Category Archives: New Businesses

By Jill Nagy

At the new Sleep and Spas location at 1851 Route 9 in Lake George, they are selling almost as many hot tubs as mattresses, according to sales manager Kevin King. 

Maybe a few more mattresses, he admitted, but dollar-wise, “it’s really even.” This is a good time of year for hot tubs, he said, noting that the company had just delivered two tubs to customers in Queensbury that day.

Business, so far, has been “very good,” King said. 

The Lake George location, at the Log Jam Outlet Center just off Route 9, opened two months ago and it is the fifth location for the business. They also have stores in Saratoga Springs, Latham, North Greenbush, and Kingston. 

King pointed out that the store is easy to find. It shares a parking lot with the Log Jam restaurant, a Lake George landmark. 

In addition to mattresses and hot tubs, Sleep and Spas sells massage chairs, patio furniture, and swimming pool supplies.

by jennifer farnsworth

It has been just over a year since David Brindle first broke ground on his business venture, The Luxury Box. The Queensbury-based indoor sports and entertainment facility  opened in the fall, and since then, Brindle said they have been growing at a steady pace.

“Business started slow in October when we first opened.  The week of Thanksgiving things increased.  December was slow with people playing but we sold a lot of gift certificates.  January really picked up with players coming in to use the facility,” said Brindle.

The facility is for any age and skill level, and can be utilized any time of year. Brindle said they have seen the units used for family nights, girls nights and game nights. He expects there will be more weekly golf tournaments starting this month. 

He said all of the sports simulators are popular, with golf in particular.

MG Sales has opened at Aviation Mall across from Regal Cinema. 

The 6,100-square-foot store offers overstock, close-out and discontinued items including toys, housewares, electronics, furniture and more. The store will be replenished with new product inventory every two weeks.

Patty Guilder and John McClure are the co-owners of MG Sales. 

“We are committed to bringing affordable products to this community, and we are looking forward to working with the mall to grow our business,” said Guilder.

James Griffith, general manager of Aviation Mall said, “We are very excited for the opportunity to work with another local entrepreneur, as local business operators are the backbone of our community.” 

MG Sales will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

By Jennifer Farnsworth

The Log Jam Outlet Center Route 9 in Lake George has a new tenant that is adding a spark to the shopping center.  

Lake George Wine Outlet had their official grand opening in mid-February. Store manager and marketing strategist Andrew Meager said the store will give bargain shoppers a chance to enjoy some discounted pricing on their favorite wine and spirits. The store doesn’t carry just wine. Various bottles of liquor are available.

Delivery service is being planned for the spring.

“We will try to offer as many specials as we can to our customers. If we are able to get cases of something at a good price, we will then extend that to our customers,” he said.

Zachary Moore, who owns the 3,000-square-foot space, said they consider themselves lucky to have Meader running the store because he has a lot of experience in marketing. 

Moore is a managing partner of Spruce Hospitality which operates the Queensbury Hotel and Fairfield Inn and Suites. He is also third party manager of the Ticonderoga Country Club and property manager for French Mountain Commons and the Log Jam Outlet Center. 

The Outlets are also home to his other entrepreneurial ventures, Coastal Society and The Candy Space.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Laurie Bell has started a business that takes advantage of her love of animals and 32 acres of her family home at 61 Baldwin Corners on the border of Fort Ann and Kingsbury.

Faced with changes in her life and the opportunity to start a new career, the idea for Mountain View K-9 Retreat originally came from Bell’s daughters.

“We are animal people,” she said. “My daughters suggested dog boarding and day care and the property is zoned for just about any use.”

While one daughter, Caitlin, works toward her RN degree, daughter Courtney is involved in the new venture.

The Bells believe pets are beloved members of a family and photo portraits are on their roster of services for boarders and non-boarders.

She said her daughter also pursued a marketing degree, and those skills are being used to advertise the business on social media. Bell is also studying to be a dog trainer so that the business can add training to its offerings.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

Bill Maher, owner of Bluebird Auto, 134 Saratoga Ave., South Glens Falls, said he, his wife Tina, and his father William, have one goal: to sell quality pre-owned vehicles. 

Maher, who also runs Compton’s Restaurant in Saratoga Springs, said he has always worked in some capacity in the auto industry. With the help of his wife, he decided it was time to open up his own business. 

“I was always working for others in the car business. My wife said, ‘Why don’t you try this on your own? So here we are. The people in the South Glens Falls community could not be nicer people. So easy to talk to. We are so happy to be doing business here,” said Maher.

