Jake Van Ness

2079 Articles

Saratoga Casino And Capital Fund Of Saratoga County Work To Keep Horse Show In Town

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The Saratoga Springs Horse Show is expected to move to Saratoga Casino Hotel next year.
Courtesy Saratoga Horse Show

The Capital Fund of Saratoga County Inc. and Saratoga Casino Hotel are working to keep the Saratoga Springs Horse Show in Saratoga Springs.

Pending a definitive binding agreement, the three-week show will take place in May of 2018 at Saratoga Casino Hotel, officials said.

Going back to 1961, the Saratoga Springs horse show has been a long-standing tradition with equine fans and attended by some of the top equestrian talent in the Northeast.

“Partnering with Saratoga Casino Hotel will benefit all parties involved, including the city of Saratoga Springs,” said Tom Fueston, president of the Capital Fund of Saratoga County. “Our competitors have expressed a desire to keep the show within close proximity to downtown Saratoga, and our plan will accomplish that.”

“We are thrilled to play a part in this project and we look forward to keeping this long running tradition alive in Saratoga Springs,” said Skip Carlson, vice president of external affairs and signature service at Saratoga Casino Hotel.

Moving the horse show to Saratoga Casino Hotel will also provide the necessary infrastructure needed for the show, officials said. With over 800 stalls on property, the casino will be able to offer both the required grounds for hosting the show and barns needed to welcome over 500 anticipated horses that will be participating.

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Former Driving Range Could Be The Site Of A Mixed-Use Project Including Grocery Store

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A mixed-use project is planned on the site of the former Clifton Park Golf Driving Range.
Courtesy Clifton Park Golf Driving Range

By R.J. DeLuke

The former Clifton Park Golf Driving Range is being eyed by ay Albany company as the site of a mixed-use development project that would be include apartments.

Paul Amedore, CFO of the Amedore Group, said he is hoping that a grocery store from one of the major chains is the anchor of the commercial segment.

He did not specify who is being sought.

The property, at 1759 Route 9, recently was recently sold to Amedore by Ostoja Bucetic, who decided not to reopen his business, which included a driving range, miniature golf course and batting cages. The sale price of the 34.5-acre property was $3 million.

The planning and zoning process could be challenging because the property is divided between the town of Clifton Park along Route 9 and the town of Halfmoon in the rear.

Amedore said the parcel straddles two towns, Halfmoon and Clifton Park. He said the zoning is already in place in Clifton Park to allow the project. He will be working with Halfmoon to get the necessary approvals.

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Chef Michael Mastrantuono Is The Man Behind The Dishes At 15 Church Street In Saratoga

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Michael Mastrantuono, executive chef at 15 Church restaurant in Saratoga Springs, is a native of upstate New York and a graduate of the SCCC culinary school.
©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Maureen Werther

For somebody who thought he wanted to grow up to become a state trooper, the culinary talents of Michael Mastrantuono, executive chef at 15 Church restaurant in Saratoga Springs, are so hot, they could almost be against the law.

Mastrantuono joined the team at 15 Church in July, taking the place of Brady Duhame. He worked long hours throughout the track season. As it turned out, the 2017 track season was 15 Church’s busiest and most successful yet.

Only 27 years old, the Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) culinary school grad has rapidly been making a name for himself in the region, creating culinary magic at Indulge, MezzaNotte and Roux before arriving on the Saratoga scene. He was named one of Full Service Restaurant News magazine’s “40 Under 40 Restaurant Stars on the Rise” earlier this year.

Michael is a native of upstate New York. He grew up in the small town of Greenville, surrounded by the tastes, smells, sights and sounds of Sophie’s, the family restaurant owned and operated by his father.

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Old Saratoga Mercantile Provides A Market Where Farmers Can Sell Natural Products

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Christina Myers has opened a store that carries honey, maple syrup, cheese, meat and vegetables, and items such as soaps, candles from about 35 different local farmers. and producers.
©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Susan E. Campbell

The owner of Old Saratoga Mercantile, 1120 Route 29 in Schuylerville, left a job in journalism and now sells naturally grown produce and other natural goods that come to her from farms in the area.

Old Saratoga Mercantile gives vendors in the region, some of whom previously sold only out of their homes, a place to sell their wares seven days a week.

