Starting in late-March as our economy was shut down, the Chamber has teamed up in an unprecedented fashion with Discover Saratoga, the Saratoga Springs DBA, the City Center, and the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership to do everything we could to help our local businesses to survive the COVID 19 pandemic.

We’ve helped hundreds maybe thousands of local businesses across Saratoga County. We’ve served members and non-members seeking to help everyone in this crisis. We’ve been relentless in our communications keeping people informed and answering their questions. No one’s done more promotion of local businesses than we have collectively. We’ve been advocates at the Federal, State, County and local levels. We’ve helped promote local efforts and programs designed to help local people from hospitality workers, to essential workers, to health care workers, and first responders.

Darryl Leggieri, Deann Devitt, Ryan McMahon, Shelby Schneider and I have dozens if not hundreds of thank you notes, emails and texts from those we’ve helped. I can’t speak for them but I know that I have worked harder in these last 8 months than I have in my entire 25-year career in chamber work. The work we’ve done, however, has been humbling in that those in need really needed our help. Their businesses and their way of life was at risk. The safety of their employees and their customers was at risk. With every call we took, you could hear the anxiety, the fear and the determination thankfully.

We’ve said throughout this process that we’re Stronger Together. Now that winter is here and COVID 19 is likely to be around for some time, this will be even more important going forward. We’re already seeing businesses close or announce plans to shut down for the winter. Those who remain in business are likely to still be restricted as to the number of customers they can serve at any one time whether they are barber shops and salons, yoga or fitness studios, museums or restaurants, clothing stores or flower shops. These restrictions to keep people safe are limiting the ability for local businesses, in particular, to make money and to sustain their operations.

So our five organizations have now formally launched our SAVE OUR LOCALS campaign. This campaign is an invitation to everyone in our communities locally to help. Shop local. Dine out or do take out local and remember to tip big. Hire local contractors. Purchase every product or service you need at home or at your place of business locally. If you must shop online, try to do so locally too. Our local businesses are counting on you and me to spend whatever discretionary monies we have at local businesses. Help the local businesses you love before they are gone forever.

The importance and value of the SAVE OUR LOCALS campaign was made clear to me because of a call from Anita Daly, the Chair of the Saratoga County Capital Resources Corporation (CRC). The CRC wanted to support this campaign. She asked for details on what we would be doing and how they might help. I told her that we hoped to raise $10,000 to support this campaign. A few days later, she called to tell me that the Saratoga County Capital Resources Corporation voted to donate $10,000. They wanted us to be able to do everything we planned. They wanted to go big in the effort to support local independent businesses across Saratoga County. Besides this donation, the Ballston Spa Business and Professional Association and the Mechanicville-Stillwater Chamber of Commerce also signed up to partner with our five organizations. 

You can see how these funds are being used by going to www.saratoga.org and clicking the SAVE OUR LOCALS button. From this page, you can get a list and links to local stores and businesses offering online gift cards. You can see an updated list of local restaurants doing take-out. We have a web page with links to local nonprofits who need our support as well. Visit us on social media to see the hundreds of posts we’re doing every week to promote local businesses, their hours of operation, their products, their specials and their Holiday gift ideas. We have SAVE OUR LOCALS posters too. We’re producing videos as well with tips and suggestions on how to SAVE OUR LOCALS. We’ve set up a help line for business owners to call to get answers or to get help. Our volunteer SCORE business advisors are ready to help business owners to adapt and to pivot their business plans, marketing, or operations to survive.

Like the Capital Resources Corporation, we’re going BIG to SAVE OUR LOCALS. We’re all wearing masks to keep each other safe and healthy. We all need to support local businesses as well to keep our local economy healthy too.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Seedlings Baby Food – the brainchild of Saratoga Hospital’s Chief of Newborn Medicine and Chair of Pediatrics, Dr. Jennifer Lefner, has come to life in the form of locally sourced, farm-fresh, responsibly grown and prepared baby food. 

