Month: July 2023

By Christine Graf

Less than one year after Mike Gerarde established PSG Golf, he and partner Jeff Boss have opened an indoor golf facility at 615 Maple Ave., Suite 2, in Saratoga Springs.

PSG Golf offers golf lessons to students of all ages and skill levels, and their new facility features two golf simulators, a TopGolf simulator, an indoor putting and chipping green, and a bar. 

Gerarde, a Glens Falls native, began playing golf about 10 years ago while a student at Syracuse University. After graduating and joining his family’s payroll company, Keena Staffing, he found himself entertaining clients on the golf course.

 “The connections you create through the golf course are invaluable, and that’s how I got the idea to start a golf lessons business,” said Gerarde. “A lot of people that I worked with or that I knew didn’t want to get out on the golf course because they thought they weren’t good enough.”

After becoming certified as a golf teacher, he established PSG Golf in July 2022. The business is named in honor of his father, Paul Stephen Gerarde, who passed away when Gerarde was 10.  

Before opening his own facility, Gerarde taught lessons at the Luxury Box in Queensbury and Tarks Indoor Golf Center Saratoga. He then partnered with Jeff Boss, a Capital Region native who has been golfing since he was 10.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) plans to significantly enhance opportunities for fans to experience the Saratoga Breakfast And Breeding Farm Tour package, which debuted to sold out crowds each Friday in its inaugural season last year.

The track opens Thursday, July 13.

The tour this year will be offered every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday during the Saratoga meet and feature two active thoroughbred breeding farms. The tours will accommodate up to 52 guests each day beginning Friday, July 14, and concluding on Friday, Sept. 1.

The tours will be offered every Wednesday at Song Hill Thoroughbreds, 290 County Road 75 in Mechanicville, and every Thursday and Friday at Old Tavern Farm, 45 Brown Road, in  Stillwater.

The package, presented by the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA), features a buffet breakfast at Saratoga Race Course; the opportunity to watch the thoroughbreds during morning training; a round-trip, trolley ride from Saratoga Race Course to the farms; a 60-90 minute guided walking tour of the breeding farm; and admission to Saratoga Race Course.

The package is $85 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis and may be purchased at NYRA.com.

The Double H Ranch, a nonprofit organization providing specialized programs and year-round support for children dealing with life-threatening illnesses announced the hiring of Alison Wilcox as CEO. 

Wilcox will be following in the footsteps of Max Yurenda, who retired after 30 years leading the organization founded by actor and philanthropist Paul Newman and businessman and philanthropist Charley Wood.

“Alison has a wonderful passion for the mission of the Double H Ranch and a respect for our culture. Her experience developing leadership skills for young girls; financial management; and organizational development will inspire the Double H Ranch to grow upon its reputation of excellence as one of the premier non-profits in the Capital District and North Country. By working with our great Double H Ranch team, I am confident Alison will bring great enthusiasm, energy, and engagement in her new role,” said Charlie Crew, the facility’s board chairman.

Wilcox has over 20 years of global experience in nonprofit leadership and board governance and has been the CEO of Girl Scouts of Western New York for the past four years, and she was COO for three years. 

Prior to that, she was a senior strategy advisor to Girl Scouts of USA, lead development specialist at Delaware North Companies and the senior vice president of program and membership of Girls Scouts of Western New York. 

A 100-acre horse farm dedicated to revolutionizing equine care has opened in Schuylerville,

From rest to rehabilitation, GMP Farm offers diverse opportunities for the recovery and wellbeing of equine athletes. Situated on a an estate just minutes from downtown Saratoga, it embodies a holistic approach to healing and preventative care for horses of all disciplines, the organization said.

Featuring state-of-the-art barns and the latest equine healthcare technology, GMP Farm is the culmination of excellence between former thoroughbred trainer Gary Gullo and partner, racing owner Anthony Melfi. 

An experienced 24-hour onsite team led by farm manager Steve Rybowski, who came up under Hall of Famer John Nerud, boasts over 200 years of experience.

Officials said customized therapeutic programs begin with cutting edge thermographic diagnostics along with veterinary consultation. As a leader in equine science, the farm boasts the nation’s seventh Equine Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, and only HBOT New York. 

Equine Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) is a drug-free and non-invasive treatment option for horses that helps treat many different conditions and diseases, officials said. With HBOT technology, horses receive a high concentration of pure oxygen in a completely sealed and pressurized environment. This veterinary treatment option can greatly reduce healing time in a safe and calm environment, while increasing the longevity of their careers.

By Jill Nagy

Jeffrey Miller calls himself “an entrepreneur at heart” and has opened a coffee shop in Stillwater in a building he has owned since 2019.

He owns JEM Properties LLC, based in Saratoga Springs, and has 20 years of experience in the real estate business. This is his first venture into the food service arena.

The new shop, called Upton Coffee Company, is located at 751 Hudson Ave. in the heart of Stillwater’s small commercial area.

He had a soft opening on July 1, and a full-fledged ribbon-cutting is expected to take place in mid-July.

Miller bought the building, consisting of seven apartments and three commercial spaces, as a rental property. A barber and a pizza restaurant occupy the other commercial spaces and the apartments are also occupied.

Miller sees his shop as a gathering place for village residents. He plans “a full coffee menu” from decaf to espresso, hot or iced, along with teas, water and soft drinks.  A selection of baked goods from Rockland Bakery and other local suppliers will complement the coffee. Miller has no immediate plans for a broader menu but said he might expand later.

Lockheed Martin and GlobalFoundries announced on June 12 a strategic collaboration to advance U.S. semiconductor manufacturing and innovation and to increase the security, reliability and resiliency of domestic supply chains for national security systems.

Officials said the collaboration will enable Lockheed Martin to more quickly and affordably produce secure solutions that increase the competitiveness and national security of the United States.

The companies will leverage GlobalFoundries’ differentiated technology and trusted manufacturing practices to increase anti-fragility in microelectronics systems and supply chains. The collaboration will explore critical needs in semiconductor innovation and secure manufacturing across a range of advanced and next-generation chip technologies, including 3D heterogeneous integration for optimized chip packaging that improves performance; silicon photonics for low-power and high-speed data transport; and gallium nitride on silicon to help chips work at higher temperatures.

Officials said the companies will also work to develop a chiplet ecosystem to produce chips more rapidly and affordably.

by ann donnelly

Salty Buns is a new quick service restaurant in the food court of Wilton Mall that offers a range of sandwiches and hot dogs on pretzel buns. 

Owners Jon Locke and Alison Packer had always wanted to open a restaurant and sought a unique idea. 

“When restaurants have limited availability specials on pretzel buns, they are so popular. We love pretzels, and we love restaurants, so we came up with the idea for this restaurant,” said Locke. 

The business opened at the beginning of June, and the owners are delighted at the success they have seen early on. 

“Each week, sales have risen. From 800-900 customers in the first week to approximately 2,000 customers in the third week,” said Locke. “The word has spread, mainly on Facebook, and we have had customers that traveled from as far as Connecticut.” 

Before deciding to locate in the mall, Locke and Packer had in-depth discussions with the owners and management and decided it would be the best location for them to get started. 

“They outlined their plan for the future and painted a clear picture that now is the time to set up here,” said Locke. “Name brand stores, Planet Fitness, the DMV, and Glens Falls Hospital draw people in. I stand here every day, and I see the mall coming back to life with many young people, in their teens and 20s, spending time here. Now many are coming just for Salty Buns.”