ALTAMONT — Businesses evolve with the times as favorite gathering places in the village have new life.

The one-time pharmacy is now home to both a flower shop, Bella Fleur, which moved from the outskirts of the village to its center, and, likewise, a wine store, now aptly named Remedies. And the long-time butcher shop is a brand-new custom-cut meat shop that also serves deli meals.

Wine and roses

Bella Fleur Florist and Remedies Wine and Spirits are in the same building but separate — they need to be, legally, explained flower-shop owner Diana Greene, since florists cannot get the liquor license needed to sell wine — although they feel like one large, chic establishment, with a low, half-wall separating them down the middle.

On one side is the flower shop, which does orders large and small including flowers for weddings and also does deliveries. And on the other side is the wine shop, which will offer wine tastings most Thursday afternoons.

Greene is co-owner, with Troy Miller, of Remedies too.

“When Bill Turner, who owned the old wine store, decided to retire and close, we thought it was a great opportunity,” Greene said of the decision to start a wine store in the village. Turner’s original wine store had been on Maple Avenue in the village where the Severson Insurance Agency is now.

“I also thought it was a great opportunity for cross-marketing,” Greene said. “Many of my customers for both shops are the same. People may come in on a Friday night to get flowers and wine for the weekend. Or I may get a bride who’s looking for flowers and also thinking about doing champagne splits as wedding favors.”

In addition, Greene wanted to have better visibility from the road than she had before at her shop just outside the village limits on Main Street. “The foot traffic is great. And we needed a little more space,” she said.

Beautiful design features, many with a sense of history, abound. The tin ceiling is original. It was ivory-colored before, and inconspicuous, till Greene spray-painted it a soft copper and replaced the long overhead fluorescent lights with vintage chandeliers. The floor-to-ceiling built-in shelving is original, but the Prussian-blue color is new. A marble counter near the register is from the old soda counter that was part of the shop’s former life, starting back in the 1920s, as a pharmacy.

“So even back then, it was cross-marketing,” Greene said. I think that helps in a small community — both for the business and for the social aspect.”

She found an old “Altamont Pharmacy Rx” sign downstairs that many of her current customers remember hanging outside the shop. It is now inside the store, but a replica will be incorporated into the sign that will hang outside on Main Street.

Remedies will hold a grand opening celebration on Thursday, May 26, from 4 to 8, with live music and wine tasting. All are welcome.

Uncle Jimmy’s Market

A custom-cut meat shop recently opened in Altamont, on the site of the old Village Butcher Shop, at 202 Main Street.

The owner and manager are two young men from Guilderland who are all in, having recently moved to the village, so that their home is just a quick walk from the store.

“So we’re locals now, along with everybody else,” said manager Zack Zanotta, 21. He previously worked in the meat departments of the now-defunct Greulich’s Market in Guilderland and of Syron’s Market in Duanesburg. Owner Brenden Ragotzkie worked at both of those shops and also managed the meat department at a large supermarket in Boston’s North End, the Golden Goose.

What’s different about the new shop, which opened May 7: The space itself is different. The entire place was gutted and renovated, with new floors, walls, and ceiling, by the building's owners, Tom and Sally Ketchum, from whom Rogtzkie is renting.

And the products are different. Zanotta and Ragotzkie offer fresh, handmade meats, such as hand-pressed patties including blue-cheese patties and bacon-cheddar patties that, Zanotta says, “we can’t keep in the store because everyone goes crazy for them.” They also make their own meatball mix that is ready to be rolled into balls and cooked at home.

Ragotzkie grinds different kinds of sausages daily behind the counter, including Italian hot links, Italian sweet links, and breakfast sausage. He also makes marinated Asian-style chicken, Italian marinated chicken (marinated for over 24 hours), and breaded chicken cutlets (“with breasts cut into thirds instead of halves, so they’re extra tender,” says Zanotta).

A popular product is their chicken breasts stuffed with salami, ham, pepperoni, and Provolone cheese that just need to be baked for an hour in the oven.

“We’ve heard nothing but great comments about our steaks,” said Zanotta. It’s those steaks that Ragotzkie trims and uses to make hamburger meat — again, out in the open — with no additives whatsoever, Zanotta said.

At lunchtime, the place is busy with people ordering sandwiches that include handmade chicken salad and handmade cold cuts. On Thursday, the handmade cold cuts on offer were herb-coated oven-roasted turkey and Buffalo chicken. They also have homemade macaroni salad and potato salad, as well as an array of chips and drinks. There are two small tables, for those who want to eat in.

Soon, the two men plan to offer a case of hot foods that include pulled pork, hot chicken thighs, macaroni and cheese, and sausage and peppers, as well as a variety of cold salads to go.

They have gotten a certificate from the town that will allow them eventually to have a smoker.

The store is named for Brenden’s uncle, who “had a big appetite and loved food,” Zanotta explained. Uncle Jimmy had planned to invest, to help get the shop going, but died a year before the opening.

Zanotta likes to tell people, he said, that he and Ragotzkie brought the best aspects of Greulich’s over to the village. As a matter of fact, they are even in talks with the library to see if they can get the Greulich’s cow for their roof.