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.” 

As the Saratoga Race Course opens for the season the Saratoga Springs Downtown Business Association is staging a Celebrate Saratoga event with live music on Thursday, July 14.

The event is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. in downtown Saratoga Springs, following the opening day of the track. It will be presented by 4 Pillar Funding and showcases downtown retailers, restaurant, and live music. 

Caroline Street will be closed to traffic from Broadway to Putnam Street, allowing for more pedestrians to flow and gather to listen to the performances. 

Soul Session’s Garland Nelson’s Motown tribute ensemble Reflections will be performing live on the main stage, located at the Spa City Motor Lodge on the corner of Broadway and Division Street, while local performers will play at notable landmarks throughout downtown. 

A window decorating contest involving downtown businesses will also be held.

Other musical performances include Whiskey River Band playing on Caroline Street and Putnam Street. Life Line will be at Impressions on Broadway, Rick Bolton and Jackie Dugas will be at the Arcade Building on Broadway, Jeanine Ouderkirk Duo will be at the Saratoga Arts Building on Broadway, Jess Hudack will be at Ben and Jerry’s at Putnam and Phila streets, Jeff Brisbin at the Spa City Cafe on Broadway, and the Dave Fisk Jazz Quartet will be outside Adirondack Trust Co., also on Broadway.

“The DBA is excited to welcome guests and locals back to the Saratoga Race Course and into our businesses with no restrictions this summer,” said Deann Devitt, DBA president. “We invite everyone to come downtown on July 14, do some shopping, enjoy a meal and listen to some amazing musicians.”

Saratoga Springs residents are one step closer to having what some officials are calling “the fastest internet in the United States” after crews completed the first phase of construction on the Saratoga Springs FiberCity network. 

In late May, the city’s Department of Public Works issued a permit for contractors to begin construction, placing fiberoptic microduct and fiberoptic cables 12 inches underground, in the greenspace right-of-way, along Myrtle, Marvin, and Van Rensselaer streets. 

Crews from LatLong Infrastructure LLC completed phase-one work on June 20 and will pause efforts allowing for better traffic flow during the summer tourism season, and for city officials to review the latest construction techniques and building methodologies.

“We’re enormously excited to start this amazing project and complete the first phase of the Saratoga Springs FiberCity,” said Robbie Heaps, vice president of quality assurance, environmental, social & corporate governance, for SiFi Networks. “We’ve been working with the community and city leaders for years to make this dream a reality. Saratoga Springs will be the first city in New York state with an all-fiber network and the first Open Access network here, as well,” he added.