Glens Falls Business Journal
By Carol Ann Conover
The partners behind one of Lake George Village’s most recognizable waterfront restaurants have added a new chapter to their story, acquiring the Village Mall — the 50-year-old retail complex on Canada Street where their business was born.
Joe Mondella, Mark French and John Grillo, equal partners in GNSD Enterprises LLC, recently completed the purchase of the Village Mall in the village of Lake George. The trio opened The Lagoon restaurant inside the mall in 2018, leasing from the Quirk family, which previously owned the property.
“As we opened the business and started running the restaurant, we quickly realized that the location — right on the lake in the heart of Lake George — had just a ton of potential,” Mondella said.
From its original single-level footprint, The Lagoon has expanded to occupy six of the mall’s 16 storefronts, adding a second kitchen and patio on the lakeside level below. The partners installed a pizza oven, built out a prep kitchen and remodeled the bar as they invested steadily in the space they did not yet own.
“Without owning the property ourselves, it seemed like: are we going to continue to invest in this property that we don’t own?” Mondella said. “After a really short period of time, we said to ourselves, if we’re going to invest all this money and we’re going to be here, it would really be in our best interest to own the building.”
The acquisition coincides with approval of Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding from New York state, which carries requirements that will reshape the mall’s exterior. Under the DRI terms, the partners must renovate the facades on both the Canada Street and lakeside faces of the building.
“Yes, it’s old and it has charm, but it definitely could use that facelift,” Mondella said of the building. “We’re excited to be able to do that.”
A central aim of the state funding, Mondella said, is helping make Lake George a year-round destination — a goal that aligns directly with how The Lagoon has operated since opening. The restaurant has remained open 12 months a year, seven days a week, even during the slow winter months when much of the village goes dormant.
“The faster we can get started on the first phase — the Lagoon side of things — the faster we’ll be able to generate capital ourselves and fund the entire renovation,” Mondella said. The DRI funding must be used within five years.
The renovation will proceed in phases, with the lakeside deck expansion and building winterization at the top of the list. Mondella noted that the current structure lacks adequate insulation — an issue that is literally felt by guests.
“There are a lot of times you come into our dining room and people are wearing their winter coats because the building isn’t insulated,” he said. “Completely winterizing the entire building will be part of what we do.”
The goal is to have the first phase of renovations completed by next winter, with the full project wrapped up within one to three years. The partners said they do not intend to let the full renovation extend beyond that window.
Ten storefronts on the street level remain available to rent or continue operating. Current tenants include gift and souvenir shops, a candy store and a jewelry store, with at least one tenant having operated in the mall for 30 to 35 years. Mondella said the new owners want existing tenants to stay.
“We want to make the place look as nice and be as inviting as it can,” Mondella said. “We’re open to all ideas. We’re really trying not to get too committed to anything because we’re just not there yet.”
When asked about the possibility of adding outdoor-recreation retail — such as hiking or fishing gear — to complement the lakeside setting, Mondella said the group is taking things one step at a time, with the restaurant and lakeside improvements as the foundation.
Mondella acknowledged that operating year-round in a summer-dominated resort town is not easy and said he draws inspiration from neighbors who have already made it work, including Adirondack Winery, Capri Pizza, Adirondack Brew Pub, the Garrison and the Lighthouse.
“We really believe we’re kind of all in this together,” he said. “We all want Lake George to be successful, and there’s plenty to go around if we are.”
He also tempered expectations, noting that smart businesspeople have tried and chosen to close in winter before. “We’re putting ourselves out there and taking a risk, and we’re going to do everything we can to make it successful,” Mondella said. “But we’re not guaranteed to be successful with this either.”
The Village Mall is on Canada Street in the village of Lake George, with lake-facing access on the lower level. The Lagoon can be reached at lagoonlakegeorge.com and is active on Instagram and Facebook.