People are savvy and they will respond to something that is truthful and comes from the heart.” Nemec isn’t interested in amassing a huge number of followers, monetizing her blog or cross-promoting products. She writes her blog as a creative pursuit. “I’m not doing this for fame or fortune. When you do something creative for yourself the need for approval goes away and the best stuff is going to come out.”

Before starting her blog in February 2020, she read books on the subject that suggested she had to write 2-3 posts per week with no dry spots. It didn’t work with her schedule initially. When COVID hit though the timing proved to be fortuitous as a lot of her workload decreased and she was able to write more frequently. “If I don’t feel it, I’m not writing it,” explains Nemec. For example, this past October and November she was depressed about the upcoming holidays and not being able to be with her son. “We are a big holiday family. Writing at that time just wasn’t in my bandwidth.” 

As someone who works in a creative field, Nemec encourages others who want to start a creative pursuit to do it for themselves. “If people respond and like it, then that is just the cherry on top,” she says.

From Kat’s Swooning: “T-Rex and Kong”

“Pleasantville is about 30 miles north of Manhattan. More suburb than vacation destination, people fleeing the city due to the pandemic drive right past our exit while heading upstate. We do have one new family since lockdown…a family of dinosaurs. First, it was just one lone T-Rex, checking things out for the rest of the clan, he* ran through the neighborhood feeling out his welcome. We did not tell him to go back to where he came from, we embraced his uniqueness. After a few weeks, the rest of the family showed up. They are a healthy group…some days they run together, other times they take a solitary stroll. Their presence brings joy and laughter during this time of ever growing fog and confusion. T-Rex sightings posted in real time on FB update us when they are out and about…they are on Romer Avenue, they just turned onto Bedford Road…quick go look! The family made an appearance at the farmers market and at the teacher appreciation day drive by at the elementary school. They remind me of one Halloween during elementary school…when I was kidnapped by the Son of Kong….

People who are willing to be ridiculous…are gifts to the universe. I would like to imagine, years from now, someone will be writing their memories of being a child during “The Pandemic of 2020”. There was no school, no parties, no trips to the pool, no playdates, and no grandparent hugs… but there was a T-Rex, who jogged through town, spreading so so so…very much joy.”

Read more from Kat at www.swooning.me

How Locals with a Writing Flair are Gaining Fans

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There are currently 600 million blogs on the Internet and more than 30 million bloggers in the U.S. Without too much trouble, you can discover and enjoy the work of bloggers (whose ages run the gamut!) located in our hometowns writing about everything from their passion for pizza to parenting dilemmas. The common denominator for success? Prose composed in their own authentic voices.

 In this edition, we start with two young bloggers, one a college aged student (a Greeley grad and regular Inside Press contributor) and a second, an Armonk-based fourth-grade student!

Megan Klein, Chappaqua

Megan Klein, a junior at Boston University, started her blog freshman year of college as a way to help her process the transition to college life. She ultimately transferred after her freshman year to Boston University. The process made her want to destigmatize transferring, and other unpredicted college road bumps in her posts, which she says many people still view as taboo. 

“Everyone tells you that your four years in college are the best years of your life. But that’s not true for everyone, so I started writing about that,” said Klein. Originally the blog was a distracting outlet for her, doubling as a way to build her writing portfolio as a journalism student. While she initially didn’t tell many about the blog, that eventually changed. A year later she asked people for submissions of times where college was hard and got immediate positive feedback from long lost friends and other followers on Instagram telling her how relatable she was. 

The first section she developed was titled “No Lifeguard on Duty”. “I called it that because this really is the first time that you are own without your parents,” notes Klein. Then College Confessions stemmed from the submissions, ranging in aspects of college life from Greek life to friends to transitions. She also added a Freshman Survival Guide section. 

Klein is always looking for ways to make her blog more interactive and expand her readership by uploading photos, adding links and buttons. She also created stress balls and stickers for purchase with her blog’s tagline “Smile. It’s good for you.” This year she also started a podcast called Happiness Talks, where she interviews “positivity professionals” on various topics such as cognitive behavioral therapy and even therapy dogs. 