In conjunction with 9 Miles East Farm, Seedlings endeavors to provide families with nutritious and delicious baby food. Dr. Lefner, double board certified pediatrician and neonatologist, launched the company with her husband, non-profit executive John Lefner. The family effort started in the Lefner’s kitchen when their two daughters, Sasha and Olivia, were infants. 

Seedlings is currently on sale at 9 Miles East Farm’s storefront at 64 Excelsior Ave. and available via Text-to-Order and Home Delivery Subscription Services.  To learn more about Seedlings, visit www.seedlingsbabyfood.com 

WILTON — Aldi, which counts 2,000 stores across 36 states, opens its newest store in Wilton this week. Located just off Lowe’s Drive, the grocer will be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. 

Headquartered in Illinois, Aldi has more than 2,000 stores across 36 states, employs over 25,000 people and has grown steadily since opening its first US store in Iowa in 1976. The company says its national expansion is part of its plan to become the third-largest U.S. grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022. 

“We are dedicated to providing the communities we serve the best groceries at the lowest-possible prices, and we look forward to introducing Saratoga Springs to their new neighborhood grocery store,” said Chris Daniels, South Windsor division vice president for ALDI, in a statement. 

Regionally, Aldi sites stores in Queensbury, Ballston Spa, Clifton Park and Glenville, according to the company’s store locator. The first store opened in 1961 in Germany. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Ravenous, a locally owned, chef-run creperie on Phila Street will be closing its doors at month’s end. 

“The outpouring of wishes, pain and sadness has been overwhelming. Let’s go out with a bang!” Ravenous owner David Zuka said in a post on the company’s Facebook page. “Let’s celebrate the past 21 years and renewed beginnings.” 

The decision to close was a difficult one, Zuka added, and the outpouring of love he’s received since the announcement, “overwhelming.”   

Ravenous will continue to operate through November with varying times of operation. Hours of operation and reservation information may best be found on the Ravenous’ Facebook page, Zuka said.    

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Hospital is among the nation’s first to earn a Clean Facility certificate, underscoring the healthcare organization’s commitment to hospital-grade cleaning and disinfection practices, including COVID-19-related protocols.

The certificate, from the Association for the Health Care Environment, attests that Saratoga Hospital has completed the Pathways to Clean program. Launched in response to the new coronavirus, the program includes education and training on infection prevention; cleaning, disinfection and sanitation; emerging pathogens; and preparedness for biological events.

“Our patients and staff deserve to know that we’re doing everything possible to keep their hospital hygienically clean and safe—and this certificate helps deliver that assurance,” said Jeffrey Casale, director of facilities operations at
Saratoga Hospital. 

 “We know a lot more about the new coronavirus than we did six months ago, but we still have much to learn,” he said. “Saratoga Hospital will continue to tap expert resources, stay on top of the latest information, and adopt best practices to protect patients, staff and our community.”

To date, individuals representing 11 organizations have completed the AHE Pathways to Clean certificate program. Saratoga Hospital is the first in New York state.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The area’s longest running farmers’ market, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market Association, will open their indoor winter market season on Saturday, November 7, continuing at the Wilton Mall. Markets will run each Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. and will feature 50+ vendors selling a full range of locally produced items including fresh produce, ready-to-eat foods, and artisanal products. The market will be in the mall’s food court, accessible from the Bow Tie Cinemas mall entrance and from the mall interior.

The market’s summer season is currently running in the parking lot just outside of the food court. The mall location allows the markets to maintain COVID-19 social distancing and safety requirements. Association representatives and mall management staff are now focused on providing a similarly safe shopping experience indoors by taking measures such as spacing vendor stalls further apart, providing extra hand washing and sanitizing opportunities, and closely monitoring crowds.

Market manager Emily Meagher added: “We are working to continue the safe and pleasant shopping experience that we have established this summer, and are grateful to the Wilton Mall management for providing us with the additional space needed to accomplish this goal. Our vendors will continue to provide fresh and local food to help our community stay healthy throughout the winter.”