Christina Myers had been a journalist doing stories on local government and the political scene for 15 years. But going into business and starting a store was not, she said, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Actually, Myers and her then-fiancé purchased the vacant five-acre plot to build a home and wanted enough land to farm much of their own food. The idea to tear down a brick structure—an antique store up until the early 2000s—and to turn an outdated barn on the property into an old-time shop sprouted soon enough.

She visited dozens of farms and producers, sampling their products, talking to the owners and customers, and doing all the fact-checking so her customers wouldn’t have to scrutinize every label to ensure the product was responsibly made.

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‘ReStore’ Sells Donated Furnishings And More; Proceeds Go Straight To Habitat For Humanity

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The Southern Adirondack ReStore of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties is now open, helping raise money for the nonprofit group.
Courtesy Habitat for Humanity

The new Southern Adirondack ReStore of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties opened to the general public with a ribbon cutting on October 2nd.

The ReStore, at 1373 Route 9 in Moreau, is the first in the area. 

Sustained largely by a team of volunteers, Southern Adirondack ReStore is the Habitat for Humanity-style thrift shop, selling new and lightly used home furnishings, decorative accessories, lighting, appliances, building materials and more.

Donations made by area businesses, decorators, contractors and residents, support the ReStore. Donations go to the store and are tagged for sale. Proceeds of each sale go to Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington Counties and its efforts to build and maintain affordable homes.

Through ReStore, Habitat is able to provide affordable home improvement items and furniture to local families, while also diverting usable materials from local landfills each year.

The store is nearly 7,000 square feet.

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Customers Can Get Hair Cutting And Specialized Skin Care Services At Revive Salon

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Leslie Shea, left, and Juliet Martino are the owners of Revive salon, at 3257 Route 9, Saratoga Springs. They offer services including hair color, hair cutting, manicures, pedicures and more.
©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jennifer Farnsworth

The owners of Revive salon, at 3257 Route 9, Saratoga Springs, understand that both men and women like to feel and look their best.

Juliet Martino and Leslie Shea have worked hard to create a salon that they are proud to call their own.

Martino said that she and Shea have worked together in several other locations. Since opening on Route 9 this past summer, business has never been better for either of them.

“I became so booked I had to expand my business. And Leslie wanted to get more into skin care,”  said Martino. “Business has been amazing. It has provided us a chance to expand. Our business is now doing better than it ever has. Our goal is to grow our hair and skin services to maximum potentia.”

Martino, 26,  has eight years experience in the hair industry, is a licensed cosmetologist and specializes in hair color. Shea, 35,  is an aesthetician and nail technician. She has been  providing  skin care and nail treatments  for over 10 years.

“She started her skin care adventure at a dermatologist then moved to the salon industry to grow her own business, “ said Martino.

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Personnel Briefs: October 2017

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The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing at Guilderland, a 127-bed nursing facility that provides rehabilitation and nursing services to patients who require either short- or long-term nursing care following hospitalization, has appointed James Connolly of Saratoga Springs administrator.

In his new position, Connolly, a licensed nursing home administrator, will be responsible for the direction, supervision, compliance and maintenance of the facility’s day-to-day operations, as well as its adherence to federal, state and local laws and regulations.

Connolly, who has more than 35 years of experience in the health care field and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, has been honored on numerous occasions for this contributions to healthcare and community service in the Capital Region.

He holds an undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and masters degrees in both business administration and public health from Columbia University.

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Daniel D. Bruno, co-owner of Bruno & Bruno Financial Services in Saratoga Springs, was named a member of the 2017 Chairman’s Council of New York Life. 

Members of the Chairman’s Council rank in the top 3 percent of New York Life’s sales force of more than 12,000 licensed agents in sales achievement.

Bruno has been a New York Life agent since 2007 and is associated with New York Life’s Albany General Office in Latham. Bruno and Bruno Financial Services is not owned or operated by New York Life or its affiliates.

He is a graduate of New York Life’s Advanced Planning Group’s Coaching Series, a client-centered planning process with the goal of helping clients crystalize their planning objectives and design appropriate solutions.

Bruno is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors.

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Arrow Financial Corp. announced Edward J. Campanella joined the company as senior vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer for Arrow, and executive vice president and chief financial officer for the company’s lead subsidiary, Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co.

