Ulster County: Three Small Businesses Illustrate Booming Business Climate

Chef Leslie Woodward of Edenesque in Ulster County.

Photo: Edenesque

Chef Leslie Woodward (on left) of Edenesque in Ulster County.

Recently, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced that 90% of the local Ulster County’s economy is made up of small businesses.

Three of these businesses are: Seasoned Delicious Foods, Harana Market and Edenesque Artisanal Nut Milks.

Seasoned Delicious Foods (located at 11 Lohmaier Ln, Lake Katrine) carries a line of Caribbean, soul-inspired and health-conscious specialized food items including seasonings, hot sauces, spreads, spices, oils and more, Seasoned Delicious Foods was co-founded by Tamika Dunkley, a mother and registered nurse and dietitian specializing in cardiac critical care, and her husband Martin Dunkley.

Originally founded in 2014, Seasoned Delicious is a minority, female-owned small business that expanded and opened a brick-and-mortar shop during the pandemic, in addition to being available at local retail stores in the Hudson Valley. SDF also focuses on feeding their local community every week, by preparing meals along with grocery items for the underserved in Ulster County including families. Patrons can also shop online for holiday gifts.

Harana Market (located at 603 Wittenberg Road, Woodstock) is co-owned by married couple Christina Mauricio and Eva Tringali, Harana Market opened in January 2021 and will soon celebrate its one-year anniversary as a Filipino deli and one of the first queer and POC-owned Asian grocery stores in Ulster County. Christina and Eva moved from Brooklyn to Bearsville during the pandemic, where they wanted to bring essential items to represent a demographic that wasn’t as present prior.

With the mission of being a community place, Harana Market prioritizes and sources their stock from Asian, BIPOC-owned companies and reinvests into other minority-owned businesses. Specialty dishes/items include but are not limited to silog platters with garlic fried rice, cucumber, tomato salad, fried egg, and your choice of marinated pork tocino or dry-rub sirloin called tapa; Nguyen coffee; small-batch of hot sauce produced by women; and many others. This holiday season (which is important within the Filipino community), they will plan to offer new meal boxes with pre-order and gifting options. Visit them @Haranamarket.

Edenesque Artisanal Nut Milks (which is available in stores) is created by chef and advocate of holistic nutrition Leslie Woodward, Edenesque is a Black-owned, woman-founded small business that started from the grassroots desire to make a positive change by making healthy food available in underserved communities.

Creating products including their signature nut milk without additives, preservatives, or stabilizers, Edenesque is certified organic, biodynamic, and fair trade, and offers employment to those with other employment barriers whether it’s previous incarceration, domestic violence survivors, various educational backgrounds, and more.

Originally launched in 2014 and previously sold direct to consumers, Edenesque has grown during COVID with larger distributors as clients and a new pilot program with Bard College. She is also moving their current manufacturing facility to a larger space in Ulster County in early 2022. Visit on Instagram @Edenesquenutmilks

The full address of Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan address on small businesses in Ulster County can be seen here.

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