By Jill Nagy

Overland Sheepskin Co. celebrated its 50th anniversary in business with a growth spurt, adding two new stores including one in Saratoga Springs. Two additional stores planned for 2024 will bring the total number of outlets to 20.

Overland sells hand-crafted natural fiber outerwear, including sheepskin coats, fleece-lined boots and slippers, and some home decor items like rugs. The products and the materials that go into them come from all over the world, said Gabriel Openshaw, president of the company: Turkey, India, leather products from South America, wool from Peru, among the sources.

The company was founded in Taos, New Mexico, in 1973 by Roger Leahy and his brother, Jerry Leahy. Initially, they sold hand-stitched sheepskin coats. The sheepskin coats are still a mainstay of the company’s wares but they have branched out into other wool, leather, and sheepskin products. Today, much of their business is online through the company’s website, www.overland.com.

Openshaw, the company president, is a relative newcomer. He has been with Overland for almost 14 years. Jerry Leahy is no longer active in the business.

Marcella’s Appliance Center, one of the largest family-owned appliance dealers in the Capital Region, has expanded its reach north with the acquisition of a similar company based in Saratoga Springs.

The company has announced it has acquired Adirondack Appliance, which has served homeowners and commercial builders throughout the Saratoga and Lake George regions since 1929.

The acquisition will allow Marcella’s to extend its reach farther north. The company, established in 1957, currently operates a flagship showroom on Broadway in Schenectady and Clifton Park location that opened in 2015.

“Extending beyond the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area is something we’ve been building towards,” John Marcella, vice president of Marcella’s Appliance Center, said in a statement. “It started with our Clifton Park showroom in 2015 and now with Adirondack Appliance we will extend our reach well into Saratoga and Lake George to be able to fully service the new construction growth up north in recent years.”

Marcella’s currently offers 70 product lines from all major brands, and offers in-house repair services.

The acquistion is not the only expansion undertaken by the family-owned Marcella’s. 

By Christine Graf

Elizabeth and Sergiy “Grey” Masko, franchise owners and studio directors of the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Saratoga Springs, have purchased the franchise rights for Southern Maryland and Washington D.C. In their new role as regional directors, they will be overseeing the opening of Fred Astaire Dance Studios in the region.

“There are not any Fred Astaire’s in that area right now,” said Elizabeth Masko. “We’re planning in the next decade to open about ten studios in that area. We will be in charge of the studios, but we won’t be running the day-to-day operations. We will be training the owners and helping them to grow and expand their business.”

It was after experiencing significant growth at their Saratoga location that the couple made the decision to expand by purchasing additional franchising rights. 

“We’ve been growing every year, and we decided to expand because it was the next logical step for us,” she said.

To assist with their new venture, they have partnered with Elizabeth’s mother, Joan Regan Hayner. The former COO of Community Care Physicians, Hayner is also a champion dancer.

By Jill Nagy

For 20 years, Stephen Heidorn has operated a successful real estate title company, the Broadway Title Agency, by keeping it small and keeping it local. 

“I have found my niche and I am happy with it,” he said, “It’s been a good business.”

Heidorn has only one employee, his secretary. He started out in a basement office, then as the business grew and prospered, he moved to an upstairs office and recently moved to a nicer office upstairs, all in the same building at 480 Broadway, Saratoga Springs.

Most of his clients, including a law firm and some local banks, have been with him throughout those 20 years. The company’s clientele consists mainly of law firms representing people buying or selling real estate and banks that lend them the money for the purchases.

He contracts with a corps of researchers to do the actual title searches. They review real estate records to be sure the buyers and sellers match up and the potential seller really owns the property; they check court records for unpaid judgments or liens; they review probate and tax records. Some of the searching can be done online, Heidorn said, but to be sure that the results are 100 percent accurate and up to date, it is necessary to look at the actual physical records.

When Clifton Park resident Connie Crudo was hired by Discover Saratoga ahead of the 2008 Chowderfest, she didn’t even know what Chowderfest was. At the time, that wasn’t even that unusual—the now-famous chowder cook-off that pits local restaurants against one another had never drawn more than 8,000 attendees

But Crudo was about to change that

Sixteen years later, everyone in the Capital Region knows Chowderfest, which these days brings in some 40,000 attendees—all thanks to Crudo and her team

“I knew just from walking around that first year that this thing had legs—that there was definitely an opportunity to grow it, involve more businesses, and bring more financial contribution to the downtown area,” she says. “I started working on that, and each year we would add something to it. And now it’s grown into the monster that it is.”

Such additions include the shuttle service that now runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Saratoga Casino Hotel and downtown, and the now-defunct Doggie Chow Down, which was inspired by Impressions owner Mare Barker’s desire to make chowder for the many dogs that used to accompany their owners to Chowderfest. Other local businesses hopped on board, and at the first-ever Doggie Chow Down in 2008, then-Mayor Scott Johnson’s Mastiff, Dr. Watson, served as the judge. 

By Jill Nagy

The addition of two “VP Suites” golf simulators is the latest step in the program to convert the Van Patten Golf Club in Clifton Park from a seasonal golf course to a year-round activity center. The simulators were introduced at an open house at the end of January and have been busy ever since, according to Golf Director Bob Kennedy. 

“People are playing in it right now,” he reported early on a Friday morning. He sees retirees coming to play in the early morning hours and another rush in the evening with players coming after work. Players have their choice of 85 golf courses, several driving ranges, and other games like corn hole and capture the flag. The simulators can also be used for golf lessons. A curved screen gives participants the illusion that they are within the screen, Kennedy said.

The remake of the golf club began about 18 months ago with renovation of the clubhouse and expansion of the Cooley Kill Restaurant and Bar to a full service dining spot with a new chef and expanded menu. At that time, the club abandoned its previous practice of closing for six weeks mid-winter.

The simulators, large scale computer-controlled video games, accommodate four people at a time. Kennedy estimates that a foursome can complete an 18-hole round of simulated golf in three hours. The machines are rented by the hour at a rate of $50 per hour on weekdays and $60 an hour on weekends. They are available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Players can book their times online at vanpattengolf.com  or “call the golf shop and we will book it for you,”  Kennedy said.

By Jill Nagy

Four years ago, after some years as an itinerant leather worker with his shop in the back of his van, Blaine Vossler parked the van and opened a shop in Skaneateles. Last December, his second shop, The Local Branch, opened in Saratoga Springs.

Vossler works in leather and canvas, making clothing and accessories by hand. Marissa Panzera, who happened to be in Saratoga and looking for a job when he arrived, manages the Saratoga shop with two assistants. Her husband is stationed nearby with the Air Force and, she said, “I stopped here for the winter.” She was there from the beginning, helping unload furniture from a U-Haul truck.

All the goods sold at The Local Branch are made by hand by Vossler, still living and working in Skaneateles. Recently, he brought on an assistant. He chose Saratoga as his second location, Panzera said, because he has some friends and family in the area.