Former Gene's employee to open his own meat market in Genoa

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GENOA - The city council approved a plan Tuesday by a former employee of the old Gene's Market to open his own business along Route 72. Ken Hodgson hopes to have Ken's Specialty Meats and Deli open within a year. He said the two-story building that would be constructed to house the business at 705 E. Main St. also will have a pair of three-bedroom apartments on its second floor and could include a second storefront at ground level. "I can't really put a timetable on it," he said of when construction could start and when the business would be open. He said purchase of the land is still pending. The council's OK was needed because Hodgson's plan called for residential units in an area zoned solely for commercial development. Joe Misurelli, Genoa's economic development coordinator, said the area already includes housing and businesses. Hodgson grew up in Genoa but now lives in Kingston. He said he was the meat manager for 17 years at what was known for most of that time as Gene's Market, at 530 E. Main St. Last year, it became Genoa Market, but the store was damaged in a fire in January and has not reopened. Hodgson said his new business will sell "basically the same thing that I sold at Gene's." The store will have a broader deli selection and will offer homemade sausage, but will not have a grocery section, he said. Chris Rickert can be reached at crickert@daily-chronicle.com.