By Andrea Harwood Palmer

The Adirondack Trust Co. opened a new branch at 79 Main St. in Queensbury, near Northway Exit 18.

The branch opened for business on April 5.

The new branch has two drive-thru lanes, parking, a free WiFi hot spot, Saturday hours, a private conference room, and 24-hour ATM access with image capture capabilities.

Munter Enterprises of Middle Grove was the general contractor and Balzer & Tuck Architecture of Saratoga Springs designed the building.

Charles Wait Jr., CEO, said the bank has been seeking a convenient location with more building space for quite some time. The nearby Maple Street branch in Glens Falls did not have a drive-thru. The Maple Street branch is closed. The Bay Road branch will remain open.

“Our desire was to build a bigger and better location that was more convenient for our customers,” said Wait. “We’ll be able to service all of our customers from all of our major business lines, from one convenient location.”

by Andrea Harwood Palmer

J. Reid Menswear has moved from its Aviation Mall location to Downtown Glens Falls at 166 Glen Street.

The menswear store, formally known as Jonathan Reid, has rebranded with a new name along with its new location. The store will continue to provide menswear and tuxedo rentals, suits, jackets, shirts, ties, shoes and tailoring services. The store has ancillary items and accessories as well.

“I wanted to return J. Reid Menswear to its original location in Hometown USA,” said owner Jeffrey Ives. “With all the negatives that COVID-19  has brought, I have needed the support of everyone associated with the business community of downtown Glens Falls.”

J. Reid Menswear originally had an office on Glen Street, when former owner Jonathon Segan ran the company, until the mid 2000s. The store has been in operation for 53 years.

It will continue to provide menswear and tuxedo rentals, as it did at its Aviation Road location.

Circa ‘21 is proudly both a majority female and veteran owned business with over 100 years combined hospitality experience across the partnership.

“We think this team is the final ingredient needed to make McGregor Links a top shelf club again,” said owner Joe Kehn. “They are experts in the hospitality industry. Coupled with the addition of new head pro Mike Decker, I’m really looking forward to being able to focus my efforts on the golf course itself. We are so excited.”

The name Circa ‘21 was born from the history of the grand opening of McGregor Links Country Club in 1921.

Circa ‘21 not only honors the centennial anniversary of golf at McGregor Links, but also celebrates the opening of the restaurant by its owners in 2021.

“We are so honored to work with Joe, Bill, and their incredible team, especially when we found out this is the centennial for McGregor. We are truly excited to bring our experience and love for an amazing customer dining experience to the membership and general public.” said partner Wendy Lawrence, who heads their Circa ‘21s events.

After a full year closed to the public, The Great Escape & Hurricane Harbor is set to reopen this spring for the 2021 season.

The Lake George theme park, which was not given government approval to open in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is scheduled to return this year promising a safe environment, officials said.

The Great Escape will be open weekends and select dates starting May 1, with daily operation beginning June 24. In February, the state announced outdoor amusement parks can open—with a third of their normal capacity—by April 9.

Additionally, the Six Flags Great Escape Lodge & Indoor Waterpark will be back to full operation beginning March 26.

“We are ready to welcome our guests back to The Great Escape,” Six Flags Great Escape Resort park president Rebecca Wood said in a press release. “The health and safety of our guests, team members, and community remains our top priority and we are implementing extensive sanitization and safety measures to deliver a safe and entertaining experience for our guests.”

Opening weekend will mark the debut of a new  ride called Adirondack Outlaw, which was originally scheduled to open last year.

Once open, The Great Escape will be operating under state and local guidelines for crowd capacity limits.