By Tricia Rogers

It’s a new year full of opportunities and possibilities. As an organization that supports our business community, the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC) is excited for what 2023 will bring. 

But reflecting on 2022, we realized that there is much to be grateful for, and even more to celebrate.

In 2022 the ARCC saw some growth in our membership, welcoming 116 new members. We finished 2022 strong at a total of 759 members. Even more impressive, the organization saw a retention rate of 93.5 percent. This is something to be celebrated as it reflects the strength of our business community. More than ever businesses are investing in themselves and their communities. 

Advocacy is a part of the ARCC’s mission to support our business community. In 2022 the ARCC took stances and wrote 15 letters of support to help businesses in our region. From addressing child-care concerns, to supporting our farms, the ARCC is listening and ready to address challenges our businesses are facing.

Continuing education is important to the ARCC, as we are always looking for resources to share with our businesses. Institutions such as SUNY Adirondack, SUNY Plattsburgh at Queensbury, WSWHE BOCES, and University at Albany School of Business are in regular contact with the ARCC and providing information on programs and courses. We are grateful for these partnerships, and hope our communities take advantage of these opportunities.

By Christine Graf

Lakefront Terrace Resort was the latest hotel to change hands in what was a busy year for the sale of Lake George vacation resorts. 

Located less than one mile from Lake George village, the 2998 Lake Shore Drive property features 73 rooms and a 150-foot private beach.

Former Texas prosecutor Ken McGurk sold the resort to Tahoe LG LLC for $7.4 million in a deal that closed in mid-December. 

The LLC is controlled by McGurk’s cousins, Michael, Chris, and Patrick Menter. The brothers own several other Lake George hotels and motels. Their parents, Dave and Theresa Menter, have operated numerous vacation resorts in the area for more than three decades.

McGurk purchased the former Tahoe Resort for $3.4 million in 2018. During his approximately five years of ownership, he invested more than $2 million in renovations to the property. 

According to real estate broker Mitch Muroff, owner of Muroff Hospitality Group, Lakefront Terrace Resort generated a great deal of interest almost immediately after it was listed for sale at the beginning of September. He credits the recent renovations for adding significantly to its appeal.

By Christine Graf

With ski season officially underway, staffs at Gore Mountain and West Mountain are gearing up for what is likely to be another very busy winter. Last season, Gore had a record-breaking year for both revenue and season pass sales. 

According to Gore’s general manager James “Bone” Bayse, pass sales for the 2022-2023 season have been strong.

“I’m not sure that we will break last year’s record because it was so high, but we will be very close. At the moment, we are tracking that way.”

Meanwhile at West Mountain in Queensbury, “Last winter was a good, solid, profitable year,” said co-owner Spencer Montgomery. “Coming into this year, revenue-wise which includes season passes, we are up about 20 percent over last year. We pre-sell school programs, and that has been really strong this year. We’re on a fiscal year that starts May 1 and we’re probably pushing a 30 percent increase in sales for the same period last year.”

During the off season at Gore, an additional 230 snow guns were added to the snowmaking fleet. Some of these guns will be used on the new trail that was cut into Burnt Ridge Mountain. 

By Paul Post

The largest athletic competition in Lake Placid history has been a dramatic game-changer for a fledgling Glens Falls firm that produced colorful graphics for the event.

It’s one small example of the estimated $4.6 million economic impact the Jan. 12-22 World University Games will have on the North Country, from Clarkson University where some hockey games will be played, to Gore Mountain in North Creek, which is hosting free-style skiing and snowboarding competition.

About 2,500 athletes and coaches from 50 countries will take part, much more than the 1,072 competitors from 37 countries at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

In 2020, Glens Falls-based Sidekick Creative won the contract to produce the Games’ logo.

“That was my custom illustration,” said Will Fowler, co-owner with Kara Greenslade of the five-year-old business. “After that we had a really good working relationship with Adirondack Sports Council and the Games’ organizing committee. They had a lot of marketing needs so we dove right into other stuff.”

Now, every Olympic venue is adorned with big, splashy designs Sidekick Creative produced, which depict the sport taking place there such as hockey and figure skating at the Olympic Center, and biathlon and Nordic skiing at Mt. Van Hoevenberg.

The Queensbury Hotel has added a new twist to its holiday decor.

The hotel now has a life-sized gingerbread house standing 11 feet high and 14 feet wide in its lobby.

The Queensbury is known for having decorations each holiday season. The hotel typically features decorative window boxes and wreaths on its exterior and festive trees, garland and poinsettias throughout their grand lobby.

“This year, we set out to do even more,” said Tyler Herrick, general manager of the hotel and president of Spruce Hospitality Group. “We have more trees, more lights, more garland and even the addition of toy soldiers to greet you when you arrive. But the gingerbread display is definitely the largest addition and has been our biggest undertaking”

Adam Savage, director of culinary for Spruce Hospitality, took the lead on designing the gingerbread house. He and his team have worked for months to plan and prepare for the display. 

Dr. Derin Tanyol, a 19th through 21st century art specialist, has been named curator of modern and contemporary art at The Hyde museum.

She will oversee the contemporary exhibition programming and modern art collections.

Tanyol has spent 15 years in the museum, gallery, and arts administration field. She has curated or produced more than 60 exhibitions, including contributions to exhibitions at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College and the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art at SUNY New Paltz.

Her breadth of experience extends beyond contemporary art to include 19th century American and European painting and printmaking, art of the Woodstock art colony, and the American arts and crafts movement, museum officials said.

“Derin plays an important role in how The Hyde Collection defines the art of our time when museums around the world are rethinking collections and making way for more women and people of color,” said Norman Dascher Jr., the Hyde Collection CEO. “It is our responsibility to build an institution and a curatorial program of equity and inclusion and celebrate and share our rich modern and contemporary collection.”

In August of 2016, The Hyde Collection announced it received its largest donation since Charlotte Pruyn Hyde bequeathed her home and artwork to establish the museum in 1952. The Feibes & Schmitt gift doubled The Hyde’s Modern and Contemporary art holdings, positioning the Museum as a regional hub for postwar art. A new gallery devoted to modern and contemporary art, aptly named the Feibes & Schmitt Gallery, opened in June 2017.

By Susan Elise Campbell

A new eatery in Warrensburg  has brought a taste of home back to 3915 Main St.

Eight months after opening at a different site, Sulla Terra Bakery & Bistro moved from “a tiny place down the street” to where Bill’s Diner had been a long-time local favorite, according to owner April Fiorentino.

“The diner had been out of commission for three years but wasn’t for sale when I opened the bakery,” said Fiorentino.  

But her shop grew so quickly that she brought on a business partner and co-owner, Courtney Sprague, at the time of relocation and subsequent expansion from bakery to bistro.

Fiorentino is a former state worker who went on to work for a dental office. Later  she became manager of Lizzie Keays Restaurant in  Warrensburg when she “didn’t want to be in an office anymore” and stayed there for 10 years, she said.

It took some time to renovate the new space, but the family and friends who helped were eager “to reuse and refresh the space that has meant a lot to people who are still here,” she said.

They removed paneling and found tongue and groove underneath, which Fiorentino said “along with our family & close friends, we sanded, painted, and put the tongue & grove up as ship lap.”