On Thursday, April 8, 2021, at 9:00 a.m., I met up with Ryan McMahon, Darryl Leggieri, and Deann Devitt on the City Center’s surface parking lot. We were meeting with Peter and Cole Gailor, of Gailor Landscaping. They had generously agreed to help us move concrete blocks to support the local restaurants on Henry, Caroline and Phila Street.

One year ago, D.A. Collins had donated and installed these concrete blocks in the same places. Over the winter, the City Center had stored them so that they could be reused. With several new restaurants participating this year, D.A. Collins would again help us out. Standing there looking at the blocks before they were moved, the four of us reminisced a little bit. Not one of us ever thought we’d still be doing this a year later. But the virus had other ideas.

Last March, we formed a partnership with the Saratoga County Chamber, Discover Saratoga, the Downtown Business Association, the City Center and the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership. We had been meeting every week since. We had been talking, texting and collaborating nearly every day since. We had help as well from Samantha Bosshart, from the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, and Martin Mbugua, from Skidmore College. 

We said that if you called any one of us, we’d all come to help. We did this. We are still doing this. It was this Saratoga Crew that gathered information that all of us shared via email and social media to help local organizations to stay informed about EIDL and PPP loans; reopening protocols; special promotions and events. We coordinated on a range of advocacy efforts. We created and distributed hundreds of recovery kits filled with PPE to area employers as they reopened. We were the ones that drafted and then implemented the Saratoga County Economic Recovery Plan. We organized Saratoga County’s reopening ribbon cutting and the Save Our Locals campaign.

We’re all great friends now as well as colleagues. We were there to help everyone in our community as well as each of our organizations. This work was not without stress. We struggled too at times. We always knew we could count on each other. Sometimes we offered advice. Sometimes we offered a joke or a reason to laugh. We lived the mantra we had pushed out across our community. One year later, we know that WE are Stronger Together. 

I learned recently that while our groups were collaborating in an extraordinary fashion, so were others. The leaders of a group of local impact sector organizations have been collaborating to create and implement a comprehensive effort to help those who are homeless in our community. The leaders of a group of arts organizations and local venues have been collaborating to create an extraordinary series of events we’ll all be able to enjoy later this year. This gives me hope.

As we recover and reopen, I hope we find joy not just in gathering again but also in collaborating like never before. Let’s do our best to not just meet together but to take action together. Let’s not just collaborate together but celebrate together. We’ve been living, working, learning, and doing alone for too long. I’ve witnessed the power of collaboration at what might have been our darkest hour as a nation and a world. 

Our small businesses are not out of the woods yet. Our civic institutions continue to be challenged. We have people living in poverty whether that is defined by the absence of income, food, a place to live, a job, health, personal safety or someone to care for them. We’ve got more work to do. There are more people who will need our help. To really help them, we will need to always be Stronger Together.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Capital Bank, a division of Chemung Canal Trust Company, today announced the recent hiring of Billie M. Taft as its newest Commercial Loan Officer.  Taft brings strong commercial-banking experience to Capital Bank, having worked over 10 years in the field.

In 2010, Taft joined Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company, where she enhanced her commercial-credit experience. In 2013, Taft was promoted to Commercial Loan Officer, followed by a promotion to Vice President in 2016.

Taft graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Business & Economics from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs  and now lives in Greenfield Center. 

Capital Bank is a division of Chemung Canal Trust Company, a full-service community bank with full trust powers. Established in 1833, Chemung Canal Trust Company is the oldest, active, independent bank headquartered in New York State.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Commissioner of Public Works Anthony “Skip” Scirocco announced this week that the historic Canfield Casino has reopened for 2021 weddings and events. 

The venue closed in March of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and because of New York State health and safety mandates which limited social gatherings.

“Guests will still need to follow CDC and State guidelines to attend, but this is the first step towards normalcy,” Scirocco said, in a statement. 

