Category Archives: Business News

By Jennifer Farnsworth

After years of working in the restaurant industry, Kyle Geniti is now living his dream as owner and chef of Trattoria Fortunata, and Italian-American restaurant at 21 Phila St. in Saratoga Springs.

Geniti described his restaurant as  small, cozy, rustic and simple. The maximum capacity is 36 people, including staff, so reservations are highly recommended.

“We like to think our space is a quiet and intimate setting just steps away from the hustle and bustle of Broadway,” he said.

Specialities include fresh seafood, pasta and steak, however Geniti said they have had to limit what they can offer on the current menu due to product shortages and price increases.

“I look forward to being able to incorporate some more of the foods that I enjoy the most. I’ve recently become more interested in cooking vegan and vegetarian dishes, and have developed a passion for sourcing ingredients from responsible, sustainable sources, and local whenever possible,” said Geniti.

“I also plan to expand the menu and add more vegetarian/vegan, gluten-free, and seafood options, as well as to add desserts made in-house as soon as we can find the right staff to allow us to do so,” he said.

The inside decor features artwork of three local artists; watercolor paintings by Amanda Engels, landscape photography from the Adirondack mountains by Adam Desorbo, and chalkboard art by Anna Hunter.

He is also working to include menu options that can meet the dietary needs of certain patrons.

The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation has purchased a dilapidated property at 65 Phila St. in Saratoga Springs and has plans to renovate it.

The group stepped forward after objecting to plans to demolish it. Since the Foundation was established in 1977 it has been a voice for preserving the architectural, cultural, and landscaped heritage of Saratoga Springs.

The Foundation has advocated for the preservation of 65 and 69 Phila St. since the inception of its endangered buildings list in 1998. The group hopes to get the building in shape for a capable buyer who would put it to best use.

The 1851 Italianate-style house at 65 Phila Street was constructed by Alexander A. Patterson, an architect and builder, according to the Foundation. That same year the brick Italianate-style house located at 69 Phila St. was constructed by mason Robert Hunter.  Both houses are listed as contributing buildings to the East Side Historic District listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

At a news conference in late May, Samantha Bosshart, executive director of the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, said “Now after more than 30 years, both of these buildings will receive the much needed attention they deserve.”

The Foundation has been an advocate for endangered buildings including 25 Washington St., which is now Universal Preservation Hall; 5 Clinton St., a row house; 117 Grand Ave., the former station of the Adirondack Railway Co.; and 15 Church St., now a popular restaurant. 

The Foundation not only advocated for these buildings, but at times undertook the rehabilitations themselves.

Freedom Boat Club Lake George has partnered with the Children’s Museum at Saratoga on a boating and fishing exhibit.

The “Saratoga Lake—Let’s Go Boating” exhibit is an interactive, kid-friendly, and colorfully immersive exhibit. The exhibit helps young children utilize play to enhance their social and emotional development, as well as learn how to communicate, observe and problem solve with one another as they navigate their way through it, museum officials said.

Freedom Boat Club owners Matt and Rebecca O’Hara have been members of the museum for several years and brought the idea to staff last year.

“We are frequent visitors of the museum with our 5- and 3 year-old daughters. We’ve seen the joy they get interacting with the steering wheels and controls on our club boats, we thought it would be great to enhance the interactivity of the boat exhibit at the museum,” said Rebecca. “We were thrilled when Sarah and her museum team were open to the idea of working with us to add not just the controls to the boat, but significantly upgrading the space with the fishing and knot tying panels.”

The exhibit space is on the first floor of the museum. It offers children an opportunity to take a boat ride fueled by their imagination as they discover different animals and plants in their natural habitat. To further enhance the exhibit’s educational value, there are additional interactives for visitors to engage with as they discover life on the lake.

Included is a revamped rowboat utilizing a reclaimed steering wheel and throttle control, an interactive knot-tying panel featuring four common boating knots, an interactive fishing game, and a life jacket station.

The O’Haras feel that the exhibit, and future programming designed around it, will allow visitors to have more hands-on experience with the joys of boating, the value of boat safety, and the importance of learning about and respecting the eco systems around the region’s lakes.

Stewart’s Shops, the locally based convenience store giant, is expanding again with the purchase of the of its Blueox Neighborhood Market convenience store chain.

Stewart’s will acquire seven stores and rebrand six of them to Stewart’s, under the deal.

The Blueox stores have gasoline pumps.

“We look forward to the opportunity to further serve the Blueox market that they have served so well for the past three plus decades and we look forward to welcoming Blueox employees to the Stewart’s family,” said Stewart’s Shops President Gary Dake.

Blueox Corp. President Jared Bartle said the decision to sell “did not come easily. Our stores, and especially the people in our stores, are deeply embedded into our corporate culture and it’s for that reason we sought a buyer whose priorities most closely aligned with ours.

