GLENS FALLS BUSINESS JOURNAL • JANUARY 2026 • 1
GBJ 9 Broad Street #7 Glens Falls, NY 12801
GLENS FALLS BUSINESS JOURNAL
VOL. 38 NO. 02
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APRIL 2026
Queensbury Plaza Adds Three New Log Jam Restaurant Celebrates 50 Years Businesses As Leasing Momentum Builds Of Consistency And Economic Impact
Construction is underway on a new 7 Brew drive-thru coffee kiosk at Queensbury Plaza on Upper Glen Street, one of three businesses set to join the shopping center as leasing activity builds. BY PAUL POST Three new firms are coming to Queensbury Plaza on Upper Glen Street, triggering interest from other retailers that could fill the site’s remaining vacancies. Construction is underway for a 7 Brew drivethrough-only coffee kiosk, a Burlington clothing store will occupy the former Joann Fabrics and Crafts space, and a Mexican restaurant, Mi Rancho Alegre, is taking over the former Red Lobster site. “The business climate in Queensbury is quite strong right now,” said Michael Palumbo, chief operating officer of Rochester-based Flaum Management Co., the plaza’s owner. “Tourism in that area seems to be growing, driving traffic up there. That’s what is prompting these tenants to be looking for new locations. I think our shop-
Glens Falls Business Journal
ping center is probably the most well-positioned in Queensbury.” “We’ve got some other nationals looking at the plaza now, so we’re working on a couple deals for the last few vacancies,” he said. “Having the right mix of tenants, visibility and positioning — all of these things go into site selection by nationals and even the regionals.” 7 Brew and Burlington are expected to open by early summer, with Mi Rancho Alegre coming online around Labor Day. The three firms combined are expected to create at least 40 new jobs. Arkansas-based 7 Brew, founded in 2017, is one of the country’s fastest-growing drivethrough beverage brands, featuring items such as coffees, shakes, smoothies, teas, fizzy sodas, Continued On Page 9
The Log Jam Restaurant Rt. 9-149 in Lake George marks 50 years as a landmark dining destination, with steady operations and a long role in the region’s seasonal hospitality economy. BY STAFF WRITER For 50 years, consistent management and operations have made The Log Jam Restaurant a landmark destination restaurant and steady economic contributor in one of New York’s most seasonal tourism markets. “My biggest thing is consistency,” said Tony Grecco, who has spent nearly four decades with the business and more than 30 years in a management role. “I want people to know when they come, what they’re going to get, and it’s going to be the same every time.” That consistency has translated into scale. The restaurant seats approximately 250 guests and, during peak August demand, turns tables three times per night while averaging about 600 dinners. Lunch service adds another 300 to 400 customers daily, bringing total volume to between 800 and
Courtesy Log Jam
1,000 patrons on a typical summer day. The menu remains rooted in steakhouse tradition, with custom-cut steaks prepared in-house alongside seafood and fish offerings. That consistent approach to quality, combined with the restaurant’s signature salad bar, has helped define its identity for generations of customers. In a tourism-driven market like Lake George, where seasonal fluctuations can challenge staffing, pricing and operations, that level of sustained volume carries broader economic implications. The Log Jam supports a workforce of roughly 100 to 130 employees during peak periods, with a core group of about 50 to 60 returning year after year. Many have been with the restaurant for 15, 20 or even 25 years, including kitchen staff, dishwashers and front-of-house employees. The business Continued On Page 11
Siena Research Institute Reports New York Downtown Glens Falls Liquor Store Consumer Sentiment Lowest Since 2022 Opens After Lengthy Licensing Process The New York State Index of Consumer Sentiment fell to 65.6 in the first quarter, down 3.2 points from the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the Siena Research Institute. The reading is the state’s lowest since June 2022. Siena said New York sentiment remains above the national index of 53.3, which rose 0.4 points. New York’s current index slipped 0.4 points to 63.3, while the measure of future expectations dropped 4.8 points to 67.2. Siena said future confidence in New York is at its lowest level since October 2013 and that the overall index has been below the breakeven point of balanced optimism and pessimism for five straight quarters. “While the national Index of Consumer Sentiment rose slightly, mostly driven by the sharp increase in the current sentiment, New York’s overall Index dropped by 3.2 points,” according to Travis Brodbeck, SRI’s Associate Director of Data Management. “In New York, the drop in the Index is driven by the steep decline in future confidence, the Index of Consumer Expectations, which is at its lowest point since October of 