Category Archives: Business News

By Erin Nudi
Alan Schnurman took over ownership of the Red Roof Inn in Clifton Park in 2018. In June of this year, he made a change in management and renovations, which had been ongoing slowly, moved forward in earnest.
“Things are run differently now,” said Elaine Swain, the new general manager. Kemanni Gang is also part of the new management team as operations manager.
Swain said the team is re-focusing the hotel’s upgrades and its hospitality mission while adhering to the new COVID regulations.
All of the rooms underwent major renovations in 2019. They now have laminate flooring instead of carpet, which adds safety and cleanliness, two aspects of staying at a hotel that many think about today, she said.
Other upgrades in the guest rooms include a workspace, microwave and refrigerator. A guest laundry room was added and there are plans for the addition of a truck parking lot.

Stewart’s Shops is announced it is expanding its fuel distribution business with the acquisition of Red-Kap, a locally owned, family run business.
Stewart’s officials said the company will acquire eight convenience stores, three car washes, a 75-plus dealer network and fuel distribution business.
Under the terms of the agreement, Stewart’s will maintain the branding of the Mobil, Citgo, and Sunoco stations and will convert a few of the Red-Kap locations into Stewart’s Shops.
“Stewart’s has always respected the business and our long personal relationship with the Kaplans and their team,” said Stewart’s Shops President Gary Dake. “Doing business with people who respect people is always a pleasure. Both organizations come from long local family histories that have helped form the communities where we live.
“The acquisition will add eight corporately run locations and a significant addition of gasoline supply and distribution to local stations. Stewart’s prides itself on vertical integration and support. In the age of COVID-19, with an ever-changing business climate, we look forward to extending this support to the distributor/dealer network.”
Red-Kap, based in Schenectady, owns eight convenience stores from Saratoga to Loudonville, Troy, East Greenbush, and as far west as the Syracuse suburb of Baldwinsville.

By Susan Elise Campbell
DCG Development Co. has planned an expansion of residential space in Executive Woods, one of three mixed-use office parks the company has near the intersection of Route 9 and Route 146 in Clifton Park.
According to Donald MacElroy, DCG vice president, the project will include completely re-purposing an existing structure. They will also build a new one. The result will be a total 50 rental units that MacElroy said will appeal to the middle market.
“New apartments have not been built in Clifton Park in many years,” said MacElroy. “As products age and grow out of use, others step in to take over.”
MacElroy said there is “pent-up demand for apartments, particularly new construction.” He expects that middle-income jobs will continue coming into the area because “many of the businesses springing up around that intersection are health care facilities, bringing in new employment opportunities.”
Executive Woods is on the north side of Route 146 and has a two-story, 20,000-square-foot professional office building that will be converted into 34 rental units, he said. Floor plans are being developed. All walls and partitions will be removed and new utility systems installed.

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and the Town of Malta announced a new website to feature “all the great things” about the town.
The new web presence is targeted toward promoting the good things happening in Malta, officials said, while also serving as an economic development conduit for businesses considering investing in the town.
The new site, www.MaltaWorks.org, is an outgrowth of the work of the town’s Economic Development Committee. The committee last year launched the Malta Works promotional campaign to promote existing businesses and encourage investment from new businesses. Officials said the website is the next step in that project, providing a one-stop portal for anyone considering doing business in Malta.
The site will be administered and maintained by Chamber staff at no cost to the town.
“This new website is a great next step for our Malta Works campaign to show the world that Malta is a great place to do business,” said Malta Supervisor Darren O’Connor. “Our entire town government has worked tirelessly for several years to improve the business climate, while keeping our small town charm. This website is a great window into that effort and I hope businesses and investors find that for whatever their need, Malta Works.”
Building within the framework of the Chamber’s existing site, the Malta Works presence will benefit from the hundreds of thousands of unique views the Chamber website enjoys annually, boosting awareness of all the Town has to offer, he said.

Andrea Harwood Palmer
Brian Rollo, a leadership coach and cultural business strategist, has published a new book, “The 10 Habits of Influential Leaders”.
“I wrote this as an actionable handbook for someone who is a people-manager struggling to get results,” said Rollo, who operates his consulting company out of Queensbury. “I highlight the top 10 things that help people-managers get better. Things people can do to get results from their team, and to make leading a team a little less miserable.”
“I tell the story of how I first became a manager, and really struggled in the beginning,” he said. “And I did a lot of research, reading over 50 white papers. I tried to be the channel to distill everything I learned throughout my career, and through extensive research.”
Rollo said the predominant struggle is that some people struggle to step into an authority role. “They may have the title, but they’re afraid to do anything because they don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,.”
Others grasp authority too hard. “They need everyone to know they’re the boss,” he said.
“Both approaches are a road to trouble,” said Rollo. “I address this in the book. It usually plays out in how people deal with conflict.”
“It’s easy to be the boss when everyone just says, ‘I agree, I’ll do whatever you say’. But most of the time it is not like that. In real life, there is frequently conflict. When you’re a team member, you can try to stay in your own world. When you’re a leader, you cannot just ignore it when your team is in conflict. You must be the one to step up and deal with it. If you’re uncomfortable with that, the conflict grows,” said Rollo.
Some managers are in their role through merit, some develop management skills through training, and some land in their position by default of being the only person available when the previous director leaves, he noted.

by Andrea Harwood Palmer
“We do a lot of work for nonprofits,” said Bob English, who owns and operates Luzerne Productions, a video production company he opened in 2002.
“It’s such a necessary part of service. For nonprofits, especially right now with the COVID-19 problem, fundraising is a challenge. Everyone needs to raise money.”
He believes his company can help in that regard.
Luzerne Productions is responsible for many videos shown at area nonprofit fundraisers every year. Most recently they produced a fundraising video for Big Brothers, Big Sisters.
“What usually happens with annual fundraisers is: You get everybody in a room with some cocktails and food, you tell them about your service,” said English. “Then you show them a nice video and people say, ‘Wow, I wanna help’ because the people there are altruistic anyway or they wouldn’t be there to begin with. A video at a fundraiser is great because you have a captive audience. You show a video for 2-3 minutes, and if they’re wiping away a tear when you turn the lights back on, then I’ve done my job. That’s how I know I’ve been successful.”
With COVID-19, people can’t congregate in person.

By Christine Graf
Construction on Mohawk Chevrolet’s 65,000-square-foot facility in Malta is projected to be completed in June, according to company officials.
BBL Construction of Albany was hired to build the new dealership, which will replace Mohawk Chevrolet’s Clifton Park location.
Mohawk Auto, the owner of Mohawk Honda in Glenville as well as the local Mohawk Chevrolet, purchased the Clifton Park dealership from Northstar Chevrolet in November 2019.
The new Mohawk Chevrolet will be located on Route 67, just off of Northway Exit 12. The property was purchased several years ago by Mohawk Auto president and third generation owner Jeff Haraden. It was originally slated to become home to the 80,000-square-foot Adirondack Aquatic Center. Ultimately, Mohawk Harbor in Schenectady was selected as the location for the $35 million aquatic center.
Mohawk Auto general manager Andrew Guelcher described the aquatic center’s decision to move to Schenectady as serendipitous. When Mohawk purchased Northstar Chevrolet, it was with the intention of relocating it to Malta.