Category Archives: Business News

Minogue’s Beverage Centers  has an arrangement with Hinny Hard Seltzer to carry its variety 12-pack of hard ciders.

Hinny Hard is now available at all four Minogue’s Beverage Centers, including Saratoga Springs, Malta, Queensbury, and Wilton.

“We are thrilled to have established a partnership with Minogue’s,” said Tim Nickels, founder of Hinny Hard Seltzer. “As a fellow U.S. Army vet, Angelo and his team share similar values and a commitment to serving and supporting our veteran community.”

Hinny Hard Seltzer, which officially launched in January of this year, is now available in 70 locations, including retailers, bars and restaurants, across upstate and central New York.  The company said that number is rapidly growing.

Hinny, which is being sold as a variety 12-pack at retail locations, comes now in four flavors, including blueberry mint, bourbon-flavored, cranberry and black cherry. Summer flavors, including grape and pink grapefruit, will be introduced in the coming weeks.

“We are thrilled to offer Hinny Hard Seltzer,” said Angelo Malone, general manager of Minogue’s Beverage Centers.  “It’s a great product and we are confident that it will be well received by our customer base.”

The Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) announced the return of its Clean Energy Conference. 

Presented in partnership with the Mohawk Valley Clean Energy Team, this year’s conference will explore community incentives, opportunities and challenges related to recent state and federal policies.

Warren and Washington counties are part of ANCA.

With a focus on how small and rural communities can help advance a statewide transition to clean energy while preserving their values and character, the conference will convene clean energy experts, advocates and contractors, as well as local community leaders.

It will be held June 1 and 2 at the Irish Cultural Center of the Mohawk Valley in Utica.

“In alignment with ANCA’s aim to elevate the voices of North Country communities, this year’s Clean Energy Conference will focus on the unique concerns and needs of our hamlets, villages, towns and counties—and how they can maximize emerging opportunities as new legislation rolls out across the state,” said ANCA energy circuit rider and conference organizer Jennifer Perry. 

GlobalFoundries Inc. has completed the purchase of approximately 800 acres of additional land adjacent to its Malta manufacturing facility. 

With the purchase, which has been in process since early 2022, GlobalFoundries now owns the entirety of the approximately 1,110-acre park, formerly known as the Luther Forest Technology Campus.

With this additional land, GlobalFoundries has the flexibility to add manufacturing capacity and expand its footprint in New York state in alignment with customer demand, and provide space for further development with its ecosystem partners, the company said. 

The rate and pace of GlobalFoundries’s expansion in Malta will be aligned with market conditions, customer commitments, and U.S. federal funding from the CHIPS and Science Act, officials said.

“Semiconductors are essential to daily life, and are at the heart of the U.S. economy, domestic supply chains, and national defense. GlobalFoundries stands ready to play a key role in the implementation of the CHIPS Act, which will boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing by creating a globally competitive framework,” said Steven Grasso, managing director of global government relations at GlobalFoundries. 

“This land purchase gives us the space and flexibility we need in the near-term to service the growing market demand for secure, reliable U.S.-made chips. This purchase also represents GlobalFoundries’ long-term commitment to New York and growing the semiconductor ecosystem that supports both GlobalFoundries’ world-class manufacturing facility in Malta and the regional semiconductor cluster envisioned by the CHIPS Act,” he added.

By Paul Post

The George Hotel, which reopened last July after a lengthy closure, is expected to look considerably different with a new name this summer.

 Cheektowaga-based Rudra Management is seeking Queensbury town Planning Board approval for exterior changes needed to join the LaQuinta hotel chain, by Wyndham.

 “We want to make façade improvements, give it fresh paint and build an accent tower,” co-owner Jay Patel said. “Once that work is completed we would be branding it as LaQuita.”

 The four-story, 98-room hotel is owned by 1533 Queensbury LLC, a real estate holding company affiliated with Patel and his Rudra Management firm, which bought the five-acre site for $6.5 million in February 2022.

 It was previously operated as Comfort Suites, but ran into financial trouble and was closed for two years. The new owners spent a great deal of money bringing the hotel back to life with extensive renovations.

By Paul Post

 SUNY Adirondack’s $5.7 million new turf field is a game-changer for its athletic program and could boost the local economy with major activities that attract teams from outside the area.

 “That’s a big part of it,” Athletic Director Zach Schwan said. “This is a resource not just for the college. It should draw all kinds of tournaments and events here as well.”

School administrators, tourism professionals, elected officials and financial backers took part in a May 4 ribbon cutting to dedicate the facility, which includes synthetic fields for softball, baseball, soccer and lacrosse.

