Headline Updated 1/18/2021

By Christine Graf

Ballston Lake resident Britt Young has taken her passion for baking to the next level by opening The Sweetish Chef, a grain-free and sugar-free bakery at 76 Front St. in the village of Ballston Spa.

The Rockland County native and University of Albany graduate launched an online baking business in 2020 after leaving a career in teaching. She also developed a local following by selling her baked goods at local farmers market. For her, opening her own bakery is a dream come true and something she said she could have never imagined actually happening.

Young started experimenting with grain-free and sugar-free baking about seven years ago. Several years prior to that, her sister was diagnosed with celiac disease. People who suffer from this autoimmune disorder cannot ingest gluten without damaging their small intestines.

“I decided to go gluten free because it’s (celiac disease) hereditary,” said Young. “Then I read the benefits of avoiding grains and sugar in general, and I just took that step forward with my own life. Back then there were no substitutes. I was only eating eggs, meat, leafy greens, and nuts, and then I realized I could put things together to make things that I was missing.”

Young utilized the baking skills she had learned from her mother who was known for her homemade baked goods. She has many happy memories of their time spent in baking together.

“She taught me everything I know,” she said. “I used a lot of recipes I already knew and just kind of tweaked them using what I knew about the science of everything—how to get the flavors and textures you need without using certain ingredients.”

According to Young, her mother—nicknamed the Swedish Chef by her family– had unhealthy habits that contributed to her unexpected death in 2018. The Sweetish Chef pays homage to her with both its name and its mission.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Less than two years since he began his career selling real estate in metro Atlanta, Ryan L. Smith is launching a satellite in Saratoga Springs, where he was born and raised. 

Parc Avenue Realty LLC is operating remotely now while awaiting zoning approval on 254 Washington St. location in downtown Saratoga Springs.

In 2020 Smith was a product manager in the electric motor field when COVID-19 struck and soon started doing real estate part time. His wife Shari has been a broker for seven years and is managing broker for the Smith’s flagship business in Atlanta, he said.

“I’m the sales guy and the numbers guy,” he said. “Shari loves the document side of things, like purchase and sales agreements and HUD forms.”

Smith said he focuses on residential real estate but had a commercial deal close at the end of December, resulting in $3 million in total sales last year. 

“We had a very good 2021 in an area I’m not from,” he said. He will apply the same strategies for growing the Atlanta business to the Saratoga market.

As he prepared to canvas the metropolitan area where he and Shari live with their two children, Smith was told, “work your zip code and five miles around your home.” 

He noticed managers giving brokers a territory, but he didn’t see why he would want to limit himself. “So I decided to work the entire metro Atlanta area, which I can drive through in an hour and a half.”

The New York Power Authority (NYPA)  announced the first fast charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) in downtown Saratoga Springs in the Capital Region. 

The new chargers, installed by NYPA, will give more drivers a reason to visit the city’s downtown area and link Saratoga County into New York State’s EVolve NY fast charging network for EVs, officials said.

Located at the Saratoga Springs City Center, the four-charger station will help advance New York’s ambitious clean energy goals by helping decarbonize the transportation sector and reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050, state officials said.

“Saratoga Springs is the latest addition to the New York Power Authority’s growing charging network that is making it easier for electric car drivers to cross the state without having to worry about where their next charge is coming from,” said NYPA Interim President and CEO Justin E. Driscoll. “More people are realizing the benefits of clean transportation and we want to encourage the use of electric vehicles everywhere in the state so we can all benefit from lower fuel costs and reduced emissions while protecting the environment.”

The Direct Current Fast Chargers (DCFC), located in the outdoor portion of the lot adjacent to Maple Street, at the Saratoga Springs City Center at the north end of Broadway, can be used by any make or model of electric vehicle and can recharge most of the battery capacity in as little as 20 minutes. 

Four additional chargers have been newly installed at Stewart’s Shops, 1311 Route 9,in Moreau, 13 miles north of Saratoga Springs, bringing the total of EVolve NY fast chargers to eight in Saratoga County. NYPA has installed 52 chargers at 14 sites across the state since fall of 2020.

In their first joint venture since announcing plans for a merger, SEFCU and CAP COM united to fight hunger and brighten the holidays for people in need across New York state.

SEFCU President and CEO Michael Castellana, CAP COM President and CEO Chris McKenna, and employees from both organizations distributed more than $350,000 to nearly 50 food pantries and rescue missions in the Capital Region, and the Binghamton, Buffalo, and Syracuse areas.

SEFCU has been making these donations to pantries and shelters since 2010 as part of its year-round commitment to fighting hunger through financial support for local nonprofits and the funding of solutions that offer greater access to fresh, healthy food for people in need. With CAP COM joining the effort, this year even more nonprofits are benefitting.

“We are both products of the credit union movement which is, ‘people helping people,’ and that’s exactly what we are doing. We know that’s our purpose. We’ve been doing it individually. When we do it as a combined entity, there will be no stopping us,” said Castellana, who added that the need to support our neighbors has never been greater. “When you see a food pantry where there is literally nothing on the shelf, you can’t help but be moved by it. To be able to lead an organization where that is a supported purpose, where that gets people out of bed in the morning. That’s why I do what I do.”

Along with helping food pantries stock shelves, these donations will help local nonprofits provide the services necessary to feed families and individuals.

“Food insecurity is such a crisis and sometimes we forget about the choices that people have to make. People have to choose between eating and paying bills, and that’s a choice that nobody should have to make. Nobody should have to go hungry at night. No student should have to go to school in the morning without being fed,” said CAP COM president and CEO Chris McKenna who also noted that helping those in need has an equally positive impact on those giving their support. 

Zobel & Co. Kitchens, a custom kitchen design firm, received the Best Kitchen Design $120,000-plus award from the Capitol Region Builders and Remodelers Association (CRBRA) at the annual Best of Building Awards Night, held in November in Albany.   

The project recognized in the award was a renovation of an 1800s historic Victorian Farmhouse in Schuylerville.  

Typical of old houses, the existing kitchen was in a small room with limited storage, according to the company. By removing a long wall, owner/designer Arthur Zobel was able to create a large kitchen, complete with an expansive island, wine refrigerator, speed oven, wall oven, integrated refrigerator, dining area, and a hutch.

“Kitchens truly are the heart of the home. It’s the room we spend the most time in, the room where we want family and friends to gather, where we work, laugh and create”, said Zobel. “Transforming a kitchen to fit a family’s lifestyle and personality is something I thoroughly enjoy doing.”