Category Archives: Business News

By Christine Graf

Glens Falls native Eliza DeRocker has relocated Saratoga Closet, an upscale consignment shop and bridal boutique, to the Wilton Mall. Prior to opening in the mall in mid-December, Saratoga Closet was located at 38 Van Dam Street in Saratoga.

A graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology, DeRocker has extensive experience in the fashion industry.  In addition to working as a handbag designer for Chanel, she had her own line of handbags and worked as a stylist for Lily Pulitzer. 

Around 2013, she returned to the Capital Region where she opened Glens Falls Bride and Gown at 56 Glen Street. Six months later, she opened Saratoga Closet on Van Dam Street. Albany Bride and Gown was followed by a bridal shop in Charleston, South Carolina. 

All four stores were closed during the early days of the pandemic and after COVID restrictions were lifted, DeRocker found it almost impossible to staff her New York stores. 

“No one wanted to come back to work,” she said. “I lost everybody. I held on as long as I could.”

By Sara Mannix

To best predict the leading stories of 2024, we must first look at and understand what happened in 2023.

Mannix Marketing has relationships with many other digital marketing agencies. In 2023, for the first time in a decade, we saw agencies that have been in business for years simply close their doors. Web development agencies were hit especially hard. Although a number of factors contributed to this, chief among them were that the easy money policies from 2020-2022 went away. Businesses these agencies served started to demand marketing that returned results. Under the increased spotlight some agencies struggled with showing returns.

We see the need for marketing agencies to provide demonstrated proof of their value as a trend that continues into 2024. For a web design and development company, this means they need to know that their clients will no longer be satisfied with just a pretty website. Websites will have to play a vital part in generating new leads and achieving company goals.

And we have seen this firsthand. At the same time some web development agencies have been closing their doors, the demand for search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search services has increased. Why? Because SEO and paid search marketing allow a business to be found by the customer who is searching for the exact product or service they offer. As businesses tighten up their marketing budgets, they will be more focused on results-oriented marketing that is both predictable and reliable. SEO and paid search are easy to justify in a marketing budget as both are trackable to the return on ad spend.

By Christine Graf

Twenty-four-year old Queensbury native Chad Phinney was just 19 years old when he opened Trading Card Hub in the Shirt Factory in Glens Falls. At that time, he was selling sports trading cards on eBay.

“I was buying cards and reselling them, and I started making a lot of money doing it out of my parents’ basement. It just grew and grew until it got to the point where I had so many cards,” he said. 

“My store originally sold just sports cards, but everyone wanted Pokémon, so I started getting into that.”

After about one year in business, Phinney found himself in need of a bigger space. He relocated his store to the Aviation Mall, and the following year, he considered relocating for a second time to the Wilton Mall.

 “When I was renegotiating my rent for Aviation, I was in talks with Wilton. I ended up getting a good deal at Aviation and Wilton, so I decided to keep Aviation and open a second store at Wilton,” he said.

“A lot of the people who come to our Pokémon card trading events live in Saratoga, and they had been asking for a store there.”

By Christine Graf

In what has been his largest endeavor to date, local entrepreneur Michael Blaauboer has completed the restoration of The Brill Manor. Located at 683 Saratoga Road in Wilton, the property is one of the area’s newest wedding and event venues. 

Originally known as the Brill House, the home was built in 1850 by John Brill. The 31-acre property has changed hands many times over the years, and many locals remember it as the Pepper Turkey Farm. Famed LPGA golfer Dottie Pepper grew up there, and her father, former Major League Baseball Player Don Pepper, ran the farm after his father died. 

“Dottie’s parents have been extremely generous in sharing details of the property with me,” said Blaauboer.

In late 2020, Blaauboer acquired the historic property, one that had been neglected for years. The house was in a state of disrepair, obscured by overgrown foliage that rendered it invisible from the road.

By Paul Post 

The area’s oldest, most well-known car wash company is suddenly facing stiff competition from a Georgia-based firm that’s entered the market as part of a campaign to double in size, with 500 locations in nearly two dozen states by the end of 2025.

Family-owned Hoffman Car Wash, founded in 1965, currently has 30 centers including a new one on Route 9 near Exit 17 in Moreau and plans to add more sites in Glens Falls, Halfmoon and Bennington, Vermont, this year.

Each new site costs about $7 million to develop including property purchase.

