Made In NY: Bronx Businesses Display Borough Pride
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Just in time for holiday shopping, NY1's Shazia Khan looks at products from New York City in her week-long series, "I Got It Made In New York."Old friends Carla Krasner and Judi Arnold founded the award-winning Dufour Pastry more than 25 years ago. Great for get-togethers this holiday season, the savory bites available in freezers nationwide are made in the Port Morris section of the South Bronx.
“We found out that there is a niche for handmade hors d’oeuvres,” says Krasner.
Dufour’s owners moved their growing company from Manhattan a few years ago.
“Sixty-five percent of the workforce is currently from the Bronx, and we really feel committed to hiring as many as we can,” says Krasner.
The mushroom truffle risotto is Dufour's most popular. Their newest mini-masterpiece, though, is empanadas with cotija cheese and serrano chiles. Staples in production manager Francisca Chavez’s native Mexico, the ingredients now add new flavor to Dufour.
Online business “From The Bronx” brings the borough’s flavor out in a different way.
Using their own designs, reproductions of existing art and those of Bronx artists they commission, John Martin and brothers Anthony Ramirez II and Paul Ramirez produce prints, posters, apparel and accessories beaming Bronx pride. And as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.
“We were looking for Bronx decorations to put up on our office walls when we realized there really weren't any out there. Then we decided just to take matters in our own hands,” says Martin.
From The Bronx has been in business for less than two years, but it already has more than 90,000 Facebook fans.
Not all of the products From The Bronx offers are made in New York, but the owners do have an open call out to designers and manufacturers in the city.
“At a competitive price, we would prefer to make everything right in the Bronx,” says Martin.
But for now, "From The Bronx" has plenty of made-in-New-York gift ideas to have you covered this holiday season. Get a closer look at the Arthur Avenue retail market or online.
For more information on Dufour Pastry, visit www.dufourpastrykitchens.com. For more information on From The Bronx, visit fromthebronx.com.