Meet Granit Balidemaj, one of the youngest member of the RTM in Greenwich. Granit, having filled a District 10 vacancy between elections, is an alternate on the Transportation Committee and delegate to the Community Development committee, which administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
Granit Balidemaj at his family’s restaurant, Alba’s in Port Chester, where he developed a work ethic at a young age.
Meet Granit Balidemaj, one of the youngest member of the RTM in Greenwich. Granit, having filled a District 10 vacancy between elections, is an alternate on the Transportation Committee and delegate to the Community Development committee, which administers the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program.
A few years ago the Balidemajs moved over the state line, but the family’s path to Connecticut was set in motion back the 1980s when Granit’s father left Montenegro to start over. “We are Albanians from Montenegro,” Granit explained.
Alba’s is located at 400 North Main Street in Port Chester, NY.
At his father’s restaurant, Alba’s, just over the state line in Port Chester, the fare is Italian, but, as many staff are family members, Albanian is spoken.
Granit is quick to credit his parents for his work ethic.
The three Balidemaj children learned the value of work from early on. Granit said his active participation in sports growing up wouldn’t have been possible if not for his stay-at-home mother, who drove him to and from wrestling matches, football games and track meets – no easy task with three children born a year apart.
On his end, Granit juggled sports and school work with helping out in the restaurant. “When I was a little boy I’d clean the tables and the walls,” Granit said. “My dad would give me $20. It was a big deal.” Granit recites the Dept of Labor rules for teenagers obtaining working papers, and matter-of-factly recalls how he missed out on many Sweet 16 parties and bar mitzvahs. “I felt I was missing out at the time, but it’s not important looking back.”
Over the years Granit witnessed his father’s success with Alba’s with pride. The restaurant, which many of a certain age in Greenwich remember from its previous incarnation as Richard’s, is barely recognizable from the 1970s.
The Balidemajs transformed the former dive bar into the crown jewel in the array of ethnic restaurants that line Main Street in Port Chester.
Granit, who is the first generation of his family to be born in the US, said his father was involved in local government in the old country, which the family returns to for visits.
“I’ve always been fascinated by politics, and enjoy following elections,” Granit said, of his motivation for joining the RTM.
Granit said everyone in his district, which meets at Round Hill Church, had been very welcoming. “Joan Caldwell and Gerald Anderson are the leaders. I have much to learn,” Granit said of the steep learning curve ahead. “I’m excited. Who knows where the path will lead?” he said.