Oneida, N.Y. — Oneida’s newest cafe will be adding a bakery on June 5 after nearly a year of operation. The expansion is a result of hard work and endurance through illness by owner Lori Seef and will expand their array of Italian breads and pastries.
The Cafe will now be known as Cafe and Bakery. The story of Bella Vita Cafe has resulted from a recipe of one part hard work, and equal parts hope, endurance, and the healing power of love.
Oneida native and cafe owner Seef had managed the Cazenovia Walgreen’s for 25 years. In February 2021 she developed bronchial pneumonia and which led to a COVID-19 infection. While recovering from the illness she was forced to reflect on her future.
“Doctors told me I would no longer be able to breathe like I once did, and so I could no longer move and work like I used to,” she said. “I had managed the store for so long and now I did not know what to do, or how I would retire.”
Seef’s illness left her with permanent scarring on her lungs, and she still suffers with a chronic cough.
“You gotta love bronchial pneumonia,” she said.
Seef’s fiance, George, proposed a solution. He brought her to the former W.J. Hinman’s Jewelers store – the Hinman family had owned the building for 140 years, and they had recently retired – on Main Street and asked a very personal question.
“George had bought the building and wanted to use it as a pole barn. We have a lot of toys, ATVs and such, and he wanted to store them there. I asked, ‘Why did you bring me here?’ He asked me what my biggest dreams were. I told him I always wanted to own a cafe. He pointed to the building, and said, ‘This is your wedding present.'”
And so Bella Vita (Italian for ‘good life’) Cafe was born.
“Things really got moving,” Seef said. “We were married in May and we opened the Cafe in August.”
The Cafe has prospered through Seef’s hard work.
“Nothing has come easy,” she said. “We’ve had to save and be smart with our money, and forego some things. We did not take a vacation this year.”
Each morning Seef arises at four a.m. and is at the cafe by 5:30 a.m. The cafe runs from seven a.m. until five p.m. Before the bakery opened Seef bought cookies from Holland Farms in Yorkville. The selection included, and still includes American and Italian style baked goods. “We brought a little bit of Utica into Oneida,” Seef said.
The cafe has an Italian-style decor and the bakery will have a Greek flavor.
“I am part Greek, and we figured to have a Greek-themed bakery. We found several Greek-style columns while rummaging through the store and we set them right up,” Seef said. “Although at this point we have no Greek food. We may try baklava sometime soon. I love baklava.”
The cafe will be manned by Seef’s best friend’s son, Josh. “He’s been our barista since we opened and he’s done a great job,” Seef said.
The bakery will feature Italian bread made by Seef’s friend Nancy and Italian-style cookies made by her friend Michelle. “We will feature chocolate meatball cookies, Italian wedding cookies, biscotti, pizzicatti, ricciarelli.”
Bella Vita Cafe offers dine-in and take-out. Its menu may be viewed on its Facebook page. The cafe’s number is (315) 367-5001.
The bakery will feature a compelling painting of Greek goddess Medusa while the cafe maintains traditional Italian decor and a soundtrack featuring the likes of Frank Sinatra.
“The music is relaxing,” Seef said. “What better way than to start your day with a pastry, a coffee, and good music before everything gets stressful?”
