As a young girl, Heather Potrzeba ‘96 would head to her grandfather’s bakery and deli at 4 a.m. to help peel eggs and make salads before customers arrived. That business, Holland Farms Bakery & Deli on Oriskany Blvd in Yorkville, has stayed in the family since it opened in 1955. Today, Heather is the iconic local staple’s third generation owner/general manager.
While each generation has brought something new to the store, the family has stuck to the core beliefs and quality that have made it such an important part of the local community.
As she got older, Heather would continue to help as a sales clerk. She would attend Mohawk Valley Community College before transferring to SUNY Poly to obtain her business degree, with a minor in human resource management.
“It was really important for my mother to make sure that her kids got further education,” she said. “I was one of five, and she was really happy that I was going to school locally and was very proud of me for graduating from SUNY Poly. I felt like business was a good degree that would be useful to me throughout my whole life. I also liked the human resources part of it. It was really a good stepping stone to what I wanted to do in my life.”
Heather would go on to graduate school and spend the next 18 years as a teacher. When her mother and aunt (Holland Farms’ second-generation owners) retired, Heather took over the business. While she didn’t realize it at the time, many of the skills she learned from her human resources, marketing and even psychology courses have been put to good use.
“I really enjoyed the psychology classes, and that did help throughout life, because in business, in teaching, that is extremely important to be able to know the psychology of people, and to be able to communicate well and to understand where everybody’s coming from,” she said.
Another influential moment from her time at SUNY Poly was meeting her future husband in a marketing class. Together, the pair and their children have not only helped out at Holland Farms but also attend to other businesses they own as well.
While Heather stays quite busy with these ventures, the majority of her time is spent at Holland Farms, where even now decades later, delighted customers enjoy interacting with the friendly staff and purchasing consistent and traditional products like half moons, jelly buns, tomato pie, cakes and other baked goods and deli specialties.
I always say we’re selling a lot of happy things because we are bringing people together and our food is at the center of many memorable moments for our customers and their families,” she said.
On advice to other entrepreneurs, like herself, Heather mentioned the importance of having grit, motivation and focus, as well as not being afraid to work hard.
I think that you have to find the balance in life between what’s too much and what is not,” she added. “I think I it’s a constant struggle to try to find that balance, but I think you have to work really hard and play really hard, and that’s what I do. And anyone going to school now, don’t be afraid of change. Don’t be afraid to diversify your skillset and experiences. Don’t have tunnel vision, and keep changing with with the world.”
Heather also stressed the importance of showing up each day.
“Sometimes you might not feel like it. You’re going to have good and bad days,” she added. “But even on those bad days, you have to show up, whether that is for work or life in general.”