Klein hopes to one day compile her experiences into a self-help book similar to the You are A Badass series but for the college set. “I’d love it if it was a book that parents gave to their kids when they entered college,” she notes but for now she is happy about the blog’s growth from 1,600 visitors when she started in 2019 to 4,000 visitors this past year from more than 33 different countries. Acknowledging that those numbers aren’t astronomical, she still is proud of what it’s accomplished. “It’s all baby steps,” she says, but no doubt a part of her journey on her pathway to adulthood, albeit online. 

Keira O’Sullivan, Armonk

This fourth grader at Wampus Elementary School is a pizza aficionado. After trying the perfect trifecta of bread, tomato sauce and cheese at the tender age of three, pizza quickly became her favorite food. O’Sullivan decided to start her own pizza blog after reading an article on the best local pizzerias in Westchester Magazine in 2018. She loves trying out different pizzerias in the county often accompanied by her father, Kevin. To date, she has visited more than 40 pizzerias and tried their classic slices along with an occasional side order of garlic knots. She’s even stopped at pizzerias on vacations in Pennsylvania, the Jersey Shore and Upstate NY. She likes the fact that writing her blog has helped her become more computer literate and brush up on her photography skills.

One of the more unusual qualities that O’Sullivan likes to write about is the pizza’s “floppiness” which she says happens when the crust flops over and you can fold the pizza in half. “I like a little bit of flop and sweet sauce but no air bubbles in the crust.” She rates the pizza on a scale of 1-10 and is a tough critic claiming that she will never give out a 10 because no pizza is perfect. 

COVID hasn’t stopped her as pizza is the ultimate casual food and perfect for curbside pick-up. She’s still updating the blog and while she has no plans of becoming a restaurant critic she hopes her blog points people in the right direction to good pizza. “There is some good pizza and there is some bad and I just wanted people to know what’s good,” she explains. Thanks for the advice Keira! 

Excerpts from both blogs follow!

From Megan Klein’s ‘Operation Happiness’

You know when a book changes your life? Not to sound dramatic, which we all know I am, but after years of hearing people say that, I finally found the one. 

It’s called 14,000 Things to be Happy About by Barbara Ann Kipfer. It’s literally a book filled with an ongoing list of 14,000 things that have made her happy throughout the years: squooshing ice-cream sandwiches, TV football on mute, a good Monday and the movie We Bought a Zoo are just four of thousands.  

I’ve always been one to keep a journal. My first one was a gift from my sister for Christmas one year. It was blue and had a big M on it and was from Justice. It was a gold mine of middle school gossip. I wrote down a list of my fifth grade crushes. I wrote down a list of the most annoying people in my class, girls and boys. Too bad I haven’t been able to find that sucker in years – Mom, I give you permission to tear apart my room to find it. 

I eventually graduated to leather bound books, where I tried to keep a daily record of what happened and how I was feeling. 

And honestly, I now realize that the way I was journaling was counterproductive. Yes, I was writing down my thoughts and my feelings. But, I found that if those thoughts or feelings were negative, I was just re-hashing them on paper instead of letting them go. 

Then I found this book. 

Every night I write five things down that made me happy that day, whether it be something I ate, something I did, a song I like, or if nothing comes to mind, I think back on happy memories and write those down. I call it Take 5 Write 5 journaling.

Here are a few things I have written down in my book: a hot shower after a cold rainy soccer game, ABC Family Harry Potter weekend marathons at home, sourdough bread and falling asleep to the Dear John piano soundtrack. 

Now it’s your turn. 

For more blog posts from Megan, visit www.operationhappinessblog.com

Reviews from Keira O’Sullivan’s Pizza Ratings

Hartsdale House of Pizza
Rating = 8.9

We got a plain slice, tomato slice, and some kind of pepper cheese slice, which my Dad ate. The tomato slice was really good and the plain slice was good. The garlic knots were HUGE. I couldn’t really eat the garlic knots because I had a wiggly tooth. My mom wanted to try this place for a while. I recommend this place. It was good.

Villagio Pizzeria – Tuckahoe, NY
Rating = 7.4

I was going to review Roma Pizza because Westchester Magazine said it’s the best pizza in Tuckahoe. But they were closed so my mom went to this place instead because she thought it looked good for me. I got a plain cheese slice and a focaccia slice that just had tomato sauce on it. The plain slice was pretty good. It was not floppy. I liked the amount of cheese even though I sometimes take it off after 5 bites. The sauce was good too.

