Julia Sanzen ’00

Julia Sanzen ’00 completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Health Promotion Management before moving to New York City to begin a career in Corporate Health. After a few years in the profession, she realized that her true passion was cooking. With a change in career trajectories, Julia entered the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts with plans to start a private culinary business. This new business venture would merge both her love of health and wellness with her newly acquired cooking skills. The program she was enrolled in focused on nutritional science, and this would prove to be the perfect education to launch her into her new career. Her introduction to the restaurant industry was alongside Chef Jean-George at Mercer Kitchen in Manhattan for a year before partnering with a long-time friend to open a New York City branch of Running with Forks, a personal chef business specializing in weight-loss and health restrictions. She then collaborated with celebrity Chef Rocco Dispirito in the creation of the Pound a Day cookbook, all the while fulfilling her duties as a personal chef to high profile clientele. Before returning to the Capital Region, she spent three years at Berkley Carroll School for Girls in Manhattan as the Assistant Director of Food Services. While visiting home in the summer of 2016, Julia and her boyfriend Tyler Russell ’01 were in search of a wholesome, casual lunch place and found that their options were limited. In downtown Saratoga the only options for brunch were either a diner style experience or the upscale and more expensive restaurants. She realized that there was a market for a brunch restaurant in the middle of the low-end/high-end scale. After meticulous research, they knew that a fast-casual dining experience, similar to the Shake Shack model, would be the perfect solution. Their idea started as a pop-up restaurant that they wouldmanage during the summer break before returning to the city. After scouring for potential locations and exploring food trucks and tents, they found a building for lease at 35 Maple Avenue in downtown Saratoga. It was love at first sight with its well-maintained structure, deep rooted history and unique aesthetic. But, they ran into a small problem with this dream location: it didn’t have a kitchen. The solution: converting a shipping container into a kitchen and attaching it to the back of the building. Everything worked out so smoothly that they quickly decided to forgo the temporary summer pop-up idea and open a permanent restaurant named after the building’s first occupants, Farmer’s Hardware. In the summer of 2017, Julia and Tyler changed the brunch scene in Saratoga with their stunning fast-casual dining spot that has since grown in popularity among locals. Though it has been successful, this business venture has not gone without some obstacles. Julia noted that “being a young woman has its challenges when it comes to being that authority figure who’s taken seriously.” She finds herself reminding people that this isn’t just a pastime for her. This is her career and, more importantly, her passion. Leading up to the grand opening, Julia and Tyler found that their backgrounds complimented each other in the interest of the restaurant. Tyler’s background in business and marketing allowed for Julia to focus on the food. Their teamwork has made Farmer’s Hardware into what it is known to be today. Julia remarked, “It was unexpected how wonderful and responsive the town has been to Farmer’s Hardware…I see comments online of people recommending Farmer’s Hardware to friends as the place to go for brunch. It’s amazing how far we’ve come since the start only two years ago.” For those interested in going into this industry, Julia advised, “Do your homework and be prepared for the unexpected. It’s the hardest thing I have ever done, and the best decision I ever made!”