When Maher is not at Compton’s he is at Bluebird. When he can’t be there, his father works the lot. 

“My dad is there almost all the time, running the place, taking care of the buying and selling,” said Maher.

Bluebird’s Saratoga location used to be a hot dog restaurant.

By Ginny Brandreth

Flight Wine Bar and Restaurant is a new restaurant at 11 South St. in Glens Falls.

The restaurant offers an elegant culinary experience in a fashionable, mid-century modern atmosphere. From the décor to the flight attendant uniforms, to the menu, the restaurant has an aviation theme.

Owners John Homkey and Melissa Brennan have been wanting to bring a new twist to the area’s restaurant scene for years.  Flight Wine Bar got its start when the pandemic was just beginning, giving the owners time to fully develop their vision. The result is a restaurant they say is thriving as it takes guests on a new culinary adventure.

“Several years ago, I was traveling in Portugal and noticed how the locals savored life. How they took their time to enjoy food, drink, and culture. I decided then that I wanted to bring this experience home,” said Brennan.

“I had always wanted to have a bar and restaurant and knew it would be best to find a business partner,” Homkey said.  “I quickly fell in love with Melissa’s vision and the thought  building this business together was a big bonus.”

“As we started designing our restaurant, we knew we want to focus on the theme of travel’, said Brennan.  “At Flight, our guests are treated to different cultures through international cuisine, wines and beers in a way that mirrors a dinner in a foreign country”.

by Andrea Harwood Palmer

Michael Murray has launched Bailiwick Marketing, a digital marketing agency based in Glens Falls.

Murray is the owner and creative director. The firm officially opened its doors Oct. 29.

Bailiwick Marketing focuses on the website as the marketing base. Adjacent marketing avenues and concepts work in conjunction with the website, said Murray. However, the website should always be the home base.

“There’s social media marketing, content marketing, email or list-building marketing – these three are the predominantly successful campaigns used in marketing, and they are all important. And to be successful, they’re all tied together at the website. Because Bailiwick Marketing has such a strong background with all these facets of marketing, it just makes sense for the marketing and the website to go together,” said Murray.

His  background and education is in architecture. As a self-described “technology geek”, he shifted his career toward CAD management, customization and training for the computer-aided design software and processes utilized by architects. After finding himself burnt out, he pivoted toward marketing and web design.

Murray began building websites as a hobby to relax after a long day. In 2007, he got serious about it, taking on professional clients and exclusively focusing on web development and marketing for small businesses.

By Jill Nagy

Mint, a new farm-to-table restaurant at 80 Warren St. in Glens Falls, will be the latest addition to the vibrant downtown center.

The eatery will feature organic or sustainably farmed ingredients and crafted cocktails—“inspired plates and crafted potions,” according to owner Johanna von Geldern.

Plans to open in October have been postponed while von Geldern awaits delivery of windows. “You can’t do indoor work without windows,” she said. She is looking now at a late November or early December opening.

Von Geldern was the owner and operator of Sweet Beet Bistro in Cambridge for almost six years, but both the town and the space were too small to sustain a viable restaurant business, she said. She received good reviews and had a cadre of enthusiastic customers, many of whom traveled long distances to eat at Sweet Beet.

However, there was no space for outside dining and only eight tables inside. There was also no room for a bar and lunch business was sparse, she said. Then there were limitations imposed by  the COVID pandemic.

“It was a heart-wrenching decision,” to close Sweet Beet Bistro, she said.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer

Andre Woods has launched Apex 9 Media, a Glens Falls-based company specializing in real estate, corporate and nonprofit photography and videography.

“It’s been a hobby of mine for a long time. This is the vehicle I’ve been building to move into retirement with. I’ve been doing video and photography for nearly my whole life,” said Woods.

Woods owned and operated a production company in the 1990s, producing public access television shows and commercials. She was also an IT systems engineer for 35 years.

He grew up in Glens Falls and graduated from Glens Falls High School before moving south in 1982. He lived and worked in Virginia, then returned to Glens Falls in late 2019.

“I moved back to Glens Falls just in time for a worldwide pandemic,” he said. “2020 was a horrible year but it worked out. My dad is a cancer survivor and pushing 90 … With the pandemic and lockdown, the timing was perfect for me to be back home looking after my parents.”

“Apex is the top,” he said. “It’s the best, the pinnacle of everything. The number 9 in numerology speaks to faith and karma. I’m a pretty religious person and my spirituality plays a big role in my life. So the name Apex 9 Media really flowed from those beliefs.”