Arrow is the parent company of Saratoga National Bank and Trust Co. and Glens Falls National Bank and Trust Co.,

Campanella will be responsible for planning and management of all finance, treasury and accounting functions for Arrow, which reached a record $2.7 billion in assets at the end of the second quarter, according to company officials. He will be based in Glens Falls and report to Arrow President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Murphy.

Campanella served as CFO of National Union Bank of Kinderhook. He brings 19 years of finance and banking experience to Arrow. Prior leadership roles include treasurer and director of finance at Opus Bank in Irving, Calif., and treasurer at Cambridge Savings Bank in Cambridge, Mass. He began his career in finance as an analyst for Darling Consulting Group.

Campanella earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Suffolk University in Boston. He succeeds Terry Goodemote, who in February announced his intent to retire as Arrow CFO after more than 20 years of service to the company, including more than 10 years as the chief financial officer.

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Wonderland Grooming Offers Personalized Services For Any And All Breeds Of Canine

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Laura Acquavella opened Wonderland Grooming in August. In addition to her certification as a groomer, she is certified in animal CPR and knowledgeable in canine first aid.
©2017 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jennifer Farnsworth

During her first week of high school, Wonderland Grooming owner Laura Acquavella, walked into a neighborhood dog grooming salon and asked for a job sweeping up. That job was the first step toward her dream of owning a pet grooming business.

After eight years of working at two grooming salons, while attending school, Acquavella received her Bachelor of Science degree in sociology. She worked in federal service for almost 20 years, before retiring this past winter.

She said it was during that time that she made the decision to never lose sight of her ultimate goal of not only being a groomer, but being her own boss as well. She became a certified dog groomer and graduated from the Golden Paws Pet Styling Academy in Clifton Park in 2013. 

She worked as the head groomer at a local dog boarding facility and volunteered her grooming services to rescue dogs.

“I never lost sight of what I really wanted to do. My plan was to wait until retirement, but then I decided it was just time to do it, and it has been great,” said Acquavella.

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Development Groups, BOCES Organize Event To Raise Awareness Of Job Needs In Area

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The Saratoga Economic Development Corp. (SEDC), along with the Saratoga-Warren-Washington Workforce Development Board and the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex (WSWHE) BOCES, are collaborating with employers and school districts to launch the inaugural annual Career Jam.

The event, to be held at HVCC’s TEC-SMART, 345 Hermes Road, Ballston Spa, on Oct. 25 in Malta, aims to promote area job opportunities to raise awareness among eighth and ninth grade students, their families and educators of the direct skills and jobs needed in the region.

Organizers said highlighting these job options earlier can help influence student education and training choices and retain their talents to fill local jobs that can drive future growth.

“We are excited to partner with key stakeholders in business and education to deliver this first-of-its-kind event in our region,” said Dennis Brobston, president of SEDC. “This student-employer exchange is in direct response to the voiced concerns of business leaders and educators wanting to better align skills development with needed workplace job opportunities.

“The number one challenge for businesses of all sectors and sizes in recent years is finding workplace ready employees. By collaborating with area school districts, the regional BOCES, and the area Workforce Development Board, we identified from our friends in the North Country this fun, engaging method to bring young people and employers together.”

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Founder Of Fingerpaint Wins ‘Top Boss’ Award

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Ed Mitzen of Fingerpaint in Saratoga Springs is a Digiday Top Boss award winner.
Courtesy Fingerpaint

Media and marketing publication Digiday has named Ed Mitzen of Fingerpaint in Saratoga Springs, as one of its Top Boss award winners.

Mitzen, who founded the agency in 2008, won the award from Digiday in its full-service industry category. Fingerpaint has offices in downtown Saratoga; Conshohocken, Pa.; Columbus, Ohio; and Scottsdale, Ariz.

The company ranked No. 1 on this year’s Albany Business Review List of Largest Advertising, Public Relations, Digital and Creative Agencies in the Albany area ranked by total local staff with 100. In 2016, Fingerpaint had nearly $30 million in local revenue.

Other winners in the Digiday awards this year are the heads of companies such as Bleacher Report and Hypr.

This year’s Digiday Top Boss Awards go to senior executives from Mindshare, Bleacher Report, AdColony and others who are building positive relationships with their employees.

The Top Boss Award recognizes managers who go above and beyond to deliver results, build a strong team dynamic and provide mentoring.

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