By Susan Elise Campbell
A retrospective of Putnam Market’s 25 years is a case study in how a business can evolve 180 degrees from the original concept and become a local brand.
The market now occupies a storefront at 431 Broadway since its construction in 2000. But it started five years earlier on Putnam Street. Owners Cathy Hamilton and her sister Gloria Griskowitz had envisioned a place where customers could buy fresh meats and seafood, deli meats and cheeses sliced to order, assorted produce and baked goods.
“We had sourced everything from a local bakery and caterer,” said Hamilton.
Six months later, the partners started making sandwiches. During year three, they hired their first chef to do the baking and food production in-house. A wine store with the store was opened in 1998.
“We became the place to go for specialty groceries in the Capital District,” Hamilton said. “But when Roohan Realty built the building we are in now and we became the first tenant, we dropped produce to focus on food. Today we are known primarily for the stuff we make, which is totally opposite from where we started.”

By Susan Elise Campbell
In the spring when salon owners were shuttering their shops and self-isolating because of COVID-19, Dakota McGivern and George Solevo were texting back and forth, joking at first, but soon realizing that “Saratoga needed a barbershop” and despite the pandemic, they were going to start one, said McGivern.
A few months later the co-owners had literally transformed the boiler room at Saratoga’s historic Arcade building into a speakeasy-style barbershop that combines old traditions with new products.
The Boiler Room Cut and Shave is located at 376 Broadway, but accessed around the corner by a Phila Street alley.
Said McGivern, a master barber, “We are very busy.”
McGivern had been cutting hair at Patsy’s Barber Shop in Albany for eight years when COVID-19 hit. Solevo was a loyal long-time customer who had come into town every week for a trim by McGivern, and they kept up friendly communications during quarantine.

By Jill Nagy
Death Wish Coffee, which prides itself on creating the world’s strongest coffee, has moved its headquarters from Malta to 260 Broadway in Saratoga Springs, a building approximately five times larger.
The offices and headquarters are already open and a retail store is scheduled to open Oct. 30.
The move to Saratoga Springs was delayed more than six months by the coronavirus shutdown. “We had to wait at home while this beautiful new office was ready for us, waiting here for us,” said marketing director Teah Teriele.
The shop will sell coffee mugs, clothing and coffee products, but not fresh cups of coffee, because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Saratoga Hospital Medical Group has appointed Scarlet Clement-Buffoline of Ballston Spa as executive director of the multidisciplinary medical practice.
Clement-Buffoline has more than two decades of administrative experience in positions of increasing responsibility at Capital Region hospitals. Most recently, she was chief operating officer for acute care services at St. Peter’s Health Partners in Albany. She also has served as vice president of administration and specialty services at Samaritan Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital, both in Troy.
At Saratoga Hospital Medical Group, Clement-Buffoline will play a lead role in overseeing operations and developing strategies to expand the practice and increase access to high-quality healthcare in the region.
“Since its founding in 2013, Saratoga Hospital Medical Group has earned a reputation for a culture of collaboration that improves patient outcomes and continues to attract exceptional providers,” said Jeffrey Methven, Saratoga Hospital executive vice president. “With her depth and breadth of experience, Scarlet is the ideal choice to build on the medical group’s success and identify opportunities for it to serve our community even better.”

By Christine Graf
Waterford-based Burch Bottle & Packaging, Inc. has purchased the former Web Graphics building in Queensbury.
The 12-acre property was purchased for $2.5 million and includes a 76,000-square-foot warehouse with five loading docks. It is located at 428 Corinth Road, approximately one mile west of Northway Exit 18 .
According to Burch Bottle vice president George Ide IV, it was the property’s proximity to the Northway that was one of its major selling points.
“We had been looking for a new location for about two years,” said Ide. “We were looking for more space. It’s not an easy thing to find an existing space, and we didn’t want to build. This is a great area—a growing area—with a good shipping lane.”

By James Marco
This year’s national election will be held on Nov. 3.  New York state requires that registered voters have sufficient time outside of working hours to vote.
The state defines “sufficient time” as four hours between the opening of the polls and the start of work, or, four hours after the end of work and the closing of polls.  If an employee does not have “sufficient time” to vote, then they may, under circumstances we will outline in a moment, take time off from work to vote, with no loss of pay for up to two hours.
Employers, you have the right to set your policy, determine whether time off can be taken at the beginning or end of the shift, and communicate that policy to your staff.  Early notice to your employees will help avert potential staffing and coverage problems.
First, make sure your employees are registered voters.  They can print out this information at the following website: https://voterlookup.elections.ny.gov.  Have them provide this to you if they are requesting time off to vote.
Second, find out when the local polls are open.