{"id":28869,"date":"2016-12-09T02:30:22","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T02:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=28869"},"modified":"2016-12-13T00:16:43","modified_gmt":"2016-12-13T00:16:43","slug":"john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/","title":{"rendered":"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John<\/a>
John Baker, 59, has owned and operated Gaffney\u2019s restaurant and bar on Caroline Street for 35 years, since he was 24 years old. The establishment is changing hands in January.
\u00a92016 Saratoga Photographer.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By R.J. DeLuke<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaffney\u2019s, a landmark Saratoga Springs restaurant and bar, has changed hands and with that transaction, the owner is riding off to the ski slopes after investing 35 years of his life in the business.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The building\u2014which has two indoor bar areas and, during spring and summer, an immensely popular outdoor patio bar\u2014sold in November. John Baker has been leasing the facility he has owned for so long, continuing business as usual while the new ownership, Saratoga Hospitality, makes the transition to becoming the operator.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 16 Caroline St. building, built in 1903 by John Gaffney, also has 12 apartments on the upper floors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Saratoga Hospitality also owns Broadway eateries Max London\u2019s Restaurant, Max London\u2019s Restaurant, Mrs. London\u2019s Bakery and the Saratoga Stadium.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baker, an avid skier, said he will split time between Saratoga Springs and a home he has in Vermont. He will be retiring, though not necessarily for good. \u201cI\u2019ll see how bored I can get,\u201d he quipped about future plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

The change did not come easily. Baker said he had been considering an exit strategy for about a year, but didn\u2019t have the business listed for sale. A conversation with local real estate agent Lucette Levinsky of Reynolds Real Estate resulted in the interested buyers and the deal was struck. \u201cShe did a fantastic job,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baker has mixed emotions and some tears were shed at the meeting where he made the announcement to staff. (All are expected to remain under the new ownership).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been three generations \u2014customers and staff,\u201d he said. Even among the Bakers, John\u2019s brother, father and son have worked there.<\/span><\/p>\n

Departure will be difficult. \u201cYou think about your business every five minutes. Even when your on vacation or taking your kids to school,\u201d said Baker. \u201cWhen I walk out the door for the last time, there will be some positives looking toward the future, but some mixed emotions .. It\u2019s been my whole identity since I was 24.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the age Baker was when he took over the business in 1982. His other experience in the food industry was operating a hot dog cart in the city, called Frankly Speaking.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt 24, I was the new kid on the block,\u201d said Baker. That block was sparse in 1982. Gaffney\u2019s and the Tin & Lint, 2 Caroline St., opened in 1970, were the mainstays of the street that is now the center of night life in Saratoga Springs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes you\u2019ve got to go out when you\u2019re on top or near the top,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Baker owns a building on Broadway and has other rental properties in Florida and overseas. So some of his energy will go into those. He also plans to do some traveling and spend more time with his family before any other endeavor presents itself. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI plan on staying active in the community, at least part time,\u201d he noted. <\/span><\/p>\n

As for Gaffney\u2019s, Baker said not much will change. There are about 40 employees through much of the year, but several more come on board during the busy summer season.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said Saratoga Hospitality will not close the business during transition. Renovations will be done slowly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to build on what I\u2019ve done for 35 years and make some improvements,\u201d said Baker.<\/span><\/p>\n

There will be at least one last hurrah for Baker. Gaffney\u2019s will host a Christmas party at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 15. Proceeds will be donated to Wellspring, the Saratoga County-based domestic violence and sexual assault services resource. Some former bartenders will also work parts of the shift, donating their tips to the organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Guitarist\/singer Rick Bolton,\u00a0 <\/span>who has performed at Gaffney\u2019s for years, will play and bring in some of the musicians who have also played there over the years. The band Sirsy will also perform.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNew phases, old faces\u201d is the slogan for the event. It\u2019s a phrase Baker used when he first took the business over.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for memories, Baker said they\u2019re too numerous to single out. His staff and regulars are like family. Manager Kim Smith, for example, has worked there for some 30 years. Her family members have also worked there.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gaffney\u2019s website is www.gaffneysrestaurant.com.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By R.J. DeLuke Gaffney\u2019s, a landmark Saratoga Springs restaurant and bar, has changed hands and with that transaction, the owner is riding off to the ski slopes after investing 35 years of his life in the business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":28797,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-news"],"yoast_head":"\r\nJohn Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By R.J. DeLuke Gaffney\u2019s, a landmark Saratoga Springs restaurant and bar, has changed hands and with that transaction, the owner is riding off to the ski slopes after investing 35 years of his life in the business.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-12-09T02:30:22+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-12-13T00:16:43+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"850\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"629\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/\",\"name\":\"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years - Saratoga Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-12-09T02:30:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-12-13T00:16:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg\",\"width\":850,\"height\":629,\"caption\":\"John Baker, 59, has owned and operated Gaffney\u2019s restaurant and bar on Caroline Street for 35 years, since he was 24 years old. The establishment is changing hands in January. \u00a92016 Saratoga Photographer.com\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ba402a238e359969bec40757b031230a02e1b4065fbc669f6b28ebacf90f75f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ba402a238e359969bec40757b031230a02e1b4065fbc669f6b28ebacf90f75f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years - Saratoga Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years - Saratoga Business Journal","og_description":"By R.J. DeLuke Gaffney\u2019s, a landmark Saratoga Springs restaurant and bar, has changed hands and with that transaction, the owner is riding off to the ski slopes after investing 35 years of his life in the business.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/","og_site_name":"Saratoga Business Journal","article_published_time":"2016-12-09T02:30:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-12-13T00:16:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":850,"height":629,"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Saratoga Business Journal","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Saratoga Business Journal","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/","name":"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years - Saratoga Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg","datePublished":"2016-12-09T02:30:22+00:00","dateModified":"2016-12-13T00:16:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2016\/12\/gaffneys-hc.jpg","width":850,"height":629,"caption":"John Baker, 59, has owned and operated Gaffney\u2019s restaurant and bar on Caroline Street for 35 years, since he was 24 years old. The establishment is changing hands in January. \u00a92016 Saratoga Photographer.com"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2016\/12\/john-baker-bidding-emotional-goodbye-gaffneys-business-run-35-years\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"John Baker Is Bidding Emotional Goodbye To Gaffney\u2019s, A Business He Has Run For 35 Years"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/ddf5fd6df8c43505ff3a5fb93e64871d","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ba402a238e359969bec40757b031230a02e1b4065fbc669f6b28ebacf90f75f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1ba402a238e359969bec40757b031230a02e1b4065fbc669f6b28ebacf90f75f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Saratoga Business Journal"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28869"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28957,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28869\/revisions\/28957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}