The CommuniKey: Proving that a great strategy can unlock the student market for area businesses

What if you and three of your best friends got together right after graduation and hatched a business idea that brought together the area's leading businesses and one of Binghamton's most sought-after demographics?

The result would be the CommuniKey, an exclusive membership card that connects Binghamton's 20,000+ college students to the local community through a series of discounts, events, and giveaways.

Touted as “your ultimate Friend with Benefits,” students simply sign up for the $10 discount card – then head on out to the restaurants, bars, clubs, stores, and other area businesses who participate in the program. The result? Students keep a little more change in their wallet, and local businesses get a whole load more change in theirs.

Sample discounts include 10% off at many area restaurants, including Despina's, Burger Mondays, and Binghamton Hots; free appetizers at Lampy's Mediterranean Grill; BOGO tickets to Roberson; $2 admission to BingMets games; and 20% off beauty and spa services. Students can save an unlimited amount of money, and from the perspective of local businesses, Burger Mondays owner Rob Hutchings sums up his experience: “The CommuniKey has immensely helped bring the university into our restaurant. I am thoroughly impressed with the operations of the company and hope to partner with them as much as possible in the near future."

The CommuniKey is the brainchild of three Binghamton University business graduates -- Jimmy Orband, 23, from Endicott; Adam Sabol, 23, also from Endicott; David Simel, 22, from Long Island -- and Oswego graduate David Brosius, 32, from Rochester.

While still at college, these entrepreneurs – being part of the very demographic that the CommuniKey now seeks out – were in the perfect position to realize that there was a gap in the market for a student discount card, and conducted preliminary research to determine if their instincts were correct. They also credit their studies at BU with giving them additional confidence to launch their business: “We were inspired by our Leadership 353 class at BU, which taught us how to interact with businesses in the area,” notes Orband, CEO of the CommuniKey.

Eventually, the CommuniKey team hopes to take its business model to other college towns. For now, Orband says that “businesses who participate have expressed to us that their student traffic has picked up significantly. Our events also attract a number of students to these businesses. Local businesses definitely see the value.”

Go to thecommunikey.com to sign up, learn more, or to check out their special offers.

From left to right, the CommuniKey team: David Simel, Adam Sabol, Dave Brosius, and Jimmy Orband.

Vat's More Like It: Binghamton Now Has Its Very Own Brew Pub

Meeting a demand for consumers who enjoy a microbrew close to home, local couple John and Michele Bleichert recently started Water Street Brewing Co., Binghamton's first brew pub.

The pub is located opposite Boscov's, at 168 Water Street, in a building that was once a burlesque theater and most recently a day care and dance studio. It has since been transformed into a sleek urban brewery, with exposed brick and stainless steel.

And since it's the only brewery within a 90-minute radius of the city, it is already a huge hit, despite having only been open for a little over a month.

The owners were able to secure a $70,000 loan from the Binghamton Local Development Corporation to help with employee hiring and other major start-up costs such as the matching set of huge brew tanks that were brought in from California – and carefully installed via a front window to avoid damaging the historic building's ironwork facade.

Following their motto “Fresh. Local. Uncomplicated”, Water Street beer is all brewed on site and currently includes American Bitter, an American version of the traditional British bitter; Thousand Year Porter, “a comtemplative after-dinner brew”; an IPA; a U.S. Pale Ale “with caramel and sourdough notes”; and a Hefeweizen Bavarian wheat ale.

There is also a selection of wines, including ones from Cayuga Lake and Chenango Forks. The brew pub serves food, from spiedies to vegetarian meatloaf to PBJs – so there's something on the menu for everyone. The owners are even planning to sell growlers for take-out beer.

Despite the long hours and challenges of opening a new business, John and Michele Bleichert both say they don't regret a single day – although Michele does note that at the beginning of the project she warned her parents “we may be showing up on their doorstep with the pooch, the cats, and our luggage.”

Here's to the continued success of the Water Street Brewing Co.!

Water Street Brewing Co. is open Tuesday through Sunday. Check out their site at www.waterstreetbrewingco.com