Craft beverage drinkers can gain access to special offers and the chance to win Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail swag through a new digital passport offered by the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB.

“The craft beverage industry is a year-round attraction that ranked high in consumer traveler surveys distributed by our destination partners to gain insight into what people are looking for when they visit our area,” said Chamber Executive Director Gina Mintzer. “We feel this is an offering that will help visitors find what they’re looking for and gain more visibility for our local craft beverage scene.”

The passport is being marketed to a targeted demographic that mirrors the organic traffic to adkcraftbev.com, which draws many website visitors from out of the area. The top location from out of the area is New York City.

The digital passport was developed through Bandwango, a company that develops digital passports for destinations around the U.S. and Canada. It provides a simple way for the Chamber to analyze redemption and usage data, spot trends and track leads that can help measure economic impact of programs like this.

“We chose a digital passport because we liked the ease of updating the passport throughout the year, the fact that we could continue to interact with users of the passport digitally, analyze data and react to trends,” Mintzer said. “We also like that it can be accessed on a smartphone and isn’t something additional that consumers have to remember to carry with them.”

This passport currently features 15 craft beverage producers (with more to be added) in Essex, Warren, Washington and Saratoga Counties.

Currently, there are three prizes: Five  check-ins, an Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail logo window cling; 10 check-ins, a tote bag designed for bottles; and at all locations, entry into grand prize raffle prize

By Lisa Balschunat

Another phase of expansion is underway at the Queensbury Hotel in downtown Glens Falls.

The owners plan to construct a grand ballroom that can accommodate 400 people for a wedding or similar dinner event, 700 people for a cocktail party and 350 people theater style. 

In addition, the room will be equipped with two breakout rooms. A new banquet kitchen will be built off the ballroom. The facility will be 5,200 square feet.

“We are moving full steam ahead,” said hotel general manager Tyler Herrick.  “When Spruce Hospitality Group bought the Queensbury in 2016 the first thing Zach Moore and I talked about with Ed Bartholomew was the need for a big room to accommodate community events.  Something grander than Heritage Hall, bigger than Great Escape Lodge, but closer than The Sagamore.”

Spruce Hospitality is working with the Phinney Design Group of Saratoga Springs and is presently securing funding for the $2.2 million project through Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co. Herrick said he anticipates finalizing soon the contract for construction with a local company.

The ballroom will be located right of the hotel’s Ridge Street entrance. He said the project should begin in late August with plans to accept bookings beginning in September 2022.   

“We are really excited about this project, as it rounds out our five-year plan and solidifies what we know in the hospitality industry—that a banquet booking offers a predictable, controlled profit.  Many people think it comes from the bar.  There’s guess work at the bar. There is predictability with an event and a straight percentage that bodes well for our business.”

The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) announced that the 32nd Annual J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award will be presented to Mark Behan, president and founder of Behan Communications.

“Mark Behan exemplifies all that J. Walter Juckett stood for: community, charity and leadership. Mark has long been in the service of so many others in our region through his work on many boards as well as his volunteer commitment in so many other venues,” said ARCC President and CEO Michael Bittel.

The Juckett Award, named in honor of the longtime chairman of the Sandy Hill Corp., is the chamber’s highest award for community service.

Behan iounded Behan Communications 33 years ago. It serves clients across many industry sectors nationwide. Prior to founding Behan Communications, Behan worked in the newspaper industry as a reporter, editor and executive.

Behan serves on the boards of Arrow Financial Corp. and Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co., the Glens Falls Foundation, the E. Leo Spain Foundation and Kelly’s Angels Inc. For 18 years, he was a member of the board of governors of Glens Falls Hospital and in recent years served as vice chair. He also has served on the Albany Medical Center board of directors.

More recently, Behan has served as a member of Warren County’s Economic Recovery Task Force and as the leader of the Warren County Hospitality Communications Group, a public-private collaboration to strengthen the tourism industry in Warren County.

He is a former member of the board of trustees of The Hyde Collection art museum, the Adirondack Regional Chambers of Commerce, the Economic Development Corp. of Warren County, Crandall Public Library, the Chapman Historical Museum, and St. Mary’s-St. Alphonsus Regional Catholic School. In 1988, he was honored with the Henry Crandall Award from Crandall Public Library.

The Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (LARAC) will hold the 50th annual LARAC Summer Arts Festival in City Park in Downtown Glens Falls on Saturday Aug. 14 and  10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday Aug. 15.

The Arts Festival is free and open to the public. It will run Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 10. a.m. to 4 p.m.

Organizers said this year’s festival will feature over 100 exhibitors, including many new and returning artists offering shoppers a variety of products such as jewelry, home items, food items, fine art, textiles, garden decorations, and more.

The festival will also include local nonprofit community booths, arts demonstrations, children’s activities, food concessions, and live entertainment by local musicians.

It will have two stages of live music throughout the two-day event, with music from over 25 different acts.

The Bond, 1786, at 3 Hudson St. in Warrensburg, owned by The Lotus Group of Companies, is now open

The restaurant segment of the property is open five nights a week.

It is owned and operated by the Lotus Group of Companies, also in Warrensburg. It is the  site of the former Merrill Magee House.

The Bond 1786 is the newest hospitality business for Lotus, which also owns and operates Ashes Pub & Ocho Cinco Cantina and The Grist Mill, facilities that are currently under a demolition/reconstruction from a 2020 fire.

“We knew that opening a restaurant during a pandemic would be a challenge, but our chefs and experienced front of house staff have made the opening a smooth and successful one. We are proud to feature a variety of locally sourced products, a delicious craft cocktail menu, spacious seating, live music, themed nights in the pub and local draft selections,” a company statement said.

The Lotus group’s continued commitment to Warrensburg is evidenced by the affordable options and family friendly attitude that The Bond strives for.

With the opening of The Bond, comes the rebirth of a historic Warrensburg building. The property serves as the first boutique hotel in the area. It has spacious outdoor seating and large event space. Rooms are contemporary and cozy .

The team has created a menu that is a mix of classic favorites with some new dishes. Chefs Paul MacPherson and Henk Schoneveld,  created a first-class menu that is big on creativity and bold in flavor.

By Lisa Balschunat

Spruce Hospitality Group, parent company of the Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls and co-owner of the Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites, Queensbury, is broadening its business reach to Ticonderoga in a third-party management business arrangement.

Tyler Herrick, president of Spruce Hospitality Group and general manager of the Queensbury and Fairfield hotels, said he and his business partner Zachary Moore, have hired a general manager, executive chef and some 40 employees to serve the food and beverage operation at the Ticonderoga Golf Course.

Located in Ticonderoga on Route 9N, the golf course offers members and the public a golf outing, as well as refined dining at Seymour’s Restaurant, or pub fare at the facility’s tap room.

Seymour’s touts a three-season porch with views of the Lord Howe Valley and Adirondack sunsets.  The tap room features local craft brews and signature cocktails. Pub fare is served on the clubhouse’s lower level, covered terrace and patio.

Herrick said the guests are a combination of local residents, seasonal homeowners and visitors. “We are excited to be a part of it.”

The  golf course is looking to host future Professional Golf Association regional events, he said.

He noted that golf courses nationwide experienced a record year in 2020 during the pandemic and that trend is continuing into 2021.

“We exceeded our expectations opening night serving 200-250 dinners,” Herrick said.  “We’ve advertised locally, but have not expanded yet to a broader reach.”

“Ticonderoga, with the fort, canals, waterways and history, is really a crossroads for new commerce,” Herrick said. “I see a resurgence here as the southern basin is too expensive and individuals and businesses are populating north.  There is so much potential here.”