Category Archives: Business News

By Paul Post

West Mountain is nearing the finish line on approvals for a $190 million ski-and-stay village, which co-owner Spencer Montgomery says is essential to the ski center’s survival.

“It isn’t kind of based on this resort happening, it’s absolutely based on it happening,” he said. “Last winter was a difficult one. We lost money. In this game, you have a year like that, you spend two years trying to make up for it.”

“A resort puts us in a very safe economic position,” he said. “It really will be the only true ski-and-stay resort village in New York state except arguably Holiday Valley, about six hours west of here. It will allow us to siphon off a lot of traffic that gets off Exit 20 and heads to Vermont.”

Montgomery, his wife, Sara, and unnamed financial partners have spent $15 million on upgrades such as new chair lifts, extensive snowmaking improvements and overhauling the base lodge since purchasing the Queensbury center about 10 years ago. They’ve also incurred $5 million in operational losses.

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) is once again bringing their annual business expo showcase to The Queensbury Hotel for a night of discovery, connections, and networking opportunities. The showcase is free to attend and open to the public from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 pm on Wednesday, November 6.

“I look forward to this event every year,” said ARCC President & CEO Tricia Rogers. “Our members have a lot to offer, and this event is a great way to showcase them. In addition, it’s an excellent way for the community to learn more about the amazing businesses and organizations serving this region.”

By Susan Elise Campbell

At headquarters in Malta, Arnoff Moving & Storage has built an enhanced logistics and delivery system for clients who need warehousing, packing and shipping services as their inventory is transferred or sold. 

According to Daniel Arnoff, chief relationship officer and fifth-generation member of the family-owned business, the Arnoff Global Logistics division has outgrown its warehousing space and will soon break ground on a new 100,000-120,000-square-foot facility to suit their expansion trajectory.

Arnoff said the new warehouse is necessitated by the growth their clients are experiencing and by the influx of new clients who need a streamlined and cost-effective way to store and ship goods.

“The goods could be retail items purchased on the internet or parts we stock that a local manufacturer might need if their machine goes down,” he said. 

By Paul Post

Ryan and Erin Connor are just the right people to develop a property ideally located for taking advantage of Glens Falls’ ongoing economic rejuvenation.

The couple, both RPI grads, recently purchased the three-story, 45,000-square-foot Union Square building at 9-15 Broad Street, just around the corner from South Street, a cornerstone of the city’s revitalization.

The acquisition, financed by NBT Bank, was for approximately $1.6 million.

“The prior owner, Tom O’Neil, did a lot of capital improvements,” Ryan said. “He upgraded gas service, installed an elevator. The building’s got great bones. We’re going to further that a bit, focusing on the roof and grounds. From there we’ll be looking to add a mix of commercial and residential space depending on where it is in the building.”

There’s currently an eclectic mix of business and professional tenants such as a day spa, chemical firm, mortgage group, legal and architectural firms occupying spaces ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 square feet.

Stewart’s Shops has signed an agreement to purchase the assets of Jolley Associates convenience store chain and S.B. Collins, including its heating oil business Clarence Brown of St. Albans, Vermont.

The acquisition, which requires federal regulatory approval, is expected to close by the end of 2024. Terms of the deal remain confidential.

The transaction includes the purchase of 45 Jolley stores including five in New York, two in New Hampshire and 38 locations in Vermont.

“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to acquire a company with such an impressive reputation in a market that we’ve been watching for many years,” said Stewart’s Shops president Gary Dake. “One of the primary reasons we were drawn to this deal is because of the quality and the character of Jolley’s employees.”

The acquisition also brings together two longtime family businesses.

By Paul Post

Emily Ellenbogen has done just about everything at Uncommon Grounds, from baking and kitchen prep work to set-up and hiring for the company’s newest store at 751 Upper Glen Street in Queensbury.

The site has quickly caught on with students, young professionals and small groups of seniors; anyone looking for a quiet place to work or simply relax and enjoy delicious fresh-roasted coffee and tempting baked goods, made on site from scratch.

“Uncommon Grounds is the ‘third place’ for customers,” Ellenbogen said. “You’ve got home, you’ve got work. Uncommon Grounds is the third place. We like people to feel comfortable here, sitting doing work or just relaxing where they don’t have to be pressured to do things at home or work. They’re here to do whatever they want.”

