Saratoga Business Journal

'Simplicity, A Salon' Moves Into Embassy Suites Hotel, Serving Guests And The General Public

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Tina Levielle-Briscoe, co-owner of Simplicity, A Salon, styles hair in the studio’s new space at the Embassy Suites hotel in Congress Plaza. The business moved there from Henry Street.

By Maureen Werther

After 16 years on Henry Street, Simplicity, A Salon, now occupies space in the Embassy Suites hotel in Congress Plaza.

The space was available after a previous tenant vacated the premises. Co-owners Tina Levielle-Briscoe and her husband, Sahn, decided it was the right time to make the move.

“We loved Henry Street, but parking was becoming too difficult for our clients and we felt it was time to switch our energies to a new space,” she said.

Levielle-Briscoe said it all happened very quickly. Although they had considered making the move when Embassy first opened, another salon leased the space. However, in March of this year, they were given the opportunity to take the spot. Their lease on Henry Street was coming up for renewal and they made the decision to move.

Kraverie, New Restaurant In Arts District, Has Eclectic Mix Of Unique Dishes On Its Menu

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Charles Usher and his wife, Amy Usher, are proprietors of Kraverie, a restaurant sensation that fuses Korean and French cuisine in the Beekman Street Arts District in Saratoga Springs.

By Maureen Werther

Kraverie, a Jersey City restaurant sensation that fuses Korean and French cuisine, is opening a second location in the Beekman Street Arts District in Saratoga Springs.

The new eatery opens at 78 Beekman St. on June 11. As it turns out, chef/owner Christian Usher is accustomed to taking his show on the road.

As their website says, Kraverie is the “brainchild of two revolutionary food truck owners.”

Charles Usher started his culinary career 10 years ago in Jersey City, N.J., as a food truck vendor, operating Lucinda’s Creperie. It was there that he met his business partner, Charles Heo, also a food truck vendor and owner of Krave, a Mexi-Korean BBQ.

Cerri Annette Banks Is Named Skidmore College Dean Of Students Beginning Aug. 1

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Cerri Annette Banks will be the new Skidmore College dean of students.

Courtesy Skidmore College

Skidmore College in May named Cerri Annette Banks as dean of students and vice president for student affairs.

Currently serving as vice president for student affairs and dean of the college at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., Banks will begin her new position at Skidmore on Aug. 1.

“We are truly thrilled to welcome Cerri Banks, who brings an extraordinary level of experience in the increasingly complex world of student affairs,” said Skidmore President Philip A. Glotzbach. “She is uniquely qualified to lead a division that oversees every facet of our students’ lives outside of the classroom. Her background and insights will be invaluable in the President’s Cabinet and across our campus.”

Banks will oversee 134 employees and five offices within Student Affairs, including athletics, campus life, career development, student diversity programs, and student academic services.

Smashburger Restaurant Coming To Clifton Park

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

By Jill Nagy

A new Smashburger restaurant, the fourth in the Capital District, is scheduled to open in Clifton Park July 20.

One of the branches is on Marion Avenue in Saratoga Springs in the Fresh Market shopping plaza.

Co-owner Marc Goldstein is director of real estate for Columbia Development Cos. in Albany. His co-owner and the operating partner, Leo Butera, has some 30 years of experience in the franchise business, mainly supervising franchisees on behalf of their parent companies.

Goldstein and Butera have the exclusive franchise rights for an area comprising six upstate New York counties and all of Vermont. They have contracted to open eight restaurants in their territory. The Clifton Park site is their fourth and they plan to open a new outlet every two years.

Cuomo Introduces 8 Laws To Cap Campaign Contributions At $5,000, Closing 'Loophole'

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced in May that he is advancing legislation to close what he called “the LLC loophole” in New York state.

The governor has introduced eight bills – one for all political offices and one for each of the state’s elected offices, requiring that limited liability corporations be treated as traditional corporations, capping contributions at $5,000. The bills would prevent LLCs from circumventing disclosure requirements and ensure that businesses do not wield an outsized influence in politics and elections across the state, Cuomo said.

“The people of New York are demanding change and it’s time we took action to restore the public trust by closing the LLC loophole and bringing fairness to our campaign finance system,” Cuomo said. “For years, I have proposed closing the LLC loophole–one of the most egregious flaws in our campaign finance system–and every year the bill has stalled. This year, I am introducing eight different bills to close the LLC loophole – one for each elected office in the state. Pass all of them, or as many as you’d like, but at a minimum, pass the one impacting anyone running for the office of the governor.”

He said the LLC loophole is widely open to abuse – with companies regularly taking advantage of the gap in state law to set up numerous LLCs to donate millions of dollars to political campaigns, candidates for public office and elected officials in New York.

These eight bills are designed to close the LLC loophole, all of which apply to candidates for governor:

1. Everyone (all candidates for state political office).

Lola Accessory Boutique Has New Broadway Space, Prepares To Launch New Product Line

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Megan Druckman operates Lola Saratoga at 372 Broadway, formerly Lola Accessory Boutique. The store sells women’s handbags, jewelry and accessories and some paper goods.

By Jill Nagy

The former Lola Accessory Boutique in Saratoga Springs has a new name, a new location and is about to launch a new product line.

The shop, now known as Lola Saratoga, moved in April to larger quarters at 372 Broadway, a location that allows greater visibility and an expanded assortment of merchandise, according to its owner, Megan Druckman.

The store sells women’s handbags, jewelry and accessories and some paper goods. Their products include Rebecca Minkoff handbags and they are the only Capital Region outlet for Kate Spade products, Druckman said.

A Portion Of 'Fireball Run', A Contest Streamed On TV, Internet, To Be Filmed Locally In Sept.