“This was very important to Blueox. As we realign our long-term goals and continue to reinvest in the delivery and service divisions of our company, I’m excited at the opportunities to come.”

Blueox will continue under the name Blueox Energy Products & Services. At one time, it had 11 convenience stores known as Nice-n-Easy.

The company is based in Oxford in Chenango County.

Renamed in 1986, Blueox Corp. grew to 11 stores made up of both Nice N Easy franchise sites and Big Blue Convenience Stores, serving rural markets in upstate New York. Their residential and commercial delivery and service operations will continue to grow and operate under the name Blueox Energy Products & Services.

The Wesley Foundation, the philanthropic arm of The Wesley Community, raised $104,300 to support local seniors during its “Share A Step” virtual fundraiser,

Officials said approximately 100 community members, double the number from last year,  participated in the fundraiser which took place May 21-27 and invited community members to work toward a fitness-oriented goal while raising funds.

Participants this year logged more than 1,470 miles and helped bring the total amount raised for The Wesley Foundation via the annual fundraiser to more than $140,000 since it began in 2018, officials said.

“It has been tremendously rewarding to see how popular our ‘Share A Step’ fundraiser has become over the past several years,” said J. Brian Nealon, CEO of The Wesley Community. “The funds raised will go a long way in helping to support the many seniors on our campus. We are extremely grateful to all of the participants, sponsors and supporters of this event.”

Donations received via the virtual fundraiser will support the second phase of renovations at the Springs Building of Wesley Health Care Center.

The project will create a contemporary, efficient and home-like environment on the Springs Building’s second, third and fourth floors. Phase one of the project was completed in 2016.

The Wesley Community is a nonprofit senior living campus in Saratoga Springs with more than 700 residents.

Upstate Agency, a subsidiary of Arrow Family of Companies, is celebrating 40 years of service to residents and businesses in Schroon Lake.

Upstate Agency specializes in personal, commercial and group health benefits insurance with offices in Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Clinton and Essex counties.

The Schroon Lake agency, established in 1981, originally in the Freidman Real Estate office, moved to its present location at 1072 Route 9 in 1983. Upstate staff recently celebrated with a Coffee Takeover at Stewart’s that included free coffee and giveaways. Another Coffee Takeover will be scheduled for the fall, compamy oficials said.

“Our commitment to Schroon Lake and the surrounding area is strong, and we look forward to many more years helping friends, neighbors and business owners with insurance products and services that help them protect what matters the most to them,” said Kevin O’Brien, senior vice president.

By Christine Graf

After graduating  from University of Albany in 2005 with a degree in business administration, Waterford-native Jamie Wallace applied for a summer youth intern position at Grace Chapel in Jonesville.

“I thought it would be a fun way to spend my summer before I looked for a full-time career after college,” said Wallace.

He enjoyed the job so much that he applied for a permanent position as the church’s youth pastor. Despite his lack of experience in ministry, he was hired with the condition that he agree to be mentored. At the time, he was working on Saturday’s for Clifton Park Chimney Maintenance, a company owned by Andy and Jill Looker. Wallace took the job to earn extra money to supplement his youth pastor’s salary.

“I did not even know chimney sweeps existed, so it was very new to me. But I really enjoyed it,” he said.

A year later, with encouragement from the Looker’s, Wallace left his job and started his own chimney sweep business.

“I decided to take a big leap of faith,” said Wallace. “A lot of people said I was crazy, but I went out on my own. My goal was to use the biblical principles I had learned and apply them to the business. And I was right.”

By Christine Graf

Hunt Real Estate, a company with more than 1,300 sales professionals and 40-plus offices throughout western and upstate New York, recently expanded its Glens Falls office by acquiring All American Properties.

Hunt Real Estate also has offices in Massachusetts and Arizona.

All American Properties was the largest locally-owned real estate company in Glens Falls. Owner Ted Wilson operated the company for 20 years. He and his 20 affiliated agents have transferred to the Hunt Real Estate office at 333 Glen St. Hunt will also take over All American’s Chestertown office and those agents will remain in the current location on Main Street.

The acquisition of All American Properties occurred just one year after Hunt’s acquisition of Century 21 Potvin Realty, a Glens Falls real estate company owned by Charlotte Potvin. In May, she and her 19 agents joined Hunt Real Estate in the Glens Falls office.

According to Dave Chambers, the branch director of Hunt Real Estate’s Glens Falls and Bolton Landing offices, “We’ve done two acquisitions in the past year, and we went from 22 agents to 70 agents. We brought them all into our Glens Falls office in the Travelers building. We’re now remodeling and expanding the office and taking over some more space.”

The larger office is needed as agents transition back to working in the office after being forced to work from home at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.