Category Archives: Entrepreneurship

DeCrescente Distributing Co. in Mechanicville  has won the Molson Coors President’s Award for the second consecutive year and 10th time overall.

The company is in its 75th year as a family run local beverage distributor.

Only 32 beverage distributors nationwide earn this prestigious award each year. Winning the award twice in two years is uncommon and a testament to the hard work and creativity of the DDC team, said company president C.J. DeCrescente.

“We set a high bar here,” DeCrescente said. “Each year, we create a strategic plan for each of our suppliers to help take their products to new heights. Winning this award proves that our entire team brought their A-Game to help us achieve our ambitious goals for the Molson Coors family of brands in 2022.”

In addition to winning the President’s Award, DeCrescente Distributing is one of seven Molson Coors Founders Award finalists. The award recognizes the nation’s top Molson Coors distributor for exemplary sales and distribution performance over the last year. DeCrescente is the only distributor in the nation to have ever won the Founders Award four consecutive times.

The Founders Award winner will be announced later this year.

By Jill Nagy

If someone needs a nurse, Lisa Murphy can be there without the patient leaving home. Her Glens Falls-based ADK Mobile Nurse Services provides services in patients’ homes—or wherever else they are—in communities within 60 miles of Glens Falls, including Queensbury, Lake George, Saratoga, Albany, and surrounding locations.

Murphy is a registered nurse with 15 years of hospital experience, including case management, and 10 years as a director of clinical services in long term care and rehabilitation facilities. Her office, at 35 Evergreen Lane, Queensbury, is in a senior living facility.

With hospitals discharging patients earlier and providing less outpatient care, there is a growing need for the kind of care Murphy can provide. She can step in to provide follow-up care after hospital discharge, whether managing medications, changing dressings, helping patients adjust to a new lifestyle, or just looking in to be sure someone is getting along well. 

In addition, she administers intravenous vitamin and mineral treatments (on orders from a physician). 

Care ranges from a single consultation to continuing care on a monthly retainer basis. 

By Christine Graf

For the past 20 years, Adirondacks & Beyond Motorcycle Safety LLC, has been offering a variety of motorcycle courses for both beginners and experienced riders. 

Owner Jeanne Dion purchased the business from Marc and Margie Connelly when they retired in 2021. Before that, she worked for the Connellys as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation certified RiderCoach. 

Dion has been riding for about 20 years, and after learning the basics from her husband, she enrolled in a motorcycle course for beginners. 

“I took the class within six months of him teaching me to ride,” she said. “I learned so many skills, and it just made riding much more enjoyable.”

A few years later, Dion was working as a civilian at the Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh when she became a RiderCoach for the motorcycle safety course that was offered there. After she and her husband relocated to the North Country, she continued to work for the military and became a RiderCoach at Adirondacks & Beyond Motorcycle Safety. 

Chimney Heroes, a chimney services company based in Ballston Spa,  has been experiencing a series of growth spurts over the past several years, according to president Jamie Wallace.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how people live in their homes. In turn, the home services industry has experienced a lot of record-breaking growth, he said. The latest iteration of Chimney Heroes’ growth trajectory is the completion of a 3,000-square-foot training facility and a new, larger warehouse.

  Chimney Heroes provides chimney inspections, sweeping, repair, masonry work and installation of gas and wood fireplaces. Wallace said the secret to the company’s growth and strength is his commitment to education.

All company technicians experience continuing education for excellence training, both internally and externally in an ongoing fashion. The construction of a dedicated training facility is the physical manifestation of years of investment in staff education and training.

“We have a manager on staff whose sole responsibility is training technicians in the field,” said Wallace. “Our company’s core values include professionalism and leadership development and my promise to my team is that I will provide everything they need to succeed and thrive in the chimney care business.

“We have a modern-day apprenticeship to tradesperson program, and we’re always looking to meet new serious candidates who’d like to study and work with us.”

By Paul Post

An entrepreneurial Saratoga Springs couple has turned a widespread labor shortage to its advantage by adopting state-of-the-art technology to open a new can and bottle redemption center.

The business, called Rocket Recycling, welcomed its first customers on March 11. It is located at a former Stewart’s Shop building at 255 Ridge St. in Glens Falls.

“It’s all about speed, getting people in and out quickly and being super efficient,” said Tyler Russell. “Our tagline is the ‘Fastest Redemption Center in the Galaxy’.”

He owns the firm with his wife, Julia.

“We just saw an opportunity to do something a little different, using equipment to differentiate ourselves from other places like this,” Russell said. “We’ve been kicking this idea around for several years. The biggest problem today is labor, the same as any industry.”

By surfing the internet, the Russells found an Elmira-based firm, JK Peris, Inc., which specializes in recycling equipment. Such technology eliminates long lines and reduces the need for hiring employees.

By Paul Post

A new Glens Falls restaurant is specializing in farm-to-table dishes featuring fresh food sourced from throughout the region.

Johanna von Geldern and her daughters, Katriel and Cagney Houlihan, welcomed their first patrons to Mint, at 80 Warren St., on April 8. She previously owned Sweet Beet Bistro in Greenwich, which closed in March 2020 when COVID-19 hit.

Her focus on serving the highest quality, fresh food remains unchanged.

“With COVID, it just kind of re-emphasized the importance of healthy eating and knowing where food comes from,” von Geldern said. “We became part of the food revolution, reducing carbon footprint, and teaching people about ingredients we were learning about, too.”