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Fireball Run, a television and internet streaming series, will be crossing New York state in late September, passing through southern Saratoga County in September.

The Fireball Run is a live action trivia pursuit, adventure travel competition that has “missions” or tasks framed as trivia. Each 26-episode season is filmed in a section of the country, edited, then streamed over the internet in the U.S. and shown on television stations.

Welcome events are planned in Ballston Spa and Clifton Park, according to the Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, as 40 competing teams vie for top honors in solving clues and engaging with historic artifacts. Contestants also aid in the search for America’s missing children, and to date 48 children have been found in part by their efforts, according to program officials.

The contestants will be in the area on Sept. 29 and 30.

The event is not a race, organizers said. Teams earn points for completing tasks after having driven to spots of interest, many times historical, based on clues. Points also can be deducted for things like speeding.

The 2016 rally will be going up and down the Hudson Valley as well as the surrounding states from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1. Estimates put the financial impact of the presence in a community at $250,000 per day, according to the production company.

The rally will arrive in Ballston Spa Sept. 29 and Clifton Park on Sept. 30.

J.W. Danforth Co., Mechanical Contracting Company, To Have New Halfmoon Office Soon

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

By Maureen Werther

J.W. Danforth Co. plans to take occupancy of its newest location at 5 Liebich Lane in Halfmoon by late fall or early winter of this year.

One of the largest mechanical contracting firms in the Northeast, Danforth has its origins in the Buffalo area, where it began over 130 years ago. Its main office is now located in Tonawanda, a few miles outside of Buffalo. The company received site plan approval from the Town of Halfmoon in early May.

Danforth came to the Capital Region in the fall of 2015 to help support the expansion at GlobalFoundries. The company initially rented space in Clifton Park until about six months ago. The company is now occupying space at 107 Hermes Road in Malta until construction on the new office is completed.

This new building will be the third location for Danforth. They also have an office in Victor, N.Y.

According to Steve DiRaimo, vice president of business development and acquisitions, “With the addition of the new office, Danforth will be better positioned to expand in the Capital Region and offer a full array of services, including custom sheet metal and pipe fabrication; full mechanical contracting services; design-build capabilities; energy performance contracting, and other specialty offerings.”

NBT President Dietrich Named Chairman, Among Bank Management Changes In 2016

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

NBT President and CEO Martin A. Dietrich was elected chairman of
NBT Bancorp Inc.

Courtesy of NBT

Daryl R. Forsythe has retired as chairman of NBT Bancorp Inc.

Courtesy of NBT

The board of directors of NBT Bancorp Inc. elected President and CEO Martin A. Dietrich to the position of chairman following the retirement of Daryl R. Forsythe.

Dietrich also announced his intention to retire in December 2016.

Dietrich began his career in financial services with NBT Bank, N.A, in 1981. He joined the bank’s senior management team in 1995. Dietrich became president of the bank in 2000; advanced to president and CEO of the bank and president of NBT in 2004; and ultimately became CEO of NBT in 2006. He joined the board of directors in 1993 and NBT’s board of directors in 2005.

Dietrich is a graduate of Colgate University with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

He said of Forsythe, “Daryl’s impact on NBT has been tremendous. During his tenure, the company has grown from a community bank with a local presence in central New York to one of the leading financial services organizations in the northeast at a time when the banking industry has faced many historic challenges. On behalf of all NBT directors, our nearly 1,800 employees and our retirees, I extend our deeply-felt gratitude and appreciation for the dedication, leadership and vision Daryl has provided.”

The board of directors also unanimously endorsed a succession plan that calls for the promotion of John H. Watt, Jr. to the position of president of the bank, effective immediately, and expanded roles for other members of NBT’s Executive Management Team.

Upon Dietrich’s retirement from active employment, Watt will succeed him as chief executive officer of NBT and the bank.

“NBT has benefited from consistent leadership for several decades,” said Dietrich. “We are pleased to have the resources within our organization to create this succession plan. The board’s unanimous endorsement of the plan speaks to the high level of confidence they have in John Watt and NBT’s entire Executive Management Team.”

Watt joined NBT in 2014 to lead the bank’s expansion into Maine and establish a regional headquarters in Portland. Since joining NBT, his role has expanded to provide executive leadership for credit administration, consumer lending, marketing and product development. He was promoted to executive vice president in 2015.

Watt has over 30 years of experience in financial services. Prior to joining NBT, he was executive vice president of commercial banking, investment management and bank operations at Alliance Bank, N.A., through the merger with the bank in 2013.

Previously, he was employed by JP Morgan Chase and its predecessors. He is a graduate of Rutgers University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and earned his Juris Doctor from the National Law Center at George Washington University.

Straight-Edge Razor Shaves, Haircuts Available At TruCutz Barbershop On Jefferson Street

June 8, 2016November 8, 2017

Lamont Washington cuts a customers hair at his new establishment, TruCutz Barbershop, on Jefferson Street in Saratoga Springs. The shop opened in May.

By Maureen Werther

Lamont Washington has two important talents: He knows hair cutting and he knows marketing. His new business, TruCutz Barbershop, celebrated its opening on May 6 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the renovated building at 44 Jefferson St. in Saratoga Springs.

Since then, he said he has seen his new business grow day by day.

Washington didn’t start out with the expectation of becoming a barber. As a marketing major at SUNY Brockport, he started cutting his fraternity brothers’ hair and discovered he was pretty good at it. Realizing that it was a way for him to earn extra cash while attending school, he asked the owner of a local barbershop if he could use one of the empty chairs. The shop owner, who had no employees at the time, agreed.

“After watching me cut hair, the barber realized that I was pretty good at it,” said Washington. “It worked out well because the barber had nobody cutting hair in his shop at that point. He offered to train me, and I agreed and became his apprentice.”