The focaccia slice only had one chunky tomato on it which I was not very happy about. Overall I would go there again and recommend it.

Sal’s Pizzeria, Mamaroneck, NY
Rating = 9.2

This pizza was really good. We got a plain cheese and a Sicilian. It was really good. It had the right amount of flop. Bread was really good. Just really good pizza in general. I liked everything about it. I would highly recommend this pizza. It was so good. My mom and dad have been telling me about this place for a while.

For more blog posts from Keira, visit, www.keiraspizzarating.home.blog

Chappaqua’s Térron Richardson Creates Candles and Soaps to Please in the Age of E-Commerce

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Térron Richardson, founder, Chandel Atelier Photo Credit: Randi Childs

When I want to create a cozy and inviting ambience in my home, I often light candles. The glowing light, the soft scents permeating the room, the candle’s wax melting ever so slowly offers a sense of serenity in a chaotic world. Apparently, I’m not alone in my love for candles as prestige (or what industry experts call premium) candle sales totaled $101.9 million in the US in 2018, according to market research firm the NPD Group. Growth in this category particularly from fashion and fragrance companies who are entering the market is expected to continue. And COVID hasn’t put a strain yet on consumer spending of candles. In fact, premium candle sales grew by 6% this March when COVID hit compared to the previous year, as consumers hunkered down in their homes.

A recent arrival to Chappaqua from Harlem, Térron Richardson knows a thing or two about prestige candles (and soap) as the owner of newly launched e-commerce site, Chandel Atelier. The site sells candles and soaps and Richardson’s background in luxury fashion and design has served him well as he seeks to expand his business. Richardson says that he has always been enamored with fragrance. At any given moment, he owns a “perfume library” with a roster of 20+ rotating scents.

Prior to launching his company, Richardson worked for Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Coach and luxury home décor company Jay Strongwater. A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, he credits his professors in igniting an interest in sustainability. Richardson uses eco-friendly slow-burning coconut wax and wooden wicks which burn much cleaner, and don’t get the carbon build-up that needs to be trimmed off of cotton wicks.

In addition, he works with a wooden wick supplier that partners with Trees for the Future, an organization working to end hunger and poverty for small farmers through revitalizing degraded lands.

Many less expensive candles contain paraffin which can release toxins. “Paraffin is not regulated in the US,” explains Richardson and candle companies are not required to disclose it as an ingredient. Richardson wants customers to know what his products are made from and that his products are safe.

A self-taught candle maker, Richardson watched YouTube videos to learn the craft of candle making. “It was a quick process. I knew how to source suppliers from my experience with Jay Strongwater and then I spent 3-4 weeks figuring out how to make candles,” notes Richardson. Before he would settle though on a fragrance for the candle, he sometimes created 20 versions using a scent blotter and then used feedback from friends and family to help him solidify the scents.

Each candle retails for $45 and has a top, middle and base notes and these many layers lead to a sophisticated aroma. He offers new varieties of candles seasonally as well as a core collection of three products. Anguilla, one of the core products was created to pay homage to his birthplace and offers notes of linen, freesia, eucalyptus and moss.

Ever passionate about scent, Richardson decided to expand his product line with bar soaps that are sulfate and paraben-free using either goat’s milk or shea butter and flaxseed while still having a beautiful aroma. These natural ingredients increase the skin’s moisture level which can help combat dry skin during the harsh Northern Westchester winter months.

When not promoting his line, Richardson and his partner are enjoying exploring the area and dining locally. He notes that he is also an active member of New Castle’s Council on Race and Equity. Citing the challenges that BIPOC business owners face such as receiving small business loans, Richardson is hopeful that the Black Lives Matter movement will educate consumers on the importance of supporting Black-owned businesses such as Chandel Atelier.

Plans are in the works for a Chappaqua-inspired candle this spring featuring notes of wet fern, moss, musk, gardenia, ylang ylang, and jasmine.

To learn more, follow Richardson on Instagram, @chandelatelier and visit www.chandelatelier.com.

