Nothing seemed extraordinary about the conversations Jacob Houston had with three separate bicyclists who visited his studio during a Washington County studio tour a few summers ago.
So when he received a letter a year later from a man who introduced himself as curator of The Hyde Collection—a bicyclist who stopped and chatted with Houston —and asked if Houston might be interested in an exhibition at the museum, the 26-year-old artist was in disbelief.
The new craft beverage manufacturing license is similar to those currently available for farm wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries. Mead, or “honey wine,” is an alcoholic beverage that is manufactured by fermenting honey with water, and can be infused with fruits, spices, herbs and flowers.
The creation of farm meaderies was proposed in the governor’s Fiscal Year 2019 executive budget proposal.
By Christine Graf
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet will be opening a new retail store at Aviation Mall in late August or early September. The store will occupy 30,000 square feet of space in the former Bon-Ton location.
Ollie’s will occupy just over one-third of the former Bon-Ton location. Bon-Ton closed its 80,000-square-foot store in April 2018. Aviation Mall also lost another large tenant at the end of 2018 when Sears closed the doors of its 95,000-squre-foot store.
The New York State Maple Producers Association is holding their Maple Weekend events in March. In Washington County, events will take place March 23-24 and 30-31.
Some are extending events to March 16-17 as well.
During Maple Weekend, maple farms across New York state invite visitors to their “sugar houses” to experience firsthand how pure, mouth-watering maple syrup and other related products are made.
Matt and Rebecca O’Hara, the owners of the former Dunham’s Bay Marina on Route 9L, Lake George, officially announced Queen Boat Co. as the new name and brand identity for their business.
The couple, who also own and operate Freedom Boat Club of Lake George, said the move is a key step to better reflect a new, more comprehensive vision, service offerings and amenities beginning this summer.
“Boaters are expecting more out of their marina in 2019 and it was obvious we had a lot of physical work to do on the property to meet these expectations,” said Matt O’Hara. “As worked commenced, it sparked the need to refresh the personality of the marina to better reflect this evolution, as well as our commitment to providing a high-level of customer service. We wanted a new name and identity that called to mind the iconic nature and history of our beautiful lake, yet also put our dedication to red-carpet service at the forefront.”
The Chamber Alliance of New York State (CANYS), a statewide association of over 70 chambers of commerce, has named Peter L. Aust as its executive director, through his firm Excelsior Strategies LLC.
Aust joins CANYS with an extensive background in chamber of commerce leadership. He is the former president and CEO of both the Adirondack Regional Chambers of Commerce and the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County.
“It is a great honor for me to serve CANYS again in this new role to share my passion to ensuring Chambers of Commerce exceed their true potential as the leading, and most influential business organizations in New York state”, said Aust.
Seeleys Office Systems announce that Mark Sidoti is the newest member of the sales team.
Sidoti will be responsible for driving revenue in business equipment and supplies; and creating long-term value for Seeleys in his ongoing relationships with customers and markets in Warren, Washington, and Saratoga counties.
Prior to Seeley, Sidoti held executive sales positions in the telecommunications, payroll and insurance industries in the North Country region. He brings over 30 years of experience in business development and maintains a long-term membership in local organizations, including the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and the Adirondack Business Council. Sidoti is on the Adirondack Civic Center Coalition Foundation board as treasurer.
By Jill Nagy
Chris Patten, the new owner of the Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe, received approval from the Glens Falls Planning Board when he presented plans to enlarge and renovate the property.
He plans to add two apartments above the cafe, expand the cafe itself, and do a “full gut renovation” of the inside of the building, he said.
Meanwhile, Matt Funiciello, who founded the cafe and operated it for 15 years, plans to move his bread baking operation from its current location in a Moreau strip mall to an old brick former Nabisco warehouse in Glens Falls and add a vegan cafe. He is moving into the Shirt Factory, at 18 Curran Lane. Rockhill’s neighbors in the building will include a distillery, a bike shop, and Pies on Wheels.
By Jennifer Farnsworth
When Lisa Farina DePalma made the move late last year from Aviation Road to Mount Royal Plaza, the Queensbury hair salon owner hoped that her staff and client base would come with her. The years of experience at Adonis Hair Supply Design and her friendly demeanor seemed to pay off, with all of her employees as well her customers following her.
“Our new location has been great to us. I feel as though I have many blessings,” said DePalma.
NY State of Health, the state’s official health plan marketplace, as experienced “overwhelming success” with New York’s Small Business Marketplace (SBM) following implementation of a simplified enrollment process and the addition of thousands of new plan options in April 2018, according to the Department of Health.
Since then, the number of small employers participating in the SBM has grown to 12,219, an increase of 465 percent, officials said. Greater plan choice and easier access to the federal Small Business Health Care Tax Credit have contributed to the rapid growth.