Month: April 2016

By Sarah Jean Worden

The tri-county area is well decorated with the names Mazzone Hospitality and Prime Business Dining, companies owned by restaurant mogul Angelo Mazzone.

Many area residents, business people and tourists of the area enjoy meals and meetings prepared by teams of his 1,000 employees.

In Saratoga County, his ventures include Angelo’s Prime Bar + Grill in Clifton Park; Prime at Saratoga National at the renowned Saratoga Springs golf club; and the dining facility at the historic Hall of Springs in Spa State Park. Soon, he will run the restaurant at Pavilion Grand Hotel in Saratoga Springs.

Mazzone’s name became established in and around the area long before he invested in the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia in 1988. In the early 1970s, he attended Hudson Valley Community College and then transferred to Schenectady County Community College to complete the hotel and restaurant management program. He “met a girl” who later became his wife and the mother of his children. The couple left New York briefly but ultimately came back to the area for work and to open Peggy’s Restaurant on State Street in Schenectady at a time when that city was starting to rebuild its downtown.

“I was part of the redevelopment,” Mazzone said. At that time, Peggy’s was expanding its catering. While he was developing that project, he saw an opportunity at the Glen Sanders Mansion.

“This is the place,” he said. And the decision was made to purchase the property on the Mohawk River. He added two ballrooms and a dining hall to the smaller historic house.

Michael Brown, owner of Death Wish Coffee, has seen a huge boost in production and sales of his product in the wake of a 30-second TV commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.

©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jill Nagy

What a difference 30 seconds can make. Since a 30-second advertisement was televised during the NFL Super Bowl on Feb. 7, Death Wish Coffee in Round Lake has seen its sales multiply three to four times, has increased its staff, ordered new equipment, added new products and rented an additional warehouse, according to company owner Michael Brown.

Current sales volume is now 1,500 pounds per day, said Brown. Before the ad ran, it was less than 500 pounds per day.

After an initial surge, things leveled off somewhat but “it’s been holding pretty steady.” The company has more than 2,000 recurring customers and a mailing list of 250,000.

Consequently, Brown said, “I have a lot of big plans.”

He is looking for a larger location so that he can bring all the company’s activities under one roof. Currently, they have four separate warehouses. Most sales now are online but the new location will include a retail outlet. In addition, the coffee is sold at Price Chopper, Hannaford, Healthy Living Market, and Saratoga Coffee Traders.

Christel and Colin MacLean have run several businesses in Saratoga Springs and its Saratoga Juice Bar products can now be found in over 100 independent grocery and specialty markets.

©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Maureen Werther

Christel and Colin MacLean are not ones to wait for opportunity to knock on their door. The success of their newest business venture, Saratoga Juice Bar, shows their strength as an entrepreneurial team.

The area first got to know the MacLeans as restaurant owners. Christel was living in Manhattan and working on Wall Street when she had a serendipitous encounter with Auntie Moseley, the famous owner of Hattie’s in Saratoga Springs. A year later, Christel became the owner of Hattie’s. Together with Colin, they remained true to the vision and legacy of Hattie’s.

Over a 20 year span they sold Hattie’s and opened Circus Café on Broadway in Saratoga Springs. They also started a “boutique” realty company, purchased and helped revamp Sperry’s restaurant in Saratoga Springs, then opened a new restaurant, the Crowne Grille.

Soon thereafter, they introduced the community to Saratoga Juice Bar, just a few doors down from Circus Café.

Christel calls it another instance of Saratoga serendipity. She and Colin had just completed the purchase of the Crowne Grill and were absorbed in getting that restaurant running, when, to their surprise, the storefront a few doors down suddenly became available.

“I went to Colin and said, ‘Guess what?’ We’re going to open a juice bar,'” she said.

By Katie Healey

A few years back, a pediatric nurse raising one young child and pregnant with her second baby had a dilemma. Her favorite winter coat would not zip up over her growing belly. She went to the coat closet to put on her husband’s jacket and was not pleased how it fit or looked.

Maria Messier, a Saratoga County entrepreneur, said she always had a knack for finding solutions. After finding herself in need of way to expand her coat to fit, she decided to invent a jacket extender for herself and for other expectant mothers to widen their favorite coats during pregnancy. With it, they could stay warm in their current coat and avoid paying for a high-priced, short-lived, maternity jacket.

But like most busy, working mothers, Messier put the idea to the back of her mind.

In the fall of 2013, Messier found out she was expecting twins. She was talking with her aunt, Joanne Frank, a fashion designer by trade with over 40 years of experience. Frank thought she could partner with her niece to see if the idea could become an actual product.

Together, they designed a jacket extender system.

Along the way, they hit some stumbling blocks. Inserting a universal zipper to allow for extra fabric to cover the expanded belly was not as easy as it seemed. It wasn’t feasible until Frank came up with a clip-on idea. They developed a clip process that is patent pending.