Hamlet & Ghost opens this month on
Caroline Street in Saratoga Springs.
A new establishment, Hamlet & Ghost, opens
this month on Caroline Street in Saratoga
Springs, in the heart of the city’s thriving bar
scene.
Owners said it will add a new dimension to
the Saratoga Springs hospitality experience, providing
high-quality, custom-crafted drinks and
small plates of food in a “welcoming, industrial-chic,”
historic building.
In contrast to the local norm, Hamlet & Ghost
will accommodate only as many guests as it can
seat, the owners said.
It is located at 24 Caroline St., on the corner
of Putnam Street, in the portion of the building
that was last Silverwood Gallery gift shop. In
recent years, it was home to Boyce and Drake, a
plumbing, heating and air conditioning company.
The building was also once a feed and grain
store in the 1870s. It became a hardware store
during Prohibition.
The new décor features large windows facing
both Caroline and Putnam Streets, paired with
the curved, angular bar, and accented by the
wooden floors and tin ceilings.
The newest plan for this storied venue is the
collaborative brainchild of three hospitality
veterans.
Brendan Dillon, Hamlet & Ghost owner, was
a bartender at Max London’s Restaurant & Bar
for the past five years, whose other hospitality
experience includes Verde Restaurant at Stratton
Mountain in Vermont as well as several other
Saratoga establishments.
Chall Gray was the operator of six acclaimed
tap rooms and craft cocktail bars, most notably
the Top of the Monk in Asheville, N.C.
Alex Straus, a Saratoga native and hospitality
veteran of more than 17 years, has opened
numerous bars on the West Coast, including the
Tao Beach in Las Vegas, and most recently EP/
LP in Los Angeles.
“We wanted to create a space where everyone
can enjoy a well-crafted cocktail in a relaxed
atmosphere, without feeling crowded out or out
of place,” said Dillon.
He said roughly 50 people at a time will be
hosted in three different seating areas: a European-
style banquette along the front windows, a
classic bar counter in the middle, and an intimate
area with small tables and banquette in the back.
Capacity will be managed with care by way
of limited reservations combined with a text/
call availability list based on a first-come/first-seated
policy.
“We don’t want anyone to be forced to stand
or feel congested. We want the authenticity of
the promised experience to be maintained, and
everyone to feel comfortable–whether by themselves
or with others. In terms of my approach at
the bar, our best cocktail will be not simply the
one I love to make, but rather the one each patron
loves the most,” said Dillon.
Hamlet & Ghost plans to be open Monday
through Saturday from the late afternoon until
midnight during the week, with a 2 a.m. closing
time on the weekend.
Its website is www.hamletandghost.com.