Category Archives: Business News

Article has been revised Jan 21, 2025

By Jill Nagy

JoAnn Swapp and her business partner, Matthew Swapp, are the new owners of Saratoga Wine Exchange in Ballston Lake. While they are new owners, it is an established business that was family-owned for 27 years, JoAnn said.

In addition to carrying a selection of 42,000 wines, the shop features a bourbon collection “from all over.” Not all of the wines are in stock, JoAnn noted, but they can be obtained within a day or two from distributors. The top sellers, however, are the bourbons. Many wine buyers favor French-style white wines.

In addition to sales at the brick-and-mortar store at 43 Round Lake Road, Saratoga Wine Exchange sells online at saratogawine.com.

Matthew worked at Saratoga Wine Exchange for 20 years. JoAnn served as an engineering officer in the U.S. Navy for 22 years, stationed in the Saratoga area. Together, they now supervise a crew of 25 employees.

By Jill Nagy

McGregor’s Pub in Gansevoort reopened in July with new owners and a new name. Angela and Michael Moses, long-time McGregor’s patrons, own what is now the Holy Moses Tavern at 847 Saratoga Road.

Both owners have worked in the hospitality industry over the years but this is their first business venture. In the past Angela’s grandfather had a sub shop in Glens Falls and Michael’s aunt owned an inn in Corinth.

The new owners tried to keep the “rustic vibe” and “old school touches” of the former pub, according to Angela. Aside from some updates and clean-up, they made few changes, she said. 

While the tavern is “primarily a beer and whiskey joint,” it offers a full menu of pub style food. One of the specialties is sausage, onion and peppers on a hoagie roll. The menu also includes some salads. Gluten-free options are also offered. The tavern kitchen is set up to be contamination-free, Angela said, and there are separate storage and cooking areas for gluten-free food preparation.

Aside from beer and whiskey, the tavern offers wines and ciders. Beer selections include a gluten-free beer. There are seven beers on tap, including artisanals. Whiskeys include products of local distilleries. 

Building on several ongoing collaborations, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and GlobalFoundries (GF) are working together to further grow and strengthen the semiconductor workforce in the region.

RPI has launched a partnership program with GF to provide their employees with opportunities to pursue degrees and enhance their skills in semiconductor technology. Through dedicated RPI scholarships and GF’s tuition assistance program, GF employees will be able to pursue a new Master of Science in Semiconductor Technology (MaST) degree and take part in other graduate programs including Rensselaer at Work certificates.

Under the expanded partnership, GF has pledged a gift totaling $150,000 over the next three years to sponsor RPI students who have a strong interest in the semiconductor industry, interwoven with an internship opportunity. The initiative aims to incentivize students to join the semiconductor industry.

“When industries and educational institutions seek ways to work together, great things happen,” said Rebecca Doerge, Ph.D., provost at RPI. “This advancement of our ongoing partnership with GF further solidifies the Capital Region’s preeminence as a hub of semiconductor research and manufacturing while addressing workforce development needs that are at the core of the CHIPS initiative.”

By Paul Post

Hal Raven could drive the train, but he’d rather be the conductor punching tickets like Tom Hanks on the Polar Express.

“That’s my thing, talking with people, interacting, getting kids excited,” he said.

His company, the Saratoga, Corinth & Hudson Railway, gives people Christmas-themed memories to last a lifetime on the Candy Cane Express, a fun festive ride that runs through Dec. 22 highlighted by visits from Santa, music, lights and hot cocoa refreshments.

Raven, a Queensbury resident, gave up a 28-year railroading career to fulfill his dream of owning a scenic line. It operates year-round between South Greenfield and Hadley on 17 miles of track owned by the Town of Corinth.

“We do all the maintenance and repairs,” he said. “When we first took over, weeds were chest high and overgrown. We had to fix all the crossings.”

Two previous operators had run tourist trains from Saratoga Springs to North Creek, but couldn’t make a go of it. This is Raven’s third year in business and by all accounts it’s full steam ahead.

GlobalFoundries (Nasdaq: GFS) (GF) and the U.S. Department of Commerce have announced an award of up to $1.5 billion in direct funding to GF through the CHIPS and Science Act. The award follows the previously signed preliminary memorandum of terms announced in February 2024 and will enable GF to expand its essential chip manufacturing and technology development in the U.S., strengthening supply chains and supporting customers across a range of vital end-markets including automotive, smart mobile devices, IoT, datacenters, and aerospace and defense.

