Catherine Hover
2020 feels like a curse and a blessing, bundled into one yin-yangy mind-bender of a dualistic pun told by a sociopath. Or something. The pandemic has brought out the best and worst in individuals, businesses, hospitals, schools and governments. All of the chaos, all of the bright and surprising ideas, all the tears, all the laughter, all the fear, all the hope, all at once.
One in five small businesses have said they will have to close up shop unless conditions change drastically, according to a recent survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Many are barely hanging on. A cursory drive down any business thoroughfare in the Capital Region will find more empty storefronts, for rent signs and going out of business sales than any other time in recent memory.
And yet some storefronts, cafés, breweries and bakeries are thriving. How are they making it happen? We sat down with the (almost) always beaming, pink-haired Catherine Hover to learn how she has managed to maintain two thriving businesses, and open another, amid a national pandemic, all while raising three children and encouraging fellow business owners to adapt and transform their business models as quickly and effectively as she has.
Please read on for a master class in getting it done.
Edible Capital District: I’d love to hear how you ended up in the Capital District?
Catherine Hover: I moved here to be with my husband, Mark [Hover], in 2011. He was a surveyor for a dredging company and signed on to work on a job cleaning up the Hudson River for G.E. When he got moved here in 2009, we were engaged and I was just a few years out of college. I was interning at Marie Claire magazine and planned to live the Devil Wears Prada life in New York City as a fashion merchandiser. On the weekends, I’d take the train up to visit him, and we’d go out to restaurants and hit the track. That was my introduction to Saratoga Springs. I grew up in New Orleans, so it was quite a change for me. I mean, the place seemed almost cartoonish in its Norman Rockwell-esque character. From the outside, it looks so hunky-dory, like no one has a care in the world. We decided to move here in April of 2011, and we got married in October. Our first apartment was above Silverado on Broadway.
ECD: What was your plan initially?
CH: We saw it as an opportunity to build our nest egg. We thought we’d stay here maybe five years, and then move on with money saved. But then I really needed to do something. So I brought the Paint and Sip concept to the market here; this was in 2012. People were so confused, they were like, “What is this?” My initial investment was small and manageable. Basically paying for the storefront space and the supplies. We figured if it failed, we hadn’t blown our nest egg, and it was more of an investment in my ability to market the concept and the experience. Maybe it’s my background and love of Southern hospitality, but for me, it was all about just having a good time and empowering people. Early on, I cultivated key partnerships. I did a Groupon, which got people in the door. Once they were there, I made sure they were having fun, drinking wine, laughing with their friends, all while creating something they could keep. It’s a nightlife thing, and we were right on Henry Street. People could have dinner, then walk over and paint, and sip. Then Jenny O’Keefe came and wrote about her experience for Mamatoga, and we blew up. It went so well, and we had people trooping in from as far away as Hudson, so we opened another in Latham in 2013. Then I was pregnant with my first daughter, Posey, a month later. It was an amazing time. I had her in June. Then in January of 2015, we opened in Burlington. It was insane, booming, one thing after another. Mark quit his job soon after Posey was born to become a full-time dad, so I could focus on building the businesses for us.
ECD: That sounds like a lot.
CH: It was. It was a crazy trip, and we’ve welcomed two more girls since then. When I had my now two-year-old Ruby, I hit a wall. But, unlike other people who hit a wall and stop, I keep going and just bang my head against it until something gives—my head or the wall! I mean that post-partum hit me like a ton of bricks, and I really re-evaluated everything. I didn’t feel filled up by my work. I think everyone—and myself included, to be honest—never took Paint and Sip completely seriously. I mean, it was riding a wave of experiential events, but eventually it could peter out or turn into something else. I wanted more. I wanted to contribute more to my community. Because Saratoga had become my community; the place I raised my kids and had my family. It was no longer a cartoon, and I saw that there was a need for something else.
ECD: How did you move past the post-partum and into a new business concept?
CH: I took time for myself. I thought deeply about my goals, what I wanted to contribute, and what I also wanted to get out of a business myself. I went to a Girlboss Rally in November of 2018, and I was the oldest person there. [Catherine is now 34.] Everyone there was young, fearless and doing exactly what they wanted to do, without apologizing. I had this “aha” moment where I realized I could turn the best of Paint and Sip into more. Why was it successful? Because people are able to step out of their lives for two hours, do something for themselves, spend time laughing with their friends, and then have something to show for it. Right after the rally, I went to Disney World for Thanksgiving. I am a Disney fanatic, and I had another “aha” moment, where I realized Disney was started by the picture of a mouse. That’s it. And think of the joy and energy, fun and flair it has brought to the world. I decided I wanted to live every damn day feeling energized, supported, appreciated. I realized that the community I had formed with other women, our time at coffee shops, our lunches, were a big part of that. I wanted to grow that sense of empowerment and support. I wanted to have a Girlboss Disney rally as a part of my everyday life. I closed Burlington, sold Latham to two of my artist friends, and focused on empowering and feeding my community.
ECD: And that’s how Palette came to be?
CH: That is how Palette came to be. We opened officially in June of 2019, as a café initially, with the plan to open a communal working space with benefits upstairs. On July 31, I introduced the concept at a launch party, and 10 people signed up that night. The interesting thing is, many of them they already had offices. Several were doctors and small business owners.
ECD: In other words, people were looking for more than a space.
CH: They were looking for community, support.
ECD: How do you deliver that?
CH: We take their business and professional goals personally. We check in with them, we have formal meetings multiple times a year, where they tell us what they want and need from us, and we check in with them on their goals. Members pay between $2,200 and $2,600 annually and have free coffee, free wine, discounts on food, lockers, private meeting spaces, all of the classic office amenities, like printers and scanners, with additional perks. We also have regular community events, happy hours, dance parties and rallies.
ECD: But COVID.
CH: But COVID no. We signed a lease on a second space in Schenectady on March 8, and we could have backed out of that, or shut down Saratoga I suppose, but I felt like our members needed us more than ever. We’re not just a work space! We doubled down on what we do, and had three daily virtual check-ins with our members, we did not cancel a single event, happy hour or party. We just moved a lot of it to Zoom until it was safe to come together in our working space, and outside on the sidewalk and behind our café, where I set up spaces for people to work and hang out. When we were shut down, our amazing chef Sam [Pierre] made lunches, desserts and other treats for curbside pickup. No one can live without her curry chicken salad or biscuits, I mean, let’s be real. Paint and Sip went virtual, too. In the first week that I offered paint-at-home kits for sale, we completely sold out more than 400. Even during the pandemic, maybe even more so, people needed to connect and have something to look forward to. I made it my job to deliver that.
ECD: How’s it going now?
CH: Well, TBD what fun the winter will bring, but as of now, we are doing really well. We have more than 150 members in Schenectady and Saratoga, and membership at one place means you automatically have access to the other by the way. Building this has filled my cup. In many ways, the pandemic just drove that home for me, and our community.
FIVE RAPID FIRE
Breakfast today?
Vanilla latte. I’m hoping to actually get around to eating something by two.
Favorite childhood meal?
Red beans and rice on a Monday night.
Cake, pie or cookies?
Cake. Doberge cake. Have you ever had it? It’s a New Orleans classic.
Guilty indulgence?
I’m that person who is great at creating safe spaces for others but not for myself. When I can, I go to the movies alone, turn my phone off, focus on the movie and eat snacks I don’t have to share. That’s my safe space.
Midnight snack?
Chocolate shake from Stewart’s.
Catherine Hover | @catherinehover
Jenny O’Keefe | @jenny_okeefe
Palette | @thepalettecommunity