But Tidal Wave Auto Spa recently opened a new facility on Quaker Road, Queensbury, a short distance from a Hoffman Car Wash. And in July 2022 it launched a South Glens Falls site and plans to add another one on Route 9 in Queensbury, where Uno Pizzeria & Grill is currently located.

Founded in 1999 in Thomaston, Ga., Tidal Wave plans to add 19 new sites in New York state including five now under construction at Colonie Center, Poughkeepsie, New Hartford near Utica, Auburn and Niagara Falls.

By Paul Post

 Co-owners Spencer and Sara Montgomery, and financial backers, have spent nearly $20 million on capital upgrades since purchasing West Mountain 10 years ago.

 In preparation for this winter they’ve added a $500,000 Winch Cat to the large fleet of grooming machines and covered base lodge floors with safe, clean carpeting.

 But the biggest investment is in personnel with a new food and beverage director, rental shop manager, snow sports person, full-time ski tuner and a larger, more skilled snowmaking crew.

 “It feels like we’re getting some really good professional people in here,” Spencer Montgomery said. “Hiring has been really tough the past three years. Now we’ve got a good overnight snowmaking crew. Really robust, hardworking guys. That makes all the difference because nights are when you get all your production. Someone always has to be watching the pumps, pressure and guns.”

 “Hiring and mild weather were very challenging last year,” he said. “We got through it and this year feels good. We’re looking forward to an awesome season.”

 The Queensbury resort plans a Dec. 16 opening to get all the kinks out and be ready for Christmas week.

By Paul Post

Spa City merchants say track season is like having a second Christmas time because of all the extra business it generates.

 Now they’re gearing up for yet another huge windfall with the announcement that Saratoga Race Course will host the June 6-9 Belmont Stakes Festival, which is expected to have a direct $37 million economic impact and generate untold future tourism by creating worldwide media exposure for one of thoroughbred racing’s most historic events.

 The third leg of racing’s Triple Crown is moving upstate because of ongoing construction and renovations at Belmont Park in Queens. “That it gives us the opportunity to really showcase our area to people who have never been here before,” said Deanna Devitt, president of the 200-member Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association. 

 And excitement surrounding the Belmont Festival is expected to generate momentum and boost attendance for the regular, 40-day racecourse season that begins on Thursday, July 11.

 “Just very, very excited for this opportunity. We can’t wait,” said Marianne Barker of Impressions of Saratoga, a popular Broadway gift and souvenir shop.

 Local business leaders have already begun meeting to make sure Saratoga gets the biggest bang for its buck from this unprecedented opportunity, which Saratoga Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus has likened to the Super Bowl.

JPMorgan Chase has announced the opening of its first retail branch in Saratoga Springs, located at 3086 Route 50. The bank officially opened on November 28 and will celebrate with a ribbon cutting on January 17 with local businesses and community groups.

 “We’ve long viewed Saratoga Springs as a place we wanted to be,” said Jill Annunziato, branch manager for the Chase branch in Saratoga Springs. “We look forward to building new relationships and helping our customers during life’s most important moments, like opening their first savings account, buying their first home or planning for retirement.”

 The branch is about 3,000-square-feet and features modern, bright designs with comfortable meeting areas and state-of-the-art banking technology. A dedicated Chase Private Client team will provide premium banking services, personalized attention and access to the expertise and investment capabilities of J.P. Morgan to help families reach their most important goals. Customers may also meet with financial and home lending advisors and business banking relationship managers.

The 37th annual Stewart’s Holiday Match Campaign kicked off on Thanksgiving Day and runs through Christmas Day at all shop locations. The program supports nonprofit organizations benefiting children. To date, the program has raised over $36 million for children’s charities.

Last year, customers donated over $1 million to the program, doubling to more than $2 million with the Stewart’s match. The funds were able to support 1,939 local children’s organizations across the 32 counties where Stewart’s Shops are located.

“Sharing is a central focus of everything we do at Stewart’s. Holiday Match takes those efforts to another level by supporting children in the communities that we serve,” said Stewart’s Shops Director of Corporate Philanthropy Jennifer Frame.

Local organizations benefiting children are encouraged to apply for funding online beginning Thanksgiving Day. The deadline for submission is January 31, 2024. All groups applying must be locally based, benefit children, and be a qualified charitable 501c3 organization.