By Andrea Harwood

While the economic impact of the Professional Women’s Bowling Association Tournament in June is difficult to measure with exactness, the owner of Kingpin’s Alley Family Fun Center where it was held in South Glens Falls calls it a success.

There was a surge in bed nights at hotels and motels as well as restaurant meals eaten out. There were 91 female athletes competing in the event, many of them travelling with a significant other and/or family members. These visitors were in the area for the majority of the event week.

The sold-out event was broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network.

“The event went very well. There were no issues, and the TV show was fabulous,” said Kingpin’s owner and operator Doug Bohannon.

Bohannon is also the president of the New York Bowling Proprietors Association, serving since August 2018.

“Every match was pretty close. The entire show was very exciting,” said Bohannon.

Bohannon hosted a national tour stop last year as well.

By Christine Graf

Local home furnishing and interior design business Saratoga Signature Interiors is celebrating 30 years in business. 

Owner Nancy Moultrie Smith, a native of Georgia with a degree in design from San Jose State, owned a design showroom in Atlanta before moving to New York.

“When I moved to New York, I went to work for another company,” said Moultrie Smith. “I had quite a few designers working under me, but I really wanted to be on my own. So in 1992, I ventured out and started a company. I chose Saratoga Springs because I happen to love the town and thought it was just beautiful. 

“It has proven to be a wonderful place for a home furnishing store. When I opened here, there was no one else in town but of course now we have a lot of fabulous designers.”

After opening her store at 260 Broadway, she came to realize that the spot wasn’t conducive to operating a retail business. Five years later, she relocated to a space at Franklin Square that had been home to a funeral home.

“It was a gorgeous building, but the only trouble with that was that there was a big staircase. My delivery people with the furniture would not come in and deliver to the second floor,” she said. “That was problematic, and getting things in and out of the building was just impossible.”

A new backstretch healthcare clinic will be constructed at historic Saratoga Race Course, thanks to funding from philanthropic sources.

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) joined philanthropist John Hendrickson and representatives from the Backstretch Employee Service Team (BEST), Saratoga Hospital and the New York Thoroughbred Horseman’s Association (NYTHA) at the site of the future construction in July to publicize the project.

As a tribute to his late wife, Marylou Whitney, Hendrickson is funding construction of the clinic, which is expected to open in the spring of 2023 and will replace a doublewide trailer that has housed on-site healthcare services at the track.

The new clinic, which will be operated by Saratoga Hospital in partnership with BEST, will provide a dramatically improved experience for those receiving primary and emergency healthcare services at Saratoga Race Course, which will be provided by doctors and medical professionals from Saratoga Hospital.

by jill nagy

Mel Hathaway, co-owner of the Flats Restaurant and Tavern in Rexford, describes the menu at his new eatery as “elevated tavern,”  offering a lot of local tavern food favorites but with a twist. 

Everything is made from scratch, he said, including sauces and French fries. “We try not to use our freezer very much.”

As an example, the “elevated cheeseburger,” which is a Kobe beef patty, lobster tail, bacon marmalade, crisp pancetta, roasted red onion, tomato confit, and gruyere cheese. 

“It is one of our signature items,” he said. The so-called Rexford Burger, and the rest of the menu, was developed by executive chef Stefan Watts, formerly the chef at Smith’s restaurant in Cohoes. Other popular items include a hummus plate appetizer, a shrimp po’boy, and the chef’s own carrot cake.

The Flats Restaurant and Tavern is located in a new shopping plaza at 675 Grooms Road,  at the intersection with Fischer Ferry Road, a neighborhood formerly known as Rexford Flats.   Since he began in a brand new building in a brand new plaza—with dirt floors—Hathaway had his restaurant built “exactly as I designed it.”