“The idea of strengthening U.S. semiconductor manufacturing has been five-plus years in the making. With bipartisan support, that idea evolved into the CHIPS and Science Act,” said Dr. Thomas Caulfield, president and CEO of GF. “GF’s essential chips are at the core of U.S. economic, supply chain and national security. We greatly appreciate the support and funding from both the U.S. Government and the states of New York and Vermont, which we will use to ensure our customers have the American-made chips they need to succeed and win.”

GF’s CHIPS and Science Act award will support three projects:

• Expansion of GF’s existing Malta, New York, fab by adding critical technologies already in production at GF’s Singapore and Germany facilities, to enable a secure and reliable supply of domestically manufactured essential chips for the U.S. auto industry.

•  Modernization and upgrading of GF’s existing fab in Essex Junction, Vermont, to expand production capacity and create one of the world’s leading facilities capable of high-volume manufacturing of next-generation gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors for use in electric vehicles, data centers, IoT, smartphones and other critical applications.

• In alignment with market conditions and customer demand, construction of a new state-of-art fab on GF’s Malta, New York, campus to meet expected demand for U.S.-made essential chips across a broad range of markets and applications including automotive, AI in the data center and at the edge, as well as aerospace and defense.

The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation recently announced that it purchased 128-130 Clinton Street, two small cottages on one property that have been on the Foundation’s endangered property list for more than a decade. 

 Based on preliminary research, it appears that the house at 130 Clinton Street, built circa 1877, was the first house constructed on the property by Dennis O’Brien, who was listed as a laborer residing at 108 Clinton Street.  It is particularly unique because it is the only example of a shotgun style residence in Saratoga Springs. O’Brien built the second house, a one-and-a-half- story vernacular front gable house with a full-width front porch, at 128 Clinton Street in 1883.  Both houses were built as rental properties. 

 A shotgun style house is a narrow – typically no more than 12 feet wide, rectangular residence typically with two to four rooms arranged one behind the other without a hallway.  

“As the saying goes, one could shoot a shotgun through the front door and the bullet would fly straight through the back door,” said Samantha Bosshart, executive director.  

The shotgun house is believed to have emerged in New Orleans in the early 19th century and was predominantly popular throughout the South.  

 According to the directories, the residents of the two houses were laborers, coachmen, teamsters, farmers, maids, gardeners, firemen, and employees of various businesses. In 1965, Nettie B. Dekalb and her son Ronald Dekalb acquired the property.  The DeKalbs moved into 128 Clinton Street and rented 130 Clinton Street to others.

 It was during the DeKalb family ownership that the houses fell into disrepair and became vacant.  Earlier this year, the Foundation attempted to contact the owner to provide assistance to preserve the buildings or to offer to purchase the property. Their attempts went unanswered.  Neighbors expressed concern that the buildings would be lost when they saw the red X’s appear on the buildings, indicating that the buildings were unsafe for first responders to enter.  

Saratoga Springs author Francine Dingeman is celebrating the one-year publication anniversary of her book, The Animal Menagerie: A Curious Collection of A to Z Animal Tales, with an award of literary distinction. 

On November 9, Dingeman was awarded the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award silver medal in the category of Learning Order (Alphabet/Counting Books) by the Jenkins Group of Traverse City, Michigan. Since 2006, The Jenkins Group has been celebrating authors, illustrators, and publishers from around the world for their creation of inspiring and imaginative works for young readers. They recognize these works for the role they play in fostering a lifelong passion for reading and learning.

The Animal Menagerie, written by Dingeman and illustrated by Marta Maszkiewicz, is an enchanting A to Z picture book filled with captivating characters from the animal kingdom for children ages 4-7. The book is written to entertain and educate by introducing dozens of creative new words into a child’s vocabulary. Each letter of the alphabet comes to life with vibrant illustrations and story vignettes, making early literacy development a delightful adventure.

A first-time author, Dingeman is passionate about the art of rhyme and the creative use of words. She is a firm believer in speaking to children with vocabulary that encourages them to reach toward advanced levels of literacy and comprehension.