Month: September 2026

Professional Triathlete Launches Queensbury Fitness Business With Personalized Approach

September 20, 2026

Nick Marcantonio, owner of Marcantonio Training Systems in Queensbury, builds individualized fitness and endurance programs for clients ranging from elite athletes to those pursuing good health.

By Paul Post

Nick Marcantonio didn’t need a small-business loan to get his personal training firm off the ground.

His reputation as a world-class triathlete is worth its weight in gold.

In only 18 months, he’s developed a full spectrum of clients, from highly motivated athletes competing at elite levels to people with more general health needs such as weight loss or rehabilitation from orthopedic surgery.

Each person’s program is specifically tailored to where they are now, where they’d like to be and how best to get there.

“I basically interview people beforehand to make sure we’re the right match,” the 33-year-old Marcantonio said. “I like to give people individual attention, so I know they’re getting the right things and can work with them. I want people to say, ‘I’m working with a coach that has my back and understands everything’.”

His business, Marcantonio Training Systems LLC, is in a second-floor studio at 238 Bay St. in Queensbury.

From Glens Falls High School, where he excelled in track and cross-country, Marcantonio went to SUNY Cortland, which he led to Nationals as a Division III All-American runner, graduating in 2015.

Pinnacle Nutrition Marks Five Years With Science-Driven Wellness Approach

September 20, 2026

Lindsay Ferrara, founder of Pinnacle Nutrition in Saratoga Springs, marks five years helping clients improve health through personalized nutrition, metabolic testing and composition analysis.

By Susan Eiise Campbell

Lindsay Ferrara founded Pinnacle Nutrition, PLLC five years ago to help people of any age improve their weight, health and lives through personalized, science-backed nutrition.

Strategically, not much has changed in her business model. But she said she is finding there is more “nutrition noise out there to cut through” with her clients, such as social media fads and wearable rings, watches and glucose monitors.

“People are focusing more on being healthier, feeling better and living longer,” Ferrara said. “My goal is helping them understand what information out there actually pertains to them and deciding which steps to take.”

By the time clients come to her, most have already tried strategies to either gain muscle or lose body fat, she said.

“They feel like they’ve tried everything and keep getting bombarded with this fad, that wearable or a GLP-1 medication, or it’s intermittent fasting or so many grams of protein,” said Ferrara. “But the algorithms of social media don’t know what your body needs.”

Aviation Mall Boutique Expands Self-Care Offerings And Local Collaborations

September 20, 2026

Crystal Warner, owner of Rise Above Boutique and Radiant Skincare Studio in Queensbury.

By Ann Donnelly

At a time when shopping malls are shifting their strategies to include more locally owned, experiential businesses, one Queensbury storefront is successfully blending retail and self-care. Rise Above Boutique, located next to JCPenney in the Aviation Mall in Queensbury, is expanding its reach by integrating handcrafted products with personal care services.

Crystal Warner, who operates the boutique and its newly added Radiant Skincare Studio, originally started her business to solve a personal challenge. After a diagnosis of Hashimoto’s autoimmune disorder, Warner struggled with skin issues, particularly on her face.

“They put me on medication for the thyroid. However, it wasn’t treating the root cause of the problem,” Warner said. “So, I just started making my own face cream at home.”

Her formulations, which rely heavily on natural ingredients such as shea butter, cocoa butter, jojoba oil and vitamin E oil, yielded strong results. After sharing the creams with friends with skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, their positive feedback prompted her to start selling her skin care products.

Warner initially operated out of a home studio before moving to the Shirt Factory in Glens Falls. “I was there for about a year and then outgrew the space,” she said. Around the same time, she decided to return to school to become a licensed esthetician. The move required a larger location, leading her to open at the Aviation Mall in October 2025.

“This used to be a hair salon,” she noted, which made it an ideal space for her growing self-care brand. The boutique’s presence highlights a broader trend in the retail industry, as mall management increasingly recruits independent local businesses and experience-based tenants over traditional national retail chains.

Today, Rise Above Boutique offers much more than skin care. Warner brought in a curated selection of clothing to fill the larger retail space. She finds the clothing acts as a strong attraction. “It kind of draws people in initially when they look in and they see the clothing, and then they realize there’s more than clothing here,” she explained. “It’s kind of like a conversation piece.”

Saratoga Showcase Marks 30 Years As High-Performance Building Becomes Standard

September 20, 2026

A home by Trojanski Custom Builders is among 13 featured in the 2026 Saratoga Showcase of Homes, highlighting energy-efficient construction and modern building systems across Saratoga County.

By Carol Ann Conover

What started 30 years ago as a builder-driven effort to showcase new residential construction in Saratoga County has grown into one of the region’s most enduring fall traditions — and a window into how the craft of home building itself has changed.

The 2026 Saratoga Showcase of Homes, produced by the Saratoga Builders Association, runs Oct. 3-4 and Oct. 10-11, with 13 homes from 12 builders open for self-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Tickets are $25 and are available online, at any showcase home during tour hours and at area locations including all Adirondack Trust branches, Arrow Bank on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs, Curtis Lumber in Ballston Spa and Queensbury, Roohan Realty on Broadway in Saratoga Springs, Rebuilding Together ReShop in Ballston Spa and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Fort Edward.

Barry Potoker, executive director of the Saratoga Builders Association and co-chair of the Showcase, said the event draws 3,500 to 4,000 visitors across its two weekends — homebuyers, renovation planners and curious residents alike. “People just love being able to interact with all the builders,” he said. “It’s sort of a community event.”

New Saratoga Branch Supports Thomas Pest Services’ Growth Across Northern Markets

September 20, 2026

State Sen. Jim Tedisco presents a Senate Citation to Bill Thomas and Sarah Thomas-Clark.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Thomas Pest Services is continuing to build its client base north of the Capital District with a newly opened branch office in Saratoga Springs.

According to co-owner Sarah Thomas-Clark, the company’s service area now extends from Ulster in the Hudson Valley to the Catskills and Adirondacks, and beyond Saratoga into the North Country.

“My husband, Bill, and I started the company in our basement in 2010, so it is a very full-circle moment to come back to the Saratoga market, after moving headquarters to Albany,” she said.

There is a service manager at the new branch who oversees a team of seven to 12 technicians specializing in pest control and pest prevention for residential and commercial customers.

“This is a strategic move in that the team members live in such towns as Corinth, Ballston Lake, and Sacandaga Lake region,” she said. “They won’t have to drive to Albany for their weekly meeting or to pick up supplies, so they can get to their next customer sooner.”