The occupancy of the Canfield Casino will allow for events of up to 150 attendees in compliance with NYS guidelines. Additionally, as outlined by Gov. Cuomo, all attendees must have proof of a recent negative test result or proof of immunization prior to the event. Masks will be worn at all times except when eating or drinking, and socially distanced dancing is allowed in designated areas.

“An upgraded sound system was installed in the venue, and detailed restoration work of the decorative woodwork in the parlor and bar was completed, along with refinishing the bar and ballroom floors during the casino’s closure, Scirocco added. 

The casino was originally built in 1870 as a gambling establishment by John Morrisey, and upgraded by Richard Canfield in the early 20th century to include the ornate ballroom. Canfield closed the establishment in 1907 and it was sold to the then-Village of Saratoga Springs in 1911.

Interested parties should contact Mary in the Department of Public Works at 518-587-3550 ext. 2555 or mary.castanza@saratoga-springs.org to obtain a contract or for more information. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Stewart’s Shops employees now own over 40% of the company through profit sharing, the company announced. 

Last week, 2,850 Partners received their 2020 Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) statements. Their accounts received approximately 20% growth and a $19 million contribution, which is about 19% of their 2020 pay. 

There are now 105 Partners with a balance of over $1 million and nearly a third of these millionaires are still actively working. This is possible because of Stewart’s stability, enabling years of double-digit percent of pay contributions, plus double-digit growth of balances each year.

The ESOP program is 100 percent funded by the company for anyone working at least 1,000 hours a year. After six years in the plan, a Partner’s balance is usually greater than a year’s pay. 

Founded in 1945, Stewart’s Shops is an employee and family-owned convenience store chain based in Saratoga Springs.   

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce will host a panel discussion via Zoom with Sarah Craig, Executive Director – Caffe Lena; Louise Kerr, Executive Director- Saratoga Arts; Elaina Richardson, President- Yaddo, and Elizabeth Sobol, President/CEO – Saratoga Performing Arts Center. 

The virtual event takes place 10 – 11 a.m.  on Wednesday, April 28. Fee/admission is $25 for the general public, $15 for Chamber members. Please register online at: Saratoga.org. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — An international resort company that first set its sights on developing a luxury hotel in Saratoga Springs in 2018, before reportedly backing off that plan when the pandemic hit last year, may once again be targeting the Spa City to site a facility that caters to Americans interested in experiencing the culture of Japan without having to travel internationally. 

Hoshino Resorts operates more than three dozen facilities both in and outside Japan with four distinct brands: luxury flagships, hot spring resorts, resort hotels, and city tourism hotels, featuring venues which vary from countrified mountainside resorts to the heart of big-city Tokyo. 

In September 2018, the company entered into a Memorandum of Agreement of Sale as purchaser of two parcels of land totaling nearly 87 acres, located just south of Saratoga Spa State Park. A deed agreement was subsequently filed with the Saratoga County Clerk’s Office one month later.      

The two specific parcels named in the memorandum included 6.88 acres at Route 9 and Columbia Avenue, and 79.34 acres at 38 Columbia Avenue. Those lands are located in a mostly wooded area, just south of the Saratoga Spa State Park and East West Road, just off Route 9. The closing and transfer of title date were slated to take place by late 2020, with Hoshino holding the exclusive right to purchase the properties under the agreement. 

When that didn’t happen by the end of the calendar year 2020, the plans were believed to be off. 

However, Hoshino Resorts has expressed its interest, once Covid restrictions ease, to resume its goal of working to open its first location on the U.S. mainland in the next three to five years, Chief Executive Officer Yoshiharu Hoshino told Bloomberg. “One ideal spot, in his view, could be Saratoga Springs, about a three-hour drive from New York City and Boston,” according to the article written by Lisa Du, Grace Huang, and Stephen Engle, and published in Bloomberg on
April 4.

Hoshino Resorts was first established as a traditional Japanese inn in 1914. Its stated mission is to “dream big” and according to company’s literature, provides “a unique experience focused on the local charms of each destination and a high level of omotenashi Japanese-style hospitality.”