What Area Restaurants Are Doing for the Holiday Season In Light of COVID

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Editor’s Note: The challenges to restauranteurs continue as a new wave (and anticipated) spike in COVID strikes across the country, including New York, and here in Westchester County too. After we went to press with our editions with Stacey Pfeffer’s story which follows, Governor Cuomo issued a new order for statewide SLA, State Liquor Authority, licensed establishments (i.e. these are primarily bars and restaurants) to close their doors at 10 p.m.. “In theory, indoor dining, outdoor dining, you’re at a table, Cuomo stated, “You only take down the mask to eat or drink, but what happens is that setting is very hard to police; it’s very hard for people to maintain the discipline of sitting there eating and drinking and chatting and having a good time and laughing and keeping a mask on.” 

Will local restaurants be using yurts to keep worried diners eating outside as the weather turns cooler? Just as some New York City restaurants have done as the holiday season approaches, area restaurants are looking for ways to attract diners while keeping them safe and also offer enhanced catering/take-out options during the Thanksgiving-New Year period. The statistics for the restaurant industry have been grim since COVID hit with one in six restaurants nationwide shutting their doors according to the National Restaurant Association and more are expected in the coming months.

The restaurant industry in Westchester is under different guidelines than New York City with regards to indoor dining according to Natasha Caputo, Director of Westchester County’s Tourism & Film. While NYC restaurants cap indoor dining to 25 percent capacity, Westchester restaurants are allowed to host indoor diners at 50 percent capacity. But meeting that capacity is challenging even in times prior to COVID. The holiday season is traditionally a “win” or “loss” season with upscale dining establishments noticing as much as a 60 percent decline in profits during a holiday like Thanksgiving when many people choose to cook at home. In times of COVID, restaurants can also no longer rely on holiday office parties to boost revenue during the season.

So what’s a restaurant proprietor to do?

Beloved Chappaqua eatery Le Jardin du Roi has seen its share of challenges from construction downtown to devastating storms to COVID. Still they remain a popular restaurant with a loyal following and their outdoor patio area has always been a choice spot for dining during warmer weather. But as the weather was turning colder, General Manager Wendy Egan knew they had to act fast so they were lucky enough to secure a rental tent, which has been in short supply due to COVID. The tent has a special non-propane heater as well as two openings to ensure proper ventilation and the same rules for spacing out diners applies to the tent as it does to the indoor restaurant. We plan to have the tent out for as long as we can,” said Egan.

Tents do require town board approval which can be a timely process especially when your restaurant is housed in a historic stone train station like the Pleasantville restaurant, Pub Street. Chef/Co-owner Mogan Anthony is actively working to get a tent approved at Pub Street as of press time. He’s also busy planning special holiday menus for take-out that will be available to view online on the restaurant’s website at least ten days prior to the start of the holiday.

While restauranteurs have to cope with the additional costs of tents, sanitizer and heaters, indoors some have also had the extra expense of upgrading their HVAC systems to ensure customer safety. “We upgraded our system to include HEPA filters. Once more people realize that we have HEPA filters, we hope more customers will want to dine inside with us,” says Egan. In addition to dining on-site, Le Jardin du Roi has excellent catering capabilities to help customers get through the holidays including BBQ as well as seasonal favorites such as smoked turkey, cornbread stuffing and mashed potatoes. Menus are posted on their website.

Jay Patel, the owner of Indi-Q in Armonk, is used to a flurry of guests for office holiday parties with a location on Old Route 22 next to several office parks. A popular choice pre-COVID was their elegant lunch buffet but with COVID they have now created individualized lunch boxes which feature an entrée plus rice, a vegetable side and nan bread. They’ve also increased their catering and delivery options for groups and can provide medium or large platters for groups from 15 people to 50 people which can come in handy for holidays ranging from Diwali to Thanksgiving to Christmas.

The roomy outdoor space has heat lamps spaced throughout the entire area and Patel also reports that customers are now getting more comfortable eating indoors versus at the beginning of the pandemic as the restaurant follows stringent protocols set by the CDC, state and local governments.

No matter what restaurants do to entice customers, COVID has been the most challenging time for them. “Local support is so important,” acknowledges Egan. “We always give back to local charities like the Chappaqua School Foundation with gift cards and such.” And now and throughout the holidays is the perfect time to show your favorite restaurant a little local love back.