Utica’s New
One-Stop
Shop
The Bickerman Building features ice cream, craft beer, coffee, lodging and family fun
Story by Stephanie Jaquins, Photos by Scott Anderson and provided by The Bickerman Building
W
hen Jen and Matt Cetwinski decided to undertake an old building in downtown Utica, they wanted to make it a space everyone can enjoy — young and old. Last fall, the Utica couple purchased the two-story Italianate building known as “The Bickerman Building,” 166 Mill St. It is most remembered as the home to the Bickerman familyowned hardware store. Completed in the late 1800s, the structure underwent a major rehabilitation after being purchased by Frances Bickerman in the 1950s. Reportedly, the space was filled with pigeons, and they removed 60 truckloads of plaster and bird manure. Frances retired from the hardware store in 1993, but the building stayed with the family until the Cetwinskis purchased it. They were attracted to the building’s exterior stonework, the location in downtown Utica and proximity to Starved Rock State Park, and its potential as a gathering space. Starved Rock Country • Fall 2021 | 19
