New Restaurant, 42 Fusion, Opens in Ballston Spa

BALLSTON SPA — A new restaurant has opened its doors on Front Street in Ballston Spa, with the introduction of 42 Fusion, a Mexican-Italian fusion eatery.

The restaurant is co-owned by Faustino Lopez, who is also the chef, and Alicia Halse. Lopez said it is his first venture as a restaurant owner after working in a variety of restaurants in the area.

Lopez is a native of Mexico who has lived in the United States for about 17 years, he said. He also has experience working in Italian restaurants, saying 42 Fusion is a combination of the two cuisines.

“I’ve worked in more Italian restaurants and all that kind of stuff, and I’m from Mexico,” said Lopez. “We try to do those two combinations of Mexican and Italian. We try to create new dishes, invent new dishes, so everybody can try it.”

42 Fusion is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., offering lunch and dinner options. Lopez mentioned quesadillas and paninis as lunch options, and the restaurant also offers a variety of salads, tacos, and pastas, as well as options such as gnocchi, chicken milanese, short ribs, and more, according to their menu.

“We tried to create a lunch menu, just fairly simple, quick and delicious,” said Lopez. “And dinner is going to be more romantic, more fine dinner.”

The restaurant is located at 42 Front Street, the former home of Sunset Café. Halse said the group moving into the space was a result of “perfect” timing.

“All of the spaces on Front Street have been occupied for a long time, so to find something like this, we were just really lucky,” Halse said. “To be right across from the park, where they do live events, they do parades, they do car shows, they do so many things. It was just a no-brainer, when we saw it.”

Prior to opening, however, Lopez and Halse had to fully renovate the interior of the restaurant.

“We had to do all the inside work,” said Lopez. “It took us about three months.”

“And being a small business, you’ve got to save money and time where you can,” Halse added. “So it was just us doing everything. Stripping the paint, doing the floors or ceiling tiles or light fixtures.”

The restaurant launched a soft opening in late May, with Lopez saying business has been going “pretty well.” Halse said they hope to hold a formal grand opening ceremony in mid-July.

“I think a lot of people are coming in right now,” Lopez said.

The two said it is meaningful to be open and receive positive feedback from the local community. Lopez, who lives in Saratoga Springs, said he hopes 42 Fusion can help draw more people into Ballston Spa.

“We put a lot of time into this place,” said Lopez. “I really like Ballston Spa. I think it’s a nice area to be in the restaurant business. I want to bring more people into the village.”

“When you put so much work into something, it just makes you that much prouder to see it actually flourish,” Halse said.