“It kind of evolved organically because we’re surrounded by so many farms and artisans,” she said. “We saw this abundance of beautiful food around us.”

The eatery is housed in the former Mailings Made Easy building, owned by Glens Falls developer Peter Hoffman. Its elegant atmosphere reflects the owners’ commitment to providing a rewarding experience for each guest.

Paintings by Glens Falls artist Susan Beadle adorn the walls. A long, black banquette from the State Capitol in Albany gives the main dining room a flair of historic ambiance. In summer, a large glass door will open onto a spacious outdoor dining patio.

Updated business name correction – 4/19/22

by jill nagy

The Vested Veteran Grill at 126 Maple St. in Corinth honors the owners’ military service and helps other veterans and active duty service members.  

The grill has been open since last June and was preceded by a catering operation, still active, that started in April 2018.

Allen Lapelle and his wife, Kendie, and a staff of 10 operate the grill and catering service. Other partners are Jennelle Hoffman, Tyler Kirchhoff—who is also the building landlord—and Jason Shippee.

One-tenth of the profits from the catering business are donated to an organization that assists veterans with PTSD.  

Lapelle said he is “big on community.” He was especially pleased to host the Corinth High School girls’ basketball team when they celebrated winning the Adirondack League championship. In another bow to the community, the Grill serves locally roasted Engine 3 Coffee.

Lapelle was born and raised in the area. He spent five years in the U.S. Air Force, until 2014. Straight out of the military he took a job cooking. Then, he decided to learn more and signed on for programs at BOCES and the Culinary Institute. He served internships at Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, and at a restaurant in New Orleans.  

“I’m new to the game. I’m still learning a lot,” he said.

The grill is open from 7-11:30 a.m. Tuesday to Sunday for breakfast. From Wednesday to Sunday, they remain open for lunch until 2 p.m. Then, the restaurant closes for an hour to prepare for dinner, which is served from 3 to 8 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.

By Christine Graf

One With Life Organic Tequila has partnered with world champion boxers Teofimo Lopez, Larry Holmes, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, and Maureen Shea Carranza to promote and grow the brand.

The four boxers are equity partners in the Saratoga Springs-based business that was started in 2015 by local resident Lisa Elovich.

“All four are world champions, and each of these boxers really embodies the message of what it means to be one with life which is a message of kindness, compassion, courage, strength, and exuberance,” said Elovich.

Lopez is the current unified lightweight world champion and the youngest four-belt champion in the history of boxing. Hall of Fame heavyweight champion Holmes is best known for his historic defeat of Muhammed Ali.

Mancini is a lightweight Hall of Famer and Shea Carranza is a WBC and IFBA featherweight champion. She was also the main sparring partner for actress Hillary Swank as she prepared for her 2005 role in the movie “Million Dollar Baby.”

By partnering with these elite boxers, Elovich is able to combine her passion for tequila and her love of boxing. Her interest in the sport began in 2004 after she joined a boxing gym to lose pregnancy weight. Her boxing workouts eventually led to what she describes as an “accidental career” as a boxing promoter.

By Christine Graf

Whitman Brewing Co. has been named one of the country’s top 10 new breweries by USA Today, an honor that came just months after Hop Culture, a leading craft brewing publication, included the Saratoga Springs craft brewer on its list of the 10 best new breweries of 2020.

“To come from a brewery publication was very flattering recognition for our team. It reaffirms that we are on the right path, and hopefully that we can keep growing. We are humbled and excited by it,” said co-owner Will Crager. “It’s a great affirmation that we are moving in the right direction. We are very fortunate to have a great group of people around us who have a lot of expertise and experience and have helped us to have some great early success in just a year-and-a-half of operating.”

Walt & Whitman Brewing Co. is located at 20 Lake Ave. in the former Saratogian newspaper building which is owned by Saratoga Prime Properties. The Crager family, Philadelphia natives who moved to Saratoga Springs five years ago, chose it as the location. Will and his mother, Kathy, are co-owners and sisters Katie, Jane, and Lily are also involved in operations. Craft beer enthusiast and family patriarch, Bill, works full time in the financial sector.

“We had this vision, and for us it was more about experience and building a space that allowed people to come in and enjoy music and share our love for craft beer,” said Kathy Crager.

Just months after the December 2019 opening, the coronavirus pandemic shut down restaurants and bars. The Crager’s were forced to furlough some staff members. They opened for takeout only. After restaurants and bars were able to reopen with reduced capacity, Walt & Whitman’s spacious interior was well suited for social distancing.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

It might be that Yvonne Manso has the ability to ensure confidence in her customers when it comes to the quality of the product, because quite simply Manso believes in herself.

As a sales director for D.A. Collins, Manso has spent the past 14 years earning a solid reputation in a historically male dominated industry. Her work ethic and spirit brought her to the forefront of the construction materials industry.

She is originally from Michigan. After high school, Manso served two years in the military and four years in the reserves. She later moved to Las Vegas, working in the hotel  industry for 14 years. After meeting her husband, a native of Saratoga County, she found herself moving to the area and in need of a job. She landed a position at D.A. Collins as a sales coordinator.

“The hotel industry is so different and I had no experience in the construction field, but I was lucky enough to find a company that trusted I could learn the business. And I did,” said Manso.

When she first began, she could sometimes sense apprehension when contractors would see a woman show up on a job site. She said she did not let that deter her. In fact, she said it  motivated her to learn the ins and outs of the business. Now when she shows up, contractors know they are dealing with a seasoned pro.