PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
GBJ 9 Broad Street Glens Falls, NY 12801
VOL. 35 NO. 03
PAID
GLENS FALLS, NY 12801 PERMIT #600
HH The Business Newspaper of Warren and Washington Counties HH
www.glensfallsbusinessjournal.com
MAY 2023
Common Roots Brewing To Expand With A Full Slate Of Summer Activities Planned Acquisition Of CH Evans Brewing In Albany At West Mountain Ski Area In Queensbury
From left, Bert Weber, Neil Evans, Christian Weber and Rowland Evans at the Albany Pump Station. The Webers are owners of Common Roots in South Glens Falls. Common Roots Brewing Co. in South Glens Falls is under contract to acquire the assets of CH Evans Brewery at the Albany Pump Station. Common Roots will purchase the building and take over the full operations at the iconic downtown Albany location this November, the company said in a statement. In announcing the acquisition, Christian and Bert Weber, owners of Common Roots, said, “We are both excited and humbled to be continuing the CH Evans legacy while bringing this historic building into the Common Roots family”. CH Evans owner Neil Evans made the decision to sell the operations and was looking for a buyer who would continue the tradition and help elevate the business to the next level. A mutual acquaintance brought the
Courtesy Common Roots Brewing
brewery owners together and an agreement was reached in late March. “We are thrilled to be able to continue the historic operations at the Albany Pump Station while expanding the Common Roots brand there,” the Webers said. Common Roots has agreed to continue to brew some CH Evans original recipes and will supplement this with Common Roots beers and a newly revised menu after the anticipated sale is finalized in November 2023. This will be Common Roots Brewing’s first expansion outside of its original South Glens Falls locations and satisfies the company’s established goal to open a Capital Region location. Evans noted “My family and I are grateful that Bert and Christian and the Common Continued On Page 13
West Mountain’s five-acre Aerial Treetop Adventure Park is one of most popular outdoor recreational attractions in summer, with six high-ropes courses for all different ability levels. BY PAUL POST Snow is still melting off the slopes and West Mountain already has a full slate of summer activities planned including a brand-new Sunday farmer’s market (9 a.m. to noon) from June 4 to Labor Day Weekend. “There’s really not a lot on this side of town in terms of grocery shopping. I know how successful the Glens Falls Farmer’s Market is and thought was a good opportunity to have one in Queensbury and another way of bringing people to the mountain,” said Sara Montgomery, who co-owns the resort with her husband, Spencer. Vendors will offer farm, food, jewelry, art and floral goods and products. Bread maker Rachael Lujbli currently belongs to the Lake George Farmer’s Market, but not Glens Falls—which is held Saturdays on South Street—so the West Mountain event is opening doors for her to
Courtesy West Mountain
a whole new customer base. Rachael’s Breads most popular items are sourdough, cinnamon buns and cookies. “People are going to find healthier and more local products when they go to a farmer’s market,” she said. “Everything I have is organic so I feel like it’s the perfect market for me.” West Mountain will have its own farm stand featuring King Brothers Dairy products and pies from the well-known Smith’s Orchard Bake Shop in Ballston Spa, which get shipped throughout the country. “Our fall festival started small and has grown over the years, so I’m hoping the Farmer’s Market does the same,” Montgomery said. “It’s gotten a lot of publicity, a lot of shares on social media. People seem to be very excited about it.” The market is the latest of several efforts West Continued On Page 15
Construction Companies Are Involved Garnet Produced By Barton Mines Plays A With Projects Large And Small This Season Key Role In Refurbishing U.S. Aircraft Carrier BY R.J. DELUKE Construction season this year is seeing a variety of companies in the area involved in numerous projects, sizeable and otherwise, as business moves forward in spite of concerns about the economy. Rob Holbrook, president of V&H Construction in Fort Edward, said he is optimistic about the construction industry in the region. “We’ve been straight out since COVID,” he said, though he noted there could be a “cooling off” period on the horizon. Like others, he said finding qualified workers is still an issue. “I could use more people. I can’t hire enough qualified people right now,” said Holbrook. Dan Washburn, a partner with Hilltop Construction in Hudson Falls, hiring is a bonifide issue. “Qualified workers have decreased and are harder to find,” he said, while noting it is not a new problem, rather one that has persisted for some years. Nonetheless, “we’ve got a really good crew,” said Washburn. Of the general state of the industry, he said “for us, it’s very good. We have alot of irons in the fire ... It’s a very good outlook for this year and through next fall and into winter.” Projects are
V&H is building a new Hoffman’s Car Wash routes 197 and 9 in South Glens Falls. already being scheduled for 2024, he said. Jim Dawsey, president of MLB Construction Services LLC, said work is still robust in the Capital District in general and northward to the Continued On Page 8
For the second time in recent years, Adirondack garnet mined from Barton Mines’ quarry in Johnsburg and processed into an abrasive blasting product at the company’s plant in Indian Lake is playing a key role in the refurbishment of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier. Barton Mines is a family-owned company, headquartered in Glens Falls, that has been mining garnet in the Adirondack region since 1878. Barton Adirondack 30/60 CG garnet blast abrasive is being used to clean and prepare the entire steel exterior of the USS John C. Stennis for the application of a new protective coating. The work is being performed by Barton’s customer Mid-Atlantic Coatings, Inc. (MAC) at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia where the Stennis is in the midst of a four-year refurbishment. The same Barton product was used by MAC on the USS George Washington during the surface preparation phase of that ship’s refurbishment, which began in 2017. “Barton products are American-made by a family-owned company and we’re immensely proud and humbled to serve the brave men and women who serve our nation every day,” said Barton CEO Randy Rapple. “Whenever we see or hear about the USS Stennis or George Washington, Barton employees, many of whom
Barton Mines crushes garnet from rocks and processes it into abrasive products. are veterans themselves, will know they played a part in keeping the ships at sea.” Barton’s garnet blast abrasive is propelled against the ship’s steel by high-pressure air in a Continued On Page 11