By Jennifer Farnsworth

Warren Tire will build a full-service automotive repair shop in Halfmoon, about two miles from its long-standing shop at the corner of Routes 9 and 146.

The 7,200-square-foot store, with eight service bays, will be built at 159 Stone Quarry Road, just north of the Crescent Bridge. It could open this fall.

The location, on the west side of the road, is still a wooded lot. It is near two competitors: Adirondack Tire and The Tire Warehouse. Bob Kellogg, owner and president of Glens Falls-based Warren Tire, said he wasn’t targeting the other businesses when he picked the site.

“We were just looking for a spot in Halfmoon or Clifton Park to secure our future there,” he said.

The store at the corner of Routes 9 and 146 is leased property. Most of it sits within the town of Halfmoon and a small portion is in Clifton Park. Although Kellogg recently renewed the lease, he wanted the security of knowing he also owned a building in the town.

By Liz Witbeck

Marybeth Stacchini knows about teenagers. She has been working with them for the past 15 years as part of her driving school, Marybeth’s School of Driving, located in Saratoga Springs.

An accident at work last year prevented her from continuing to do the driving lessons. Stacchini was at the kitchen table one night playing ping pong, when she came up with an idea for a new business: a venue where children and families could go to play games with each other.

Saratoga Game Station opened on March 1 at 18 Geyser Road in Milton.

The gaming center features table tennis, foosball, air hockey, billiards and darts. Customers come and pay $5 for each hour of unlimited games.

She hopes that this will be a resource of entertainment for adolescents, instead of getting involved with drugs and alcohol. “This gives them a safe place to go.”

By Jill Nagy

Nicholas Porreca, the chef when the Pasta Penne Rustic Italian Bistro in Clifton Park opened 15 years ago, now owns the restaurant.

He said he plans no major changes.

Porreca has been a “passionate chef for 20 years. It’s something that I love to do.”

For most of that time, he has been cooking at the Clifton Park bistro he now owns at 18 Park Ave.

He and his wife, Nicole, took a three-year hiatus in Hawaii, where he was a chef at the Four Seasons Hotel in Maui. While in Maui, the Porrecas had twins, Sonny and Liea, now two years old. They returned to Clifton Park because, he said, it is their “home base” and family and support systems became more important with two small children to raise.

The Saratoga Stadium held a ribbon cutting on April 4. The establishment on Broadway in Saratoga Springs has new owners and went through some renovation work before re-opening.

Courtesy Saratoga Stadium

By Liz Witbeck

The Saratoga Stadium, formerly known as Stadium Café, on Broadway in Saratoga Springs is under new ownership.

Dave Harmon, who has owned and operated the restaurant for the past 14 years, recently sold the restaurant to Saratoga Hospitality LLC, which owns two other establishments in downtown Saratoga Springs: Max London’s Restaurant and Mrs. London’s Bakery and Café.

The restaurant at 389 Broadway reopened as Saratoga Stadium on March 17.

The establishment celebrated its grand re-opening on April with a ribbon cutting attended by local elected officials and former NBA star John Starks.

Zach Cutler, corporate executive chef, and one of the owners, moved to Saratoga Springs in 2014. He is also corporate executive chef at Max London’s and at Mrs. London’s.

Saratoga Stadium will feature an American tavern-style menu in a sports bar-themed atmosphere.