About the Saratoga Farmers’ Market:

Beginning in 1978 with a handful of vendors in a parking lot, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market
has grown to be one of the area’s largest markets. 

It is a year-round not for profit organization, which from November through April will host more than 50 vendors each Saturday, selling fresh and local produce, meats, eggs, dairy products, baked goods, jams, wine, spirits, coffee, soap, flowers, art, ready-to-eat foods, and more. The market provides customers with locally made products from five counties: Saratoga, Schenectady, Rensselaer, Washington, and Warren. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is proud to be a predominantly agricultural market. More information is at www.saratogafarmersmarket.org and on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

This ski season Alpine Sport Shop turns 80!  It is not the year we had imagined to celebrate this milestone, though we are so grateful, as we continue to serve the greater Saratoga region and beyond as Saratoga’s ski shop!

Hosting Warren Miller’s  newest Ski movie in November has always been the kick-off to another ski season at Alpine Sport Shop. This year Warren Miller’s, movie, “Future Retro” will be held as a live stream movie event on November 7 at 7 p.m. We will all be in our own homes watching, but we will be watching it together!  With every streaming pass purchased through the link on Alpine Sports Shops’s website alpinesportshop.com $3 will be donated to Double H Ranch Winter Adaptive Program. 

Our gift giveaway just got better!…Including four pair of skis! From K-2, Rossignol, Nordica, and Volkl

Alpine Sport Shop…SKI giveaway!…With your $15. in store donation to Double H, you will receive a “Take Home Double H Raffle Pack” that includes popcorn, chocolate, and raffle tickets for your chance to win skis, helmets, googles and more! $4,000 in gifts will be given away, and with only 100 gift packs there are many chances to win…and they are going fast! 

The winners will be chosen on the night of November 7, in conjunction with Warren Miller’s movie, Future Retro.

For more information go to alpinesportshop.com

WILTON — The Saratoga County Capital Resources Corporation on Oct. 26 donated $10,000 to the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce’s Save Our Locals campaign. 

The funds will be used to create a help line for use by businesses in Saratoga County during the pandemic as well as to create boosted social media posts and videos to promote hundreds of local independently owned businesses.

The announcement of the donation was made by Anita Daly and Art Johnson, Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of the Capital Resources Corporation, as well as Raymond O’Conor, the organization’s Chief Executive Officer. 

“We all realize just how important it is to help our local independently owned firms across all of Saratoga County as they face restrictions and limitations to stop the spread of COVID 19,” said Daly, in a statement. “The leadership provided by the Chamber for all businesses across Saratoga County during this pandemic provided our board with the confidence to know that they will use these funds wisely to help the businesses we love to survive this crisis.”

The Chamber launched the Save Our Locals campaign on Oct. 16. Local businesses interested in joining the Save Our Local campaign are invited to visit www.saratoga.org and to click the Save Our Locals button. They can also send an email to info@saratoga.org to ask to be included in the boosted social media posts, the Take Out Promotion or the Online Gift Card promotion. 

The SCCRC is a local not for profit development company that provides low interest rate tax-exempt and taxable debt financing to not- for- profit and other organizations. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Bake, batter, glaze, and healthcare marketing: ingredients at first glance seemingly stirred into an unlikely mix, yet the blend works perfectly. 

Ed Mitzen toured The Bread Basket Bakery late last spring, eyeing the Springs Street building up for sale as a potential investment. Longtime owner Joan Tallman started the bakery out of her basement in 1982 and was interested in retiring. However, with a desire to see the bakery continue, she was looking to find someone interested in acquiring both the building and the business. 

“I know absolutely nothing about the bakery business and the absolutely last thing you want to see is me meddling in any kind of baking endeavor,” Mitzen says with a laugh. 

A solution emerged: Tallman’s son, Matt, agreed to stay on as the general manager. So too would the bakers and chefs. Ed Mitzen and wife Lisa purchased the popular bakeshop in July and will continue the Bread Basket Bakery tradition in downtown Saratoga Springs.

