Category Archives: New 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.”

By Andrea Harwood Palmer

A new variety store, Winklepickers, has opened at 204 Canada Street, Suite 8, in Lake George.

The shop is owned and operated by Rachel and Dave Dutra, and Jeremy Iaquinto.

The Dutras also own and operate Rachel’s Spice Co. & Café in Glens Falls.

Iaquinto also owns Barn & Brick Co. in Queensbury, which features repurposed and newly built items for décor and collection.

The Winklepickers space, located at the end of the Village Mall in Lake George, was completely renovated. Iaquinto and Dave Dutra built everything in the shop. Most of the storage and display pieces are built from vintage cabinetry, ladders and other repurposed items.

The shop features a wall of jerky, local art, new and vintage home décor, Lake George souvenirs and gifts, and an exhaustive collection of teas and spices from Rachel’s Spice Co. The company is working on adding gourmet popcorn and gourmet popcorn spices.

Rachel Dutra said the name for the business was inspired by a particular type of shoe, called a winklepickers, worn in the 1950s by British rock and roll fans. The shoe was made popular by the Beatles.

by Andrea Harwood Palmer

A new video media business, Gazia Media,  has opened in the Saratoga Springs, serving the Saratoga and Glens Falls regions.

Owners Cory Gazai and Sean O’Neill have known each other since childhood.

“Gazai Media was born of the desire for us to find our ‘why’, if you will,” said co-owner Cory Gazai. “We wanted to take something that was very much art focused, with something that is very much a visual language, and figure out how to best utilize it to benefit other people.”

“We found it most useful working with businesses to help them get their message out,” said Gazai.

Gazai was born and raised in upstate New York. He graduated from film school at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Ga. He lived in Atlanta for seven years as an in-house marketing specialist at a life insurance company.

“Life insurance is one of the hardest things to make look visually interesting and appealing,” said Gazai. “And I was able to find success with that. The videos I produced generated millions of dollars in sales for the company.”

About a year ago, he decided to leave Georgia and return to New York. He felt burnt out and wanted to use his professional skills in a way that felt more meaningful. He contacted childhood friend Sean O’Neill and they decided to team up on a joint venture.

“We wanted to find a way to help local businesses in the area stand out in a way that we don’t think has been done before,” said Gazai. “I wanted to take the professional experience I had and open up the opportunity for businesses to experience the same success as the life insurance company I worked for. And I wanted to do it in an area that I really cared about and grew up in.”

O’Neill attended Sienna College with a major in marketing. He has been in a sales role since 2015, and most of that time was spent working with local business. He is involved with the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce and Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce, and said he has a passion for networking and connecting the local community.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer

A man with local ties to the resort industry is planning to open a new restaurant in downtown Glens Falls, but won’t be ready until 2022.

Daniel McGurk is planning to renovate a  three-story structure at 196 Glen St. for a project that is being called One Below Urban Golf Club.

McGurk and partners purchased the building in December 2019 for $435,000. The interior of the building is currently being renovated and modernized. A full modern kitchen, HVAC and modernized plumbing is being installed.

The building will include golf simulator machines for those who enjoy the sport. But, “We want people to be able to enjoy the space whether they golf or not. Having different levels will help separate that,” McGurk said.

McGurk has been working with AJA Architecture on modernization design and branding for the golf club and restaurant.

“AJA Architecture came highly recommended to us by mutual associates of ours at the Garrison and the East Cove. We liked their vision. They’re really good with utilizing our narrow space so it feels more open. It was a perfect fit to work with them,” said McGurk.

He said customers will “still get that club and restaurant feel. The first floor will be a classic restaurant. You wouldn’t know it’s a golf bar unless you actively tried to reserve golf time. It’s pretty separated,” said McGurk of the design.

Entrances to the bottom level and second floor will lead patrons to the golf simulators. Food and drinks will be available on those floors as well.

By Jill Nagy
Whether nostalgic for tie-dye T-shirts or need just the right crystal to help get through difficult times, Mystic World strives to fill the bill. The business, long a fixture at the Wilton Mall in Saratoga County and in downtown Lake George, recently opened a new store at 423 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.
They are still trying to get settled in at the new location, owner Violet Cannistraci said, and December was a very busy month, sometimes too busy for store employees to answer the telephone.
She said people found the Saratoga location mainly by word of mouth but also through listings on Facebook and Google. “The support for local business is amazing,” she said.
Some shoppers patronized both the Wilton Mall and the Saratoga Springs outlets, searching for just the right crystal. Each crystal is unique, Cannistraci noted, hand picked by her at gem shows.
“My house is full of crystals and I always have crystals with me,” she said. They are the most popular item in her stores. People buy them for their possible healing properties, because they are beautiful to look at and as a way to connect with the earth, she said.
Mystic World offers a variety of items in addition to crystals and tie-dye shirts. There are incense, aromatic oils, herbs, candles, jewelry, singing bowls, statues, and a variety of hand crafted items from around the world.
Cannistraci has particular affection for the hand-crafted items and noted that she got her start importing and selling “items I fell in love with (on my travels) and wanted to share with others.” She began traveling as a teenager, spending time in Ecuador and buying things from members of indigenous communities there.
Her first sales outlet was a holiday season pop-up store at the Wilton Mall. From there, she expanded to a seasonal shop on Canada Street in Lake George. She has been there for about a decade.

