SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Business owners to be honored by Downtown Troy BID next week
TROY, N.Y. » The Downtown Troy Business Improvement District has announced the honorees to be recognized at its upcoming eighth annual Party & Sammy Awards.
Business owners, city officials, and community enthusiasts are expected to gather for the event beginning at 5 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 3 at Revolution Hall, located at 425 River St. in Troy.
The party will feature networking, music, dancing, games and an awards ceremony honoring remarkable local businesses and individuals.
This year the BID celebrates “Tropical Troy” with island-influenced sounds from Robanic Reggae Band, ice breaker games from Bard & Baker Board Game Café and Caribbean-inspired tapas and libations. Guests are encouraged to wear festive attire, florals, and bright colors.
“OurAnnualParty& SammyAwards is a celebration,” said Katie Hammon, executive director of the Downtown Troy BID, in a press release. “A celebration of our growing and changing downtown, and the spirit of the people that make this city pulse with a heartbeat.
“We have such talented individuals that make up our community. This is the time to engage with your neighbors, meet new friends, and celebrate your community’s accomplishments!”
This year, the Downtown Troy BID Sammy Awards—named after Uncle Sam— celebrate Quang’s Vietnamese Bistro as New Business of the Year, Famous Lunch as Established Business of the Year and Fred Miller with the
Sammy Spirit Award.
Quang’s Vietnamese Bistro, which opened at 88 Third St. last January, is Troy’s first Vietnamese restaurant. Owner Quang Tran was born in Vung Tau, Vietnam, and at the age of two months, he and his family fled the country on refugee boats and found themselves settled in southern California.
While growing up and pursuing a degree in architecture at UC Berkeley, he worked in numerous restaurants throughout and discovered that he had a tremendous passion for food, wine, and the energy of the hospitality industry. Forgoing architecture,
he then pursued a career in fine dining and worked at highly acclaimed restaurants in San Francisco, developing an in-depth knowledge of fine dining service.
In 2014, Tran decided to temporarily move to New York with his family, where he helped open Peck’s Arcade in 2015, working under Vic Christopher and Heather Lavine, and inheriting their love for the city of Troy.
Realizing that upstate New York was severely lacking in Asian cuisine, Tran decided to fill that niche and open Quang’s Vietnamese Bistro.
As a new local entrepreneur, Tran is extremely honored to receive the New Business of the Year Sammy Award from the BID and was surprised to hear the news.
“In all honesty, when I received the message, I was on my way to the market. I had to actually pull over the car because I started getting really emotional. I felt like I had just been told that I had just won an Oscar. It’s in accolade that I never fathomed receiving in a million years,” he shared. “This past year has been one of the most challenging experiences of my entire life. The rollercoaster of emotions that I’ve experienced has been no joke. To receive this type of acknowledgment has truly made all of the hard work I’ve put in worthwhile. I feel so honored.”
The BID’s Established Business of the Year, popular 111 Congress St. eatery Famous Lunch, has been around since 1932. At the time, it was known as the Quick Lunch. On August 28, 1958, however, an event would change the name forever. A local marine, 20-year- old Corporal Gordon Gundrum, stationed at the U. S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, just had to have his Troy hot dogs. Several dozen dogs were flown to the embassy by KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, and were served for lunch that day to Gundrum and the U.S. Ambassador at his 54th birthday celebration.
The news of “Operation Hot Dogs” made the national and local newspapers, and so the Quick Lunch became “World Famous.”
Today, this historic hot dog shop still lives up to the famous name. Famous Lunch sends hot dogs via FedEx to states throughout the U.S. A. and around the world. Some people will go to any length to satisfy their hunger for a “Famous Hot Dog.”
Nearly a century since its opening, Famous Lunch remains in operation today under Scott Vasil and his family.
Sammy Spirit Award winner Fred Miller is the CEO and Lead Strategist of The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc., named one of Consulting Magazine’s “Seven Small Jewels” in 2010.
Miller specializes in developing workforce utilization strategies that accelerate results to deliver higher individual, team, and organizational performance. He is a pioneering change agent and thought leader in the field of organization development. His experience includes partnering with organizations to accelerate growth, enhance bottom-line results, and work through turnaround situations, as well as positioning leaders for success in startups, entrepreneurial ventures, and transitioning from founder-led companies to the next generation of leadership.
A downtown Troy resident, Miller operates the Troy 100 Forum through his company The Kaleel
Jamison Consulting Group twice annually.
Troy 100 Forum is a village square, a place where people come to share information and to network with a common goal in the betterment of our community.
The Troy 100 Forum is where Troy’s business, political, community, educational, religious and cultural leaders meet to talk about topics of public concern. It is a place for people to associate as leaders and an opportunity for those trying to shape Troy to present their ideas for exploration and reaction.
After hearing of his selection for the Sammy Spirit Award, Miller reflected on when the decision was made for The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group to be based in the Collar City.
“When we were looking for an office for our firm, we looked at Albany, Schenectady, and Troy,” he explained. “In 1996, most people would not have picked Troy as a place to start an office and recruit a staff. But as we saw Troy at that time, we saw potential, potential, potential. We believed, and still do, that Troy had the potential to really grow and develop.
“As we are probably one of the oldest firms in downtown Troy, it’s been a delight and joy to see Troy grow and develop as it has over the past years. It was one of the best decisions we ever made in our 50 years in business and now it’s an advantage when we’re trying to attract talent.”
In addition to these honorees being recognized for their past work, the upcoming BID party will also celebrate the start of an amazing year to come for the downtown district, a release from the organization said.
“A valuable asset to the Capital Region for shopping, dining, and exploring, downtown Troy continues to expand. It is a vibrant city where individuals are able to see their vision grow, support their neighbors and give back to their community.
“Diverse businesses open their doors and established ones have remained true to their products and further expanded their audience. This evidence is what Troy offers not only for the businesses themselves but for consumers which return and invest into downtown.”
The purpose of the BID is to cultivate and advocate the economic growth of downtown Troy by creating an inviting, dynamic and sustainable community that celebrates the city’s history while building towards its future. The BID is dedicated to improving the quality of life within the district to further enhance and make the community a vibrant, attractive destination for visitors, businesses, residents, property owners, the daily workforce and students.
All are invited to attend the BID’s eighth annual Party & Sammy Awards. Tickets are available for $40 each and can be purchased online at www.downtowntroy.org/annualparty.