Category Archives: Business News

By Carol Ann Conover

Homeowners looking for personalized design guidance rather than off-the-shelf solutions now have a new local option with the opening of a collaborative home design and improvement showroom on Upper Glen Street.

Tim and Michelle Schultz are launching a multi-brand showroom at 704 Upper Glen St. that brings together custom window treatments, interior design services and energy-efficient replacement windows and doors. The space unites Gotcha Covered of Saratoga, Designs on Glen and Window Depot of the Adirondacks, offering what the owners describe as a consultative, one-on-one alternative to the stock selections and self-guided experience typical of big-box retailers.

The concept is designed to help homeowners make cohesive decisions that balance aesthetics, performance and budget, rather than purchasing products in isolation. Clients can work directly with experienced professionals to evaluate everything from fabric and light control to insulation value and window performance.

“We’re really focused on the personal side of design,” Tim Schultz said. “Big-box stores serve a purpose, but many homeowners want guidance tailored to their space, their home and how they live. That’s what we’re providing here.”

Mitchell B. Muroff, Esq., Founder, Muroff Hospitality Group

As we look ahead to 2026, the hospitality industry enters the year on far more stable footing than many anticipated just a few years ago. While 2025 was marked by moderation rather than acceleration, it ultimately proved to be a year of normalization—one that set the stage for measured, sustainable growth rather than speculative excess.

Nationally, 2025 saw travel demand remain resilient despite higher interest rates, inflationary pressures, and continued labor challenges. Leisure travel continued to outperform expectations, particularly in drive-to markets and experience-based destinations. According to STR data, a CoStar company, occupancy stabilized across most U.S. markets, average daily rates held firm, and revenue per available room posted modest but consistent gains. Importantly, hotel fundamentals remained strong even as transaction volume slowed, reflecting a market adjusting to higher capital costs rather than weaker demand.

As we move into 2026, national forecasts from major hospitality analysts such as CBRE and JLL point to continued incremental growth rather than dramatic swings. New hotel supply remains constrained due to elevated construction costs and financing hurdles, which is expected to support pricing power for existing assets. At the same time, easing inflation and the potential for lower interest rates later in the year could help unlock transaction activity that has been sidelined since mid-2023. Investors are increasingly focused on well-located, operationally sound assets with clear paths to efficiency and modest value-add, rather than large-scale redevelopment or speculative growth.

For the Northeast—particularly New York and New England—the outlook for 2026 is especially encouraging. The region benefits from a dense population base, strong seasonal tourism, and a growing preference for regional travel over long-haul destinations. Unlike gateway cities that rely heavily on international travel or large convention demand, many Northeast markets are driven by leisure travelers, outdoor recreation, weddings and events, and repeat visitation—segments that have proven durable through multiple economic cycles.

Southern Adirondack Independent Living announced the expansion of its services in the Capital Region with the opening of a new Albany County office at 1873 Western Ave., strengthening the organization’s presence across New York’s North Country and Capital Region.

Founded in Glens Falls in 1988, SAIL serves 17 counties, providing support that empowers people with disabilities and older adults to live independently in their communities. The Albany office follows SAIL’s award of the Capital Region contract for the Regional Resource Development Center for the Nursing Home Transition and Diversion Waiver and Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver, contracts the organization also holds in the Adirondack Region.

“This expansion builds on the work we’ve been doing in the North Country and allows us to reach more people across the Capital Region who want to live independently,” said Tyler Whitney, executive director of SAIL. “Our focus is on removing barriers and providing the supports people need to live with dignity and choice.”

By Paul Post

Hilltop Construction Company started out as a one man operation – Tom Albrecht Sr. and a pickup truck.

Today his son, Tom Jr.; daughter, April; and her husband, Dan Washburn, are leading the Queensbury-based firm into a second half-century of business, with thriving activity in both the residential and commercial sectors.

“We work with about eight different architects,” Albrect Jr. said. “They all tell me they have plenty of work, at least 12 months of work in front of them. That means there’s work we haven’t even touched yet on the construction side of things. So the outlook is very, very healthy.”

Hilltop is marking its 50 anniversary this year, with plans for an official celebration in August. The company is headquartered in a handsome new building at 21 Casey Road, just north of Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport.

 Tom Sr. and his wife, Cindy, founders of the company retired three years ago.

By Rod Bacon

 Saratoga Springs is experiencing a significant increase in the number of law firms expanding their presence in the city.

Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC is in the process of quadrupling their office space by moving from 258 Broadway, where they’ve been since 2017, into Congress Park Centre.

“It just made sense,” said Member Michael D. Billok, the resident attorney in that office, explaining why the firm opened its original Saratoga Springs location. “We had a lot of clients in and around the Saratoga area and north to Glens Falls, and its good to have an office where they can come and get personal counsel.” 

