Danby Food and Drink opens doors to community

Danby Food and Drink opened its doors earlier this summer, and a few months in, owner Kartik Sribarra said he’s enjoying the ride.

“It’s been really great,” Sribarra said. “The community has been really supportive and excited. To this day, and it’s now three months from when we opened, we have had multiple people coming in every day who haven’t been able to make it in and were talking about how excited they are.”

“I love it. I think that it’s fantastic,” said customer Miguel Berrios, who stopped in on a recent weekday afternoon. “I love all the delicious food, the beers on tap, and all the amazing music. Worth the trip in from Caroline every time.”

A grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 28, and there will be samples, specials and live music to celebrate.

Sribarra has also established a Thursday evening outdoor concert series, the next installment of which will be Richie Sterns, who will take the stage Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.

As for the food, Sribarra said he was not surprised to find that people are very enthusiastic about his sandwiches.

“They have been a big hit,” he said.

There are three on the menu: roast beef and provolone ($13), smoked turkey and gouda ($12), and the vegan option of seitan and vegetables ($11).

“It’s wagyu beef, and they’re all antibiotic-free, really high quality meats, and they have a quarter pound of meat with greens from Shagbark Gardens just down the road,” Sribarra said.

The establishment’s current hours are Wednesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

He said he also takes pride in his draft system and his carefully selected variety of beer. There are 10 taps, and nine of the beverages are from local brewers; the only one that is not local is the nonalcoholic option, an Athletics IPA.

There are two hard ciders, a hard kombucha, and a 2% alcohol beer from Personal Best that is the most affordable option at $4 a pint.

“It’s hard to find a beer on tap for less than $5,” Sribarra said, adding that he designed his drink menu to be as inclusive and affordable as possible for everyone.

For those who stop by in the morning, Danby Food and Drink offers coffee and baked goods made in house, including jumbo muffins, zucchini bread and cookies.

Danby Food and Drink will also be serving New York City style pizzas, tentatively starting this fall, as part of the Manji Manji pizza project.

One of the surprisingly popular items sold at Danby Food and Drink is Pan’s mushroom jerky, which Sribarra discovered at a food trade show last year. It is made with shitake mushrooms and comes in a variety of flavors.

“Everybody who’s tried it has been floored by how delicious it is,” he said. “They’ve tried it once and are hooked.”

One of Sribarra’s favorite things about running his new businesses is fostering a sense of community in Danby. Regular customer Josh Swiller, of Danby, appreciates that his sons can ride their bikes to the store. It is close enough to his house that he can run over to buy milk without having to make a 20-minute round trip to a gas station, and the experience of shopping at Danby Food and Drink is more fun, too, he said.

“It’s so great to have,” Swiller said. “It’s not just a market, but more than that, it’s a community meeting place.”

“Just this morning I got up early, at 6:50 for the school bus, and it wasn’t until three hours later that I was leaving for work, so I left 15 minutes early and hung out with Kartik. IT’s nice to do that. Face-to-face interaction gets underprioritized.”

The music series has been key in building an inviting, family-friendly atmosphere, he said.

“It’s been so much fun. We often have a line out the door the entire night with kids running around,” Sribarra said. “The whole area fills up,” he said, gesturing at the shop’s expansive lawn. There are a few picnic tables for eating outside, but much of the large open space is empty and ready to be filled with a music loving crowd of neighbors.

“People bring blankets and lawn chairs,” Sribarra said. “It feels like a mini GrassRoots vibe, which is my happy place.”

When the weather cools down, Sribarra is looking forward to hosting smaller evening acoustic sets.

“I bet we could pack the house and make it a party inside,” Sribarra said.

Along with the live music, Sribarra promotes local talent by displaying local art. Currently the walls feature the photography of Danby’s Coleen Foley.

Sribarra has a wife and two children and said balancing running a business and spending time with family has been one of the biggest challenges since the store opened. He has a couple employees who take over a few shifts per week, he said, but most of the time he is the one overseeing the business.

“Balancing labor is a huge line item on a budget,” he said. “To afford staff takes time, and I’m moving in that direction.”