Category Archives: Business News

by Jill Nagy

Visitors to Finishing Touches home decor shop can now enjoy gourmet coffee and home baked treats at the Coffee Bar, recently opened inside the shop. 

The shop is in the Collamer House, an 1880s building at 450 East High St. in Malta near Northway Exit 13.

Owner Shelley Walker expects the coffee bar to enhance the experience of people coming into Finishing Touches, a home design and gift shop. 

The Coffee Bar offers a range of coffees including espresso, latte, and other European style coffee drinks as well as the shop’s house blend, breakfast blend and decaffeinated American-style coffee. Walker said that one of her regular customers is so fond of the low-acid house blend that she buys the coffee beans by the bagful. A house specialty is affogato, vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over it. Hot chocolate and half a dozen varieties of tea are also available. This time of year, anything can be ordered with pumpkin spice flavoring.

The coffee shop has a bar top and cafe tables inside the store and some outdoor seating. Walker plans to add a sofa and chairs. Coffee is also available through the service window of Cookies and Cream, an ice cream shop also housed in Finishing Touches, but slated to close soon for the winter. That outlet presently features cider doughnut sundaes. Walker owns all three businesses and the building.

Walker has been an interior designer for almost 25 years and has had her own shop for 10. She has been at her current location for three years.

By Jill Nagy

The Cooley Kill Restaurant and Bar at the Van Patten Golf Course in Clifton Park is now open year-round, serving lunch and dinner and Sunday brunch. 

Owners said the change allows the club to expand beyond the limited menu of  snacks and bar food previously available.

Part of the clubhouse was renovated to accommodate the restaurant. Zachary Arsenault is the chef, assisted by a staff of about 20.  Joe Gunther is general manager and Kurt Thompson is the creative director. 

The restaurant offers casual meals in the barroom and on the patio and more formal service in the dining room. 

Special events are planned include a trivia night on Wednesdays, pasta night on Thursdays, prime rib night on Fridays, and brunch and football on Sundays. 

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce, is promoting the expanded service offered by Amtrak’s Ethan Allen Express and a route that connects Saratoga Springs to Burlington, Vt.,

Officials said it provides residents with a more convenient way to travel between both cities for business and pleasure.

The Ethan Allen Express route, run by Amtrak, travels between Rutland and New York City daily and now includes stops in both Burlington and Saratoga Springs.

Service of the expanded Ethan Allen Express officially began on  July 29 with a celebratory event at Burlington’s Union Station. The expanded service will depart Burlington daily at 10:10 a.m., arriving in Saratoga Springs at 1:55 p.m. The service will depart Saratoga Springs daily at 5:56 p.m., arriving in Burlington at 9:55 p.m.

“This expanded service will not only increase tourism between these two great cities but encourage residents to take advantage of what both vibrant regions have to offer in terms of year-round events, activities, and unique attractions,” said Todd Shimkus, president, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. announced that all-sources wagering handle surged to a record $878.2 million during the recently completed 2022 summer meet at historic Saratoga Race Course.

The figure eclipsed the previous record of $815.5 million established in 2021, by 7.7 percent.

The 2022 meet ended Labor Day.

The record setting 40-day meet generated average daily handle of $21,955,299, which is also the highest such figure in the history of Saratoga, according to NYRA.

On-track handle, which includes New York residents wagering via NYRA Bets, was $152.3 million, or 10.5 percent higher than the $137.8 million wagered on-track in 2021.  

Paid attendance in 2022 was 1,075,586, which is the seventh consecutive season with paid attendance north of 1 million, excluding 2020 when fans were not permitted due to the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said. 

Pioneer, a financial institution in the Capital Region with offices in Saratoga County, has appointed Thomas Signor of Clifton Park as executive vice president and chief administration officer. 

In that role, he will oversee all bank operations, including deposit and retail loan operations, compliance, risk, information technology, security, and facilities management.

Prior to joining Pioneer, Signor spent 16 years at Kinderhook Bank, rising from internal auditor to executive vice president and chief operating officer. In that position, he provided oversight and management of the operations, retail loan servicing, IT, compliance, electronic banking, and facilities departments. 

In addition, he served as bank secrecy officer; oversaw construction and fit-up of five new bank branches; researched, recommended and implemented new technology offerings for customers and employees; and developed and led the integration process for the bank’s acquisition of Patriot Federal Bank.

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce will hold its 2022 B2B Expo on Thursday, Oct.  6 at Saratoga Springs City Center.

The  networking event attracts attendees from a variety of industries, representing the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

“Every year, we look forward to hosting our annual B2B Expo and providing organizations throughout the county with the opportunity to network and hopefully build lasting, collaborative working relationships,” said Todd Shimkus, Chamber president.

The Expo is open to local businesses and the public from 3:30-7 p.m. Attendees will have the chance to interact with fellow business professionals to grow their network and find future potential partnerships.

The Chamber said over the years, the B2B Expo has become the premiere networking event, gathering professionals and organizations from across the Capital Region together in one space.

Attendees are encouraged to register ahead of time. Active Chamber members will enjoy complimentary admissions. Attendance for the general public and others will be $5 and a business card collected at the door.

GlobalFoundries has appointment of Pradheepa Raman as chief people officer, joining the leadership team in Malta.

An experienced human resources executive with demonstrated success in driving positive change to the employee experience and building organizational resiliency through skills development, Raman will be responsible for leading all aspects of GlobalFoundries’ worldwide human resources efforts. 

Official said that as GlobalFoundries continues to expand its global manufacturing capacity, key areas of focus for Raman will be recruitment, talent development, and advancing the company’s  culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Raman joins GlobalFoundries from Stanley Black & Decker, where she held the dual roles of global head of human resources and chief transformation officer for the company’s largest business unit. 

Prior to that, she served as the company’s chief talent innovation officer. Before Stanley Black & Decker, Raman served as head of talent, diversity, and employee engagement at Samsung Electronics America, and in several human resources leadership roles at global technology company Avaya.

Kristin Chlopecki was named the new executive director of the Tri-County United Way, succeeding Brian Bearor, who resigned in April.

She has served the organization for eight years as a business manager and director of resource development before accepting her new position with the board of directors.

Zack Moore, chairman of the Tri-County United Way board of directors, said he is happy to have someone who is already a part of the organization take the job.

“We are so fortunate to have a local person who is already on our United Way team and is as experienced a leader as Kristin and is prepared to accept these broader responsibilities,” Moore said in a news release. “Kristin was the unanimous and enthusiastic choice of our search committee.”

Chlopecki is a Glens Falls High School graduate. Before joining United Way, she worked in fashion publishing in New York City after earning degrees from Ohio University and New York FIT. She said she is looking forward to bringing leadership of the United Way team the “financial and creative skills that made her successful in business.”

By Christine Graf

Capital Region Environmental Lab, a full-service water testing lab, recently opened a satellite office at Suite 231 of 7 Hemphill Place (Parade Ground Village) in Malta. 

The Rensselaer-based company is owned by Brian Collins and Erika LaPorta. 

A state and EPA approved environmental laboratory, the company tests drinking water and non-potable water.

 “We specialize in drinking water. We do bacteriological testing, we do minerals and metals analyses, we do organic chemical testing and so forth,” said Collins. 

The company’s clients include local and state health departments, municipalities, and local business and restaurant owners. Private homeowners also make up a large portion of their customer base.

The Malta satellite office is for sample drop offs only and was opened due to customer demand.  

“We have some very good clients in that area, and they asked if we could open another facility to make it more convenient to drop off samples,” said Collins. “Right now, we do not do any testing there. If we decide to do that, we need to apply to the state for certification and approval.”