“We didn’t want to change anything about the bakery – the scones, the cakes, the pie recipes, the logo or the name,” Mitzen says. “The only thing Lisa and I thought would be a nice touch would be to donate all the profits to charity and keep the bakery intact the way Joan envisioned it and ran it the past 30-plus years. It’s such a charming staple and beautiful location in the city, so it’s a real honor to continue the tradition. Everybody wins. And I get to show up and get a free blueberry muffin every once in a while.” 

The business closed for a few weeks in September for renovations and a baker who had worked for one of the Emeril restaurants in New Orleans was brought aboard. 

The goal Mitzen says is to present a check – at least quarterly and potentially monthly – to non-profits across the region. The recipient organizations have yet to be chosen, but in keeping with the bakery’s new mission of donating all of its ongoing profits to charity, the Mitzens will this week present a check for $25,000 to Capital Roots, the Troy-based nonprofit whose mission is to reduce the impact of poor nutrition on public health. 

“Anything we make in terms of profitability we’re going to donate back to charity. We’re still getting our arms around the financials for this year, but Lisa and I wanted to make a check presentation to sort of prime the pump for what’s going to come,” Mitzen says. “ I can’t say that we made $25,000 in profit over the past few months, we haven’t, but we thought it would be a good thing to do just to let everyone know that it’s real, that we’re going to be donating the money and once we get into the holiday season and business starts to pick up with pies and cakes and breads, we’ll be able to get a better handle on exactly how much we’re making.” 

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Mitzen founded Fingerpaint marketing company in 2008 and has maintained a philanthropic presence in the community. In 2017, the Mitzens offered to fund the construction of a permanent Code Blue emergency homeless shelter next to the existing quarters of its parent company Shelters of Saratoga. Neighborhood pushback negated the development of a permanent shelter at the location, and Code Blue continues to operate on a transitory basis. “It’s frustrating because I know we could have had a building built by now, but we’ll get there eventually,” Mitzen says.  “Mine and Lisa’s offer to build the shelter still stands, it’s just that navigating the political and legal landscape of Saratoga is not always easy.”

Fingerpaint maintains five offices around the country, each operating under different protocols depending on safety guidelines the varying states where the offices are located. “For the most part the offices are partially open with restrictions and precautions in place, so people have the ability to come and go.” As a business owner with employees, Mitzen says there have been new lessons to be learned that may be applied in a post-COVID business world. 

“I think you’re going to see it will come back to a certain degree, but we’ve all learned different ways of doing things through all this. Admittedly I was a huge anti-proponent of working from home. I always felt if someone said they wanted to work from home they would be mowing their yard and watching ESPN, that they’re not committed, but now I’ve done a complete 180. Our folks have been unbelievably productive – probably more productive than they’ve been in the office,” he said. “I do think as human beings we require social interaction to be emotionally centered and to thrive and I do think at some point we’ll gravitate back to that when it’s safer.   

“The thing I love about the Bread Basket model is that it’s sustainable. We’re not just writing a check and going away. It’s around this idea of social entrepreneurship where we can help established businesses, or help people get their businesses going that ultimately helps to give back to their employees and their communities,” he says. “I grew up in Vorheesville in a traditional middle-class neighborhood and had a very happy childhood, but I also am very aware that there are a lot of people who haven’t fared so well, especially recently. You look at the gap between the haves and the have-nots, which has been exponentially increasing, and I just feels really good to help other people. It’s very rewarding.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Julie & Co. Realty has announced Emily Frost as the newest member of the brokerage.

A licensed real estate salesperson, Frost was born and raised in Queensbury. In 2011, she graduated from the State University of New York with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Communications. She applied her knowledge to a hands-on sales role managing representatives throughout the state of New York for five years. 

Frost specializes in residential sales and leases, first time home buyers, condos, and townhomes. 

For more information, call 518-350-SOLD (7653), email info@juliecorealty.com or visit www.JulieCoRealty.com