Category Archives: New Businesses

By Jill Nagy
Homestyle food, made from scratch and priced to accommodate young families, is on the menu at XII Sporks, a new restaurant at 462 Canada St. in Lake George.
“XII” is the Roman numeral 12. It was chosen because there were originally 12 family members involved in the business. Some dropped out, but the name stuck. A spork is an eating utensil that combines the bowl of a spoon with the tines of a fork.
The restaurant opened on Oct. 12, the beginning of a slow season on Lake George, “a good time to open and learn,” according to Misty Feulner, one of the owners.
They plan to be open rear-round, every day but Wednesday.
“It’s our dream,” Feulner said, explaining that, “ever since I was little” she wanted to own and operate a restaurant.

By Susan E. Campbell
Lake George native Monika LaPlante has opened a site in Saratoga Springs for people who need a work or meeting area, but don’t want the burden of their own office.
The Worker’s Club has space that can be rented for a day, a year, or anything in between. At 3 Franklin St., the business has a modern, comfortable environment in Suite 4 of the historic building, two blocks off Broadway.
“I am from Lake George, where many families owned businesses,“ she said. “I was surrounded my whole life so it was in my head to start my own.“
With a degree in environmental science and two masters degrees, LaPlante has had a position in New York City as an assistant data manager for an environmental non-profit group. Three years ago she moved back to the area and continued to work from home.
“A nonprofit builds up community, but I found I was not connected to tech people in this area,” she said.
Starting a business where she could establish such a community was the solution for both her business and personal goals.

By Susan E. Campbell
A new business at The Shirt Factory in downtown Glens Falls gives people of all ages a place to “let their creativity run wild,” said Rachael Rihanna, who opened Cre8ivology on Oct. 1.
Cre8ivology is a place to gather for a paint -and-sip party, take a basic art course and more. The studio is also the space where Rihanna creates and shows her own works of fine art.
An artist whose primary medium is watercolor, Rihanna has shown her work in galleries around Glens Falls for years. More recently she has turned to acrylics and mural projects for businesses and residents.

By Jennifer Farnsworth
Longtime fans of the East Cove restaurant in Lake George can experience a comeback after a three-year hiatus.
The business reopened on July 10.
New owners oversaw renovations to the building at the intersection of Beach Road and Route 9L in Lake George, including an updated kitchen and relocation of the bar area, according to general manager Kevin Chudyk.

By Jennifer Farnsworth
With Halloween approaching, the convenience of having a costume store nearby is handy and Aviation Mall is taking advantage of that.
The popular nationally known store Spirit Halloween can found popping up in vacant spaces, bringing all things Halloween. One has opened in the local mall.
Mall general manager James Griffith, said business has been steady since Spirit opened and he expects it to continue to increase right through October. Griffith said Spirit’s parent company is Spencer’s.
The mall already has a Spencer’s, making communication easy between the mall and Spirit since they had somewhat of an existing relationship.
“There was mutual interest there, between Pyramid Management, the mall management group for Aviation, and for Spencer’s. It was a perfect fit for our needs and theirs,” said Griffith.

By Rachel Phillips
After throwing the idea around for several years, two local union officers decided to try their hand at running their own plumbing business.
C&L Mechanical Corp. is a veteran-owned business that specializes in the piping industry from residential plumbing and HVAC systems, to industrial and commercial piping system installations. Nelson Charron and Dan Levo, who have a combined 40 years of experience between them, launched their business in September.
Based in Moreau, the business services Northeastern New York, from Albany to the Canadian border. Services include plumbing system installations and repairs, backflow prevention, residential and industrial steam and hydronic heating system installation and repairs, fabrication as well as weld inspections. The company is also signatory with Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773 in Glens Falls to provide manpower when needed.
Charron said the personal approach he and Levo take for each project makes their business stand out among their customers.
“Every client we have, is visited by both owners, and both have input on the project from start to finish,” said Charron. “We will both follow up after project completion for a debriefing, to see if the customer is happy and how things are working. Most importantly, we shake hands, and thank each customer personally.”

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet opened its newest store at Aviation Mall on Aug. 28.
With more than 309 locations nationwide, the Harrisburg, Pa.-based company is one of America’s largest retailers of closeout merchandise and excess inventory, according to the company.
“It’s a good area to get into—good population, good incomes,” said Jerry Altland, vice president of real estate, of the new location in the Adirondacks.

By Jennifer Farnsworth
A full-service hydraulic repair shop, B and K Hydraulics, is a new full machine shop for rebuilding or re-manufacturing of hydraulic cylinders.
This business includes crane and telescopic dump cylinders, pumps and motors. It also carries a full line of hydraulic hoses and fittings.
It has the ability to make repairs on everything from garbage dumps, dump trucks, tree trimmers and bucket trucks.
Owned by LeRoy Buttles and Fred Klotz, the company has over 30 years of experience.

By Susan E. Campbell
A European-inspired eatery has opened in Glens Falls. It’s called [farmacy], a restobar, located at 22 Ridge St.
A restobar is a place when people can eat, drink and watch as the food and beverages are prepared only a few feet away.
“You are literally sitting across the table from your chef, which is the same concept as sitting in a bar with the bartender right in front of you,” said A.J. Richards, head chef and co-owner with his wife Christina.
The restaurant is intimate, with seating for 44 people. But the real distinction is that everything is open, Richards said.
“An open kitchen such as this is both a blessing and a curse,” he said. “It takes a different kind of cook.”
But the customers are responsive to the lack of walls, and “the chefs love it too,” he said.

By Rachel Phillips
Fans of cigar culture have a new shop and lounge to visit in the heart of downtown Glens Falls.
Hometown Cigars & Lounge opened at 278 Glen St. Co-owner Brian Donovan had been familiar with the tobacco industry for many years and at the prompting of his friends, and now business partners, Jasiu Osakowicz and Jason Marchese, was inspired to open the business.