He went on to say that during the past few years more attorneys from the Albany office were meeting with clients from the Saratoga area. He also noted that when they talk to attorneys interested in joining the firm many want to work in Saratoga Springs.

Tom Savino and Eric Simonds, associate brokers at CBRE Upstate NY,  represented Congress Park Centre owner Manhattan-based Brause Realty Inc and JoAnn Potrzuski Cassidy, a licensed associate real estate broker at Julie & Co. Realty LLC represented the law firm.

The 11,000-square-foot space is being renovated by NLH Property Management Services, of Saratoga Springs. Occupancy is scheduled for late spring of this year.

Troy-based Madesign Architecture is designing the space.

Billok said the decision to move to a larger office is the direct result of the firm’s plans to recruit top legal talent. Some of the practice areas for which they are seeking attorneys include trusts and estates, environmental/land use, real estate litigation, and business tax policies.

By LEE COLEMAN

Saratoga Casino Holdings LLC has been granted a gaming license by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board to operate the Happy Valley Casino, which is under construction in State College, Pa.

“As a third-generation, family-run business with more than 80 years in the horse racing industry and 20 years in casino, hotel and entertainment operations, we are extremely proud to receive our Pennsylvania gaming license,” said Sam Gerrity, CEO of Saratoga Casino Holdings.

Gerrity said his grandfather and later his father, Dan, operated the Saratoga harness racing track in Saratoga Springs beginning in the early 1940s. That track later became part of the Saratoga Casino Hotel complex in Saratoga Springs.

Gerrity said the Happy Valley Casino is expected to open in April.

“We’ve been working on this for over a year,” he said. The Pennsylvania license was granted in late December.

The total cost of the project is estimated at $120 million. Upon completion of the transaction, Saratoga Casino Holdings will acquire a majority interest in the property.

By Rod Bacon

Living above the New York City Bagel & Coffee House in Astoria, Queens, for 10 years inspired a couple to become entrepreneurs and launch what has quickly become a fast-growing bakery business.

Louis and Danielle DeSantis opened Bear’s Cup Bakehouse on Broadway in Saratoga Springs last month and were immediately inundated with customers.

“We had the most insane two weeks of winter break,” Danielle said. “The line went out the door and wrapped around the building every day and we could barely keep up. Now we’ve ramped up production and have more pastry available each day.”

When the DeSantises first moved to the region, they settled in Bolton Landing, where Danielle’s parents, Dawn and Bob O’Keefe, owned The Huddle Kitchen & Bar. The couple had spent summers there since 2014, visiting and helping at the restaurant.

“We had always dreamed of being in business together, and we came to love Lake George so we decided to settle here,” Danielle said.

By Rod Bacon

A local freelance writer has collaborated with a criminal corrections professional on a book detailing an innovative approach to reducing recidivism among the prison population.

Christine Graf, a longtime resident of Malta, partnered with Commissioner of the Maine Department of Corrections Randall Liberty to co-author “Liberty’s Prison: The Inmate’s Son Who Radically Reformed an American Prison.”

Graf learned about Liberty in 2017 when she worked part time for a nonprofit that served veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. She was also a regular contributor to the PTSD Journal.

Liberty grew up in extreme poverty living with his mother and three brothers in a trailer in Clinton, Maine. His alcoholic father, who had an extensive rap sheet, abused his mother and served multiple prison sentences, one of which was at the Maine State Prison in Thomaston. This facility would later play a pivotal role in Liberty’s law enforcement career.

While still in high school he enrolled in the United States Army’s delayed entry program, which led to him serving on active duty from 1982-85. He had three separate assignments as a military policeman as well as training as a paratrooper. His last posting was in Fort Riley, Kansas, where he served in a last corrections capacity. After his tour of duty he remained in the Army National Guard for 21 years.

“While I was a military policeman I enjoyed it but I always longed for the infantry,” he said.

By Susan Elise Campbell

Pickleball has become so popular that Steve Frye, owner of the new, indoors, FryeGuys Pickleball Club in Clifton Park suggests it will become an Olympic sport.

“Pickleball is popular because it’s fun and very social,” said Frye. “People at the club are down-to-earth and are not necessarily playing to win, but to meet people and have a good time.”

The game is comparable to table tennis, badminton, or any racquet sport, said Frye. But unlike tennis, the game goes fast and competitors can play a quick challenge or an all-day tournament.

Participants need not be athletes like Frye to enjoy the sport, he said. He was a math teacher and a coach for 30 years and the athletic director for the Candor, NY school system the last seven years of his career. 

After he and his wife Ann retired, she as a STEM teacher in the Newark Valley schools, they relocated to Corinth. This was in the early days of the Covid 19 pandemic and as Frye was “getting bored in the house, thoight pickleball could be a good business,” he said.