College President Dr. Kristine Duffy said economic development was a key factor behind the project’s consideration. “We believe that we not only bring sales tax revenue into the community every time we host a SUNY Adirondack game, but we also expect to rent out the facility to sports organizations for tournaments that can be played in our region,” she said. “This will bring out-of-town guests to our region who would stay in local hotels and eat at local restaurants.”

 Attracting fans to the area also helps local tourism officials promote the region to guests for future events and vacation stays.

By Paul Post

Planning for the golden anniversary of Warren County’s most popular fall attraction is well under way, already providing a major economic boost to the region’s hospitality industry, highlighted by hundreds of advance hotel room bookings.

This year’s Adirondack Balloon Festival, slated for Sept. 21-24, will have the most special-shaped balloons in its 50-year history, joined by nearly 100 other pilots and 150,000 visitors from throughout the U.S. and overseas, according to organizers.

 “I wish we were able to afford a true economic impact study because I’m sure it would be in the millions of dollars, especially with a good weather weekend,” said Mark Donahue, festival board president. “Right now we’ve booked rooms in 12 different hotels. We need 400 to 500 hotel rooms this year for all our special guests.”

The all-volunteer run, nonprofit festival operates on a roughly $200,000 budget, only a fraction of the money spent by large commercial ballooning events in Albuquerque, N.M., ($10 million) and Reno, Nev., ($2.5 million), which have paid professional staff.

By Paul Post

This is the most nerve-racking time of year for apple growers as warm weather followed by a sudden cold spell can freeze blooms, effectively ruining an entire crop.

“That’s a really big hazard and with the vagaries of climate catastrophe that we’re in, you just don’t know what’s going to happen,” said David Garvoille, Hicks Orchard business development manager. “Fifty degree temperature swings have become a regular thing. It can be 60 one day and 10 the next.”

Founded in 1905, this family-run Granville operation is New York state’s oldest “you-pick” apple farm, which is coming off its best year ever.

“We had the most insane bumper crop, bigger than anyone alive remembers,” Garvoille said. “One tree fell over it was so weighted down with apples. We have about 20 different varieties and they all ripened at the same time. It was just like a freight train coming at us.”

Last spring remained cold right through Mother’s Day, so when it finally warmed up and blooms emerged, the threat of freezing temperatures had passed. Also, Mother Nature provided perfect conditions for honey bees that were brought in to pollinate the orchard. 

The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce’s 2023 Four-Seasons Travel Guide features eight additional pages and a robust distribution strategy with increased circulation.

The guide is now available. 

Some highlights of the new 60-page travel guide include a reader submitted travel pro tips and photos, a color-coded area map and a lodging grid to help people sort through camping and accommodations amenities.

There are also 400-plus member listings including attractions, dining, shopping and more,  facts about Lake George and a Lake George Region trivia section.

The submitted photos and pro tips will also be used in a social media campaign. Photos and pro tips are continually being accepted for social media and the 2024 Travel Guide via this link.

The Chamber produces the Travel Guide in-house and increased the number printed from 70,000 to now 75,000 copies. The guide is also available digitally. 

They are strategically distributed around the Northeast, at AAA offices, and across the U.S. and Canada through direct mail by request.

“With new data from where our visitors were coming from, we were able to readjust our distribution plan to match current intel. The guide was so popular last year we decided to increase the number printed and add pages,” said Chamber Executive Director Gina Mintzer.

Rebecca Wood, president of Six Flags Great Escape Theme Park and Lodge Resort in Queensbury, is the recipient of the New York State Hospitality & Tourism Association’s (NYSHTA) Outstanding Tourism Executive of the Year award.

Wood received the award at the Six Flags Great Escape property on Feb. 28.

The Tourism Executive of the Year award is part of NYSHTA’s annual Stars of the Industry program. Stars of the Industry celebrates the exemplary professionalism and exceptional service of individuals in the hospitality and tourism industry.

The award recognizes an executive who has demonstrated outstanding contributions of leadership and service to the industry and to his/her community.

“Every year, the state’s hospitality and tourism industry nominates its most outstanding individuals. After reviewing all the nominations submitted, the judges agreed that Rebecca Wood was the best of the best,” said Mark Dorr, NYSHTA president. “Rebecca Wood is a star in every sense of the word and a shining example of what New York state hospitality and tourism is all about.”

“Lake George is one of the great places on earth,” he said.

NYSHTA is the country’s oldest state lodging association and offers programs and services to the statewide hospitality and tourism industry. NYSHTA’s mission is to lead and protect the New York State hospitality and tourism industry by providing advocacy, education and resources.