The spacious, 8,000-square-foot tastefully designed location fills a retail venue previously occupied by a Recovery Sports Grill restaurant whose walls were adorned with huge television screens and all sorts of sports memorabilia. That noisy atmosphere has been replaced by a much more cozy setting with handsome wood paneling, a dropped tin ceiling and hanging plants

The store opened on September 4 and occupies a corner space in the Glen Square plaza building owned by Albany-based Nigro Retail Properties. The large strip-mall type building is also home to Tractor Supply and Dollar Tree, and a Big Lots retail store that’s in the process of closing. The plaza also includes an adjacent Aldi’s supermarket.

Uncommon Grounds’ new Queensbury store is the northernmost of the Saratoga Springs-based company’s five locations. Founded by Dan Murphy in 1992, its other sites are at 402 Broadway in Saratoga Springs, 9 Clifton Country Road in Clifton Park, and Stuyvesant and University plazas on Western Avenue in Albany.

By Jill Nagy

Three weeks after Craft 9 closed the space at 7 South Street in Glens Falls was reborn as Southpaw Bistro. The new restaurant, under owner-chef Shaun Hazlitt, opened with a ribbon-cutting in September .

Hazlitt worked for the Murphy family, owners of Craft 9, for five or six years and, he said, he had an excellent relationship with them. 

“They are wonderful people,” he added.

The space needed only minor renovations and updates, some cleaning and a little painting, he said.. Hazlitt liked the look and ambience of the place and did not want to change that. It has a rustic industrial feeling, nothing stuffy or pretentious, he explained.

He plans to serve “the best burger in town,” a mix of beef and pork from Grazin’ Acres Farm. He will, as much as possible, use locally sourced ingredients in order to “showcase how incredible our local producers are,” he said. 

The menu will change every two or three weeks, “depending on what comes out of the ground,” he noted.  He will include vegetarian options and a children’s menu, and will be able to accommodate vegans as well. Southpaw Bistro also has a full liquor license.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Moreau Animal Clinic is within months of relocating to a new facility designed by Nick and Jill Outterson, the husband and wife veterinarians who purchased the practice in August 2018.

“After being in a general veterinary practice and Nick in emergency medicine, we were looking forward to the next step, and practice ownership was next on the list,” Dr. Jill said. 

Moreau Animal Clinic had been a single-doctor practice for 50 years when the Outtersons relocated from Albany to take it over, she said. 

In the years that followed, it became more of a challenge with two practitioners working out of a clinic that had been set up to accommodate only one, they said.

“With two of us, we have grown the practice quite a bit and have also added a full-time associate who we have been mentoring the past three years,” said Dr. Jill. 

By Susan Elise Campbell

MVPT Physical Therapy opened a second clinic in Glens Falls last month. 

The business was founded by Zachary Cole, PT, DPT, a former athlete who started Sports PT of NY 16 years ago in Saratoga Springs, now located at One West Avenue. But he rebranded after merging into Cypress Heath Partners, a network of clinics spanning five states. Under this model, Cypress Health owns both clinics and Cole is their managing partner. 

MVPT is bringing to the North Country the same needed therapies and guidance that has grown his Saratoga clinic to a staff of six. Cole is the sole practitioner at the new clinic.

“To grow our business and serve as many people as we can, we are confined by the space of the Saratoga clinic,” he said. “We expanded into Glens Falls because from a health care perspective there are a lot of people, but from a physical therapy perspective it is not as dense an area.”

Up Yonda Farm Environmental Education Center’s annual  “Trunk or Treat” event will be held Saturday, October 26.

The staff at Up Yonda will have a variety of fun activities and at least 20 Trick-or-Treat stations for kids to enjoy, with the festivities running from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. There will be pumpkin decorating, wildlife exhibitions and free books along with plenty of treats for costumed youngsters.

This event is open to all ages. Dress up in your Halloween best and Trick-or-Treat among decorated vehicles, decorate your own pumpkin, and check out Up Yonda wildlife exhibitions that will include a live raptor display. 

A number of local organizations have committed to decorating vehicle trunks for treats, including Bolton Fire Company’s Ladies Auxiliary, Bolton Fire Company, Bolton Community Church, Bolton Emergency Medical Services, Bolton Police Department and Bolton Central School PTO.

In addition, the Bolton Free Library Board of Trustees will be handing out books, Friends of Up Yonda Farm will offer pumpkin decorating, and representatives of Silent Wings Raptor Rehab and Education Program will bring their birds for viewing.