Category Archives: New Businesses

By Susan Elise Campbell
Black Sheep Quilts LLC founder Adam Hoffman, turned a passion for fabric art into the business of crafting custom quilts for gifts and occasions of all kinds.
Hoffman grew up in Pennsylvania Dutch country, where one could be accustomed to seeing quilts hanging out on the line and where people go to purchase hand-made items, he said.
His great grandmother was a quilter, but he didn’t put needle to cloth until 2020 making patchwork corduroys for himself. He enjoyed making baby quilts and bedding as gifts. But it was the popularity of his original t-shirt designs that people took interest in. He wore some of the designs while tending bar and people started to inquire about them.
“My shirt was a conversation starter and that is good for a bartender,” he said.
Hoffman began to make shirts with logos, faces of band members, and other custom designs for clients. Then New York non-essential businesses went on pause because of the pandemic and Hoffman’s career as a bartender came to an end.

By Susan Elise Campbell
A new cookie shop, Abby’s Cookie Jar, opened in October at 128 Glen St. in Glens Falls.
Owner Ashley Kopf said during the first weekend “we had a hard time keeping up with inventory… Many were curious about the new store front.”
When she was a little girl, Kopf watched her grandmother bake. Ultimately, she went into education, taught music for three years, then completed a master’s degree. Kopf was cooking out of her home kitchen when she decided to take specialty cookies to the next level.
The space at 128 Glen St. fit their budget, she said. It had been a cell phone store previously and not equipped with anything for baking batches of cookies or pastries.
Kopf said her husband is a handyman so he did much of the renovating by himself.
“We did hire a local plumber to install a three-way sink to wash, rinse and sanitize,” she said. “Fortunately no walls needed to be moved and we worked together on the decorating.”

By Lisa Balschunat
Kyle and Randy Cozzens, brothers and business partners, intended to open Evergreen Bicycle Works in the Fort Edward Train Station complex in April, but COVID-19 hit and put the brakes on their meetings with the village Planning Board until June.
“We had our sales tax certificate, keys to the building we were renting, our LLC, but not full approval from the village,” said Kyle, a seasoned bike repair expert and former U.S. Air Force aircraft mechanic.
The Cozzens, Fort Edwards natives, worked with the Washington County Local Development Corp. in February and were raring to go, but then the pandemic hit.
“We had to wait,” he said. “We worked inside and tried to stock our shelves, but it was hard to get inventory at that time, too.”

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
A new discount store has opened at the Mount Royal Plaza at 959 Route 9 in Queensbury.
Gina Peters and her husband opened the store on July 24.
“We are here to serve the community. We’re not a franchise or a big corporation. We’re here for the local community and the surrounding area. We are a $10 or less store, because we wanted quality products in here. We also consign local artisans in the store, and we encourage people to buy local,” said Peters.
“The people we’ve had come in have been very encouraging and supportive. Day by day, our customer base in increasing,” she said.
The store carries cleaning and kitchen supplies, home and bath items, health and beauty items, toys, home décor, party items, electronics, pet supplies and hardware. There is also a small grocery section that is expanding and they are working on a small auto section.

By Jill Nagy
John Herbaly wants old-fashioned service and reliability to be the hallmarks of his new business, Old School Pest Control LLC in South Glens Falls.
After 20 years working for other companies, Herbaly opened his own business on June 1. So far, it is a family enterprise.
Daughter Skylar designed the company’s logo, an owl wearing a mortarboard, sitting on a branch. Her sister, Larissa who loves owls provided the inspiration for that logo, ,her father said.
They are still too young to work, he said, but the girls are learning the business. His wife, Lisa, on the other hand, runs the office. If things continue to go well, he expects to add another employee next year.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Oak Tree Pediatric Dentistry opened on Aug. 3 at 365 Aviation Road in Queensbury.
Dr. Jamie Lewis, originally from Pennsylvania, opened the practice.
“I had been working at the Smile Lodge in Clifton Park,” said Lewis. “I wanted to branch out on my own and create something a little different, a little more personal, a little more family-oriented. I wanted to get to know my patients better.”
Oak Tree is located in the space previously occupied by dentist Dr. Jennifer Shin. Shin sold her practice last year and relocated to New Hampshire with her family. Lewis purchased the property about a year ago, and renovated it to his specifications.
“I’d been looking for property for awhile. It’s always been a dream of mine to own my own practice, and run it the way I want to. I wanted to be able to treat patients the way I would want my kids to be treated,” said Lewis.

By Jill Nagy
Saluti, a new Italian restaurant at 25 Canada St. in Lake George, got off to a rocky start. They opened in February but had to close down in March because of the COVID pandemic. Then they re-opened after Memorial Day.
According to co-owner Jimmy Hartwyk, the biggest problem now is staffing because of the federal government cut-off of the usual stream of temporary workers from overseas.
But, “Things are going really well for us,” Hartwyk said, “I am pleasantly surprised.”
“It is not the year we thought we would have,” he added.
Requirements for social distancing limit capacity and, in general, “throws a wrench into our business plan.” For example, they are not yet serving lunch. On the plus side, “Our landlord has been very gracious” and, so far, “we are very lucky,” he said.

By Jill Nagy
OxiFresh Carpet Cleaning has a new owner, but he promises customers, “there will be no changes in your relationship with OxiFresh.”
The only difference people will notice, said new owner Andrew Allen, is “when speaking to management you will now be working with me.”
Allen was a technician and then manager with the company for three years. He began in 2017 as a technician. A year later, he was manager of operations.
While he worked his way up, Allen was also a student at SUNY Adirondack where he earned a business degree. He was simultaneously a full-time student and a full-time employee at OxiFresh.
This year, the employer offered to sell the franchise to him and he purchased it.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Better Than New Painting is expanding and relocating to Kingsbury.
The painting company is currently located at 15 Boulevard in Queensbury.
Anthony Muscatello has owned the business since 2006.
Hilltop Construction will be building the 4,750-square-foot, metal facility. The building will include two offices, a conference room, restrooms and a large shop. Better Than New does furniture grade finishes and Muscatello plans to add a robotic trim machine to increase productivity and efficiency.
He said the expansion increases revenue generating opportunities. “If you’re not able to do work indoors, it’s a long winter up here.”
“We wanted something new, tailor built for us, without having to retrofit something after it was purchased. Starting from scratch is the best way to get the facility I want. I wanted a state-of-the-art facility that can help increase our efficiency and allow us to grow our labor force,” he said.
Muscatello currently leases the facility in Queensbury, and began looking for a permanent location several years ago when his client load began to outgrow his space.

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
Finders Keepers Consignments in downtown Glens Falls has expanded and opened a second location in the Outlets at Lake George.
The second location is at 1444 Route 9, along the Million Dollar Half Mile.
Kyleen Wade opened her business in Glens Falls some 15 years ago. Her shop there is located at 206 Glen St.
Laura Khols, daughter of outlet owner Dave Kenny, called Wade in December of last year and asked her if she would be interested in moving to the Outlets. Wade declined, not wanting to pack up and move her store.
“Then Laura called me back and said, ‘What if you expanded your business?’ That’s when it became more enticing to me,” said Wade.
She had a soft opening for her new store in early March, just before the state ordered businesses to close due to the coronavirus pandemic.