Category Archives: Business News

By Jill Nagy

Even as a child taking ballet and tap lessons, Mary Beth Besler knew that she wanted to own and operate a dance studio. Eight years ago, she abandoned her “backup career” as an accountant and signed the lease for her first studio as the Dance Lab on West Avenue in Saratoga Springs.

She quickly outgrew that studio space and, five years ago, moved to her current location at 538 Maple Ave. (Route 9) in Wilton. Within a year, even that space grew too small, but the COVID pandemic hit and she stayed put. By 2020-21, the dancers began to return and Besler began to search for a new site.

She sought a new location and she knew she wanted to remain on the Maple Avenue corridor, a location that was convenient and had great visibility. Last month, she closed on the purchase of a 4.76-acre piece of land at 604 Maple Avenue and is awaiting the necessary permits to begin construction.
“We already have the approvals. We are just waiting for the permits,” she explained.

Saratoga Auto Supply has opened its newest NAPA Auto Parts location in Milton.

The majority of NAPA Auto Parts stores are owned independently by local community members. In Milton, the new store is owned by the husband and wife team of Jeff and Veronica Shorr as part of the Saratoga Auto Supply Group. 

The Saratoga Auto Supply Group was established in 2014 and now consists of five NAPA Auto Parts locations across Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties. 

The group also operates four additional private parts supply stores for large clients including DA Collins Companies, the Romeo Auto Group and Rowland Street Garage.  

Saratoga Auto Supply also supports over 30 locally-owned and operated auto repair shops in Saratoga County under its NAPA Auto Care banner as well. 

The new 16,000-square-foot NAPA location in Milton is the first NAPA location in the United States to be designated as a large-format showcase store and it is being used by NAPA as a model to test design concepts NAPA hopes to launch in select markets across the U.S., according to company officials.

 The store features an 8,000-square-foot showroom, a pair of interactive two-car garages displays, a Milwaukee Tool Zone, the Chemical Guys Vehicle Detailing Center, and it offers free EV Charging Stations onsite.  

In addition, this location provides in-house Valspar automotive paint mixing and houses a dedicated NAPA Direct Call Center to support its 600-plus wholesale customers in Saratoga County. 

Minogue’s Beverage Centers  has an arrangement with Hinny Hard Seltzer to carry its variety 12-pack of hard ciders.

Hinny Hard is now available at all four Minogue’s Beverage Centers, including Saratoga Springs, Malta, Queensbury, and Wilton.

“We are thrilled to have established a partnership with Minogue’s,” said Tim Nickels, founder of Hinny Hard Seltzer. “As a fellow U.S. Army vet, Angelo and his team share similar values and a commitment to serving and supporting our veteran community.”

Hinny Hard Seltzer, which officially launched in January of this year, is now available in 70 locations, including retailers, bars and restaurants, across upstate and central New York.  The company said that number is rapidly growing.

Hinny, which is being sold as a variety 12-pack at retail locations, comes now in four flavors, including blueberry mint, bourbon-flavored, cranberry and black cherry. Summer flavors, including grape and pink grapefruit, will be introduced in the coming weeks.

By Jill Nagy

A dozen years ago, Catherine Hover started a business called Paint and Sip in Saratoga Springs, a place where people could, as the name suggests, paint pictures and sip wine. Within a year, she added additional studios, which she has since sold. 

The sales proceeds went into Palette, a woman-focused co-working and incubator space, also in Saratoga Springs. Palette was founded in 2019 and expanded in 2020. Palette spawned several other businesses, some owned by Hover and others, partly financed by her. 

Recently, Palette outgrew its space and moved to new quarters. Those quarters, down the street at 480 Broadway, have also grown tight and Palette has rented two more nearby offices.

by Paul Post

 Snow is still melting off the slopes and West Mountain already has a full slate of summer activities planned including a brand-new Sunday farmer’s market (9 a.m. to noon) from June 4 to Labor Day Weekend.

 “There’s really not a lot on this side of town in terms of grocery shopping. I know how successful the Glens Falls Farmer’s Market is and thought was a good opportunity to have one in Queensbury and another way of bringing people to the mountain,” said Sara Montgomery, who co-owns the resort with her husband, Spencer.

 Vendors will offer farm, food, jewelry, art and floral goods and products.

 Bread maker Rachael Lujbli currently belongs to the Lake George Farmer’s Market, but not Glens Falls—which is held Saturdays on South Street—so the West Mountain event is opening doors for her to a whole new customer base.

Rachael’s Breads most popular items are sourdough, cinnamon buns and cookies.

Empire State University has launched its new Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, a degree designed for civil servants and others who aspire to career advancement in public service or the not-for-profit service sector. 

Applications are open for the fall 2023 term.

The MPA is a 30-credit master’s degree program that involves 10, three-credit courses and a final project. The program prepares students for careers such as social and community service managers in the public and nonprofit sectors. 

The degree will provide students with advanced skill sets that are necessary for supervisory and managerial positions. It will also introduce students to the history of the field, as well as recent trends in public administration. By understanding the interplay of governmental interventions, political factors, and ethical implications, students will be able to analyze, evaluate, and formulate policies.

By R.J. DeLuke

A Quebec-based company that makes high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes wants to build a plant in the W.J. Grande Industrial Park in Saratoga Springs.

Soleno Inc., based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, presented its plans to the city Planning Board on March 23 and received approval for the project, estimated to cost about $22 million. The new plant will be situated on 22 acres.

According to Benjamin Robitaille, a vice president for Soleno, 35 to 50 jobs would be created, with an average salary of $70,000 per year. Those jobs would be engineers, operators, technicians and sales and administrative personnel.

Munter Enterprises will be the general contractor. Company president John Munter appeared before the planners along with Robitaille.

Robitaille said the company is family owned, founded in 1977. They have 10 plants in eastern Canada and employ more than 500 people. The plant in Saratoga Springs would be its first U.S. location.

Soleno has applied for a tax incentive package from the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency. The Saratoga Economic Development Corp. is assisting the company in that process.

A two-phase project is planned, Munter explained. The board approved construction of a 45,480-square-foot factory and office building. Some 25,000 more square feet could be added if the business is strong enough to justify it.

By Paul Post

The reinvention of Clifton Park Center, with exterior storefronts providing direct easy access, kept it thriving while many malls across America dwindled in the face of stiff competition from online shopping platforms.

The 630,000-square-foot property continued to flourish despite major challenges such as the Great Recession of 2008 and the more recent COVID-19 pandemic.

But after achieving its goals there, Clifton Park-based DCG Development recently passed the torch to a new owner—Albany-based CPC Development I, LLC, for a reported $55 million.

“DCG did extraordinary work transforming the former Clifton Country Mall into the town center that it is today,” said Faraz Khan, CPC principal, who purchased the site with an investment group of family and close friends. “We hope to continue DCG owner Don Greene’s vision and legacy by further the developing the property in years to come. We appreciate the opportunity to continue as stewards of this very important community asset.”