by Jennifer Farnsworth
High fashion has come to Lake Luzerne thanks to Cre Whitty, owner of the designer thrift shop Cre’s Closet.
The business, which opened late fall, is filled with brand name women’s apparel and accessories.
Whitty said her entire life has had a connection to the fashion industry, beginning with her mother, who was a designer in Manhattan in the 1960s and 1970s. Whitty herself worked in the city during the 1980s and it was then that she fell in love with the concept of thrift stores.
She moved to Lake Luzerne a few years ago. When the opportunity presented itself to start her own thrift shop, she said she knew it was time to take it.

By Jennifer Farnsworth
Angelica Marquina brings the latest trends and techniques to lashes, skin care and waxing to the North Country with the opening of her 518 Beauty Room shop in Glens Falls.
She credits her entrepreneurial drive to the support she receives from her family, adding that they are the reason she has been able to accomplish so much at a young age.
“I know how lucky I am to have the support system that I do. They encouraged me to do what I love,” said Marquina.
She has two other employees who work with her in her 1,500-square-foot location at 18 Ridge St. One specializes in cosmetology and the other in waxing and facials.
All COVID-19 safety precautions are in place, including mask wearing and temperature checks.

By Christine Graf
Glens Falls business owner Robin Barkenhagen recently opened a second location of his 42° ventures. The new glass gallery and smoke shop is located in Ellsworth Plaza on Route 9 in Malta.
Last year, he relocated his Glens Falls store from Park Street to the Colvin Building at 206 Glen St. The building was purchased for $945,000 in January 2019 by Brian Bronzino, part owner of 42°. Barkenhagen and Bronzino entered into their partnership in 2018.
The first 42° opened in 2010, and the move to the larger store on Glen Street allowed Barkenhagen to expand his product line.
Both stores feature glass products that are handmade by more than 100 independent glass artists throughout the United States, he said. Convenience store items are also sold at the Glens Falls location.
“We sell things like cigarettes and vape products,” he said. “Our glass gallery features high-end glass. We have pipes ranging from $15 to $80, and our most expensive piece is $40,000. It’s a glass chess board that’s in our window in Glens Falls.
“Some people buy our glass and use it as decorations. There are collectors around the country that will seek out some of these blowers that we have that are nationally and internationally known,” Barkenhagen said.
42° also sells a full line of CBD products. They carry several brands including their own proprietary product line of pain creams, tinctures, and candies. It is produced with CBD that was harvested in 2019 during Barkenhagen’s brief foray into hemp farming, he said.
Although the market is flooded with CBD products, Barkenhagen said not all products are equal. The 42° brand of products are made with strains that have a very high CBD count, are competitively priced, and “offer more for less.”

By Jennifer Farnsworth
After a year of running a successful online boutique, Jonie McCleary has opened Something Secret Boutique at 4 Bridge St., Lake Luzerne.
McCleary said online sales were much stronger than she anticipated. But she was starting to long for the in-person experience and decided open the Bridget Street location. McCleary said there was some skepticism about opening a brick-and-mortar store during the COVID-19 crisis.
“Honestly, 2020 was the best year for online sales. I don’t know if it was because people were just home and couldn’t shop in the store. But whatever it was, I am more than grateful.”
“I didn’t want to be just restricted to being behind a computer screen. So I decided why not? I have had people tell me I am crazy for—number one, opening in the off season for my area—and number two, opening in the middle of a pandemic. I If I can make it now I should be able to make it through whatever,” she said.
It was January 2018 when McCleary said she decided to go back to school for business. A marketing professor noticed her knack for business and encouraged her to follow her dreams.
“He said to me ‘Jonie you have entrepreneur written all over you’ and at first I kind of just dismissed it. And then his words kept popping back into my head … I always knew I wanted to be my own boss. I’ve always had a drive and what I like to think is a good work ethic,” said McCleary.
She opened the online boutique in early March 2018, initially with a small group of friends and family. The business quickly began to grow. In 2019 she started Facebook Live and her 100-member group turned into nearly over 5,000. When she began shipping to at least 20 different states she realized she was outgrowing her then basement-based business.