“My personal goal is to bring traditional Japanese hot spring resorts to North America,” Hoshino, the fourth generation in his family to run the firm, said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. “It’s now time to think about the next 100 years of developing hot spring hotels globally.”  Specific plans for the type of development initially under consideration for development in Saratoga Springs, as well as the status plans of the Spa City specifically as a future destination, are not currently known. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga’s Credit Union added a new branch in Ballston Spa that opened this past February 2021. The new location at 444 Geyser Road, Ballston Spa, NY 12020 brings a full service, local, financial institution to the center of the Town of Milton equipped with traditional drive-thru access as well as an Interactive Teller Machine (ITM) and 24/7 ATM. 

The launch of the new branch is joined with the development of new services offered by the credit union, Saratoga Mortgage. Patti Montgomery joined Saratoga’s Credit Union and Saratoga Mortgage, specializing in mortgage financing. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Local eatery, Urban Roots Kitchen, announced the launch of a new brand identity, name and vision for its future. The company will begin operating as Thorn + Roots. 

“As part of our expansion focus, our team, Allen and I believe it was appropriate to rebrand our company to more specifically reflect our vision for the future,” said co-owner Brandon Acres, in a statement.  “We are very excited about the introduction of our new company name, Thorn + Roots, as it allows us to better represent our business to all of our guests.”

The former Urban Roots Kitchen opened its doors in Saratoga Springs in October 2018, followed by its sister store, Thorn + Roots, which opened in Burlington, Vermont, in October 2020. Located at 46 Marion Ave. in Saratoga Springs, Thorn + Roots is open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

The new additions to the business will prominently feature the company’s focus on expanding its product lines and growing the brand. The company’s ownership and staff have not changed. For more information on the rebrand or to learn more about Thorn + Roots, go to:  thornandroots.com.

BALLSTON SPA — Timothy E. Blow, executive vice president and chief financial officer at Ballston Spa National Bank (BSNB), has announced his retirement effective Dec. 31, 2021. 

Since joining BSNB in 2005, his responsibilities include strategic financial planning and oversight of the finance, IT, operations, compliance, and facilities functions. Blow’s leadership at BSNB caps a 33-year career in the Capital Region working in audit, advisory and corporate banking roles. 

“Tim’s contributions have been instrumental in helping BSNB achieve high levels of fiscal and operational effectiveness, the development of a sophisticated technology infrastructure, market expansion, and record financial performance. Of particular note was Tim’s leadership in the development of the company’s new corporate headquarters building in 2011,” said Christopher R. Dowd, president and chief executive officer at BSNB, in a statement. 

As part of the planned transition, James F. Dodd will be promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer effective July 1, 2021. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Whitman Brewing, located on Lake Avenue in downtown Saratoga Springs, was named among top new breweries in the country by USA Today’s “10Best” ratings. 

In its rankings, USA Today explains:  Craft breweries are opening in record numbers in the United States, hundreds each year. USA TODAY 10Best wanted to find the best new breweries in the country, ones founded in the past three years, so we asked our readers to vote for their favorites. A panel of experts partnered with 10Best editors to pick the initial nominees, and the top 10 winners were determined by popular vote.

Walt & Whitman Brewing Company in Saratoga Springs ranked #8 overall. 

Opened just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the brewery has navigated the last year, creating a safe environment for its patrons. Integrating its craft beer menu with a distinctive food menu that features Detroit style pizza, the brewery also features a full coffee shop.

Will Crager, co-owner and founder of Whitman says: beer at Whitman is not just something you can have a discussion over, but something that you can have a discussion about. It will challenge you to think about beer in a different way – as a foundation of culture and conversation. Conversation will not end here. It will extend into discussions on the space and the vibe. Stories of the photos on the wall. Discussions about music, history, art, poetry, and politics. Discussions amongst friends and family. And, yes, even discussions with the stranger sitting to the left or right of you at the bar.

For more information, go to:  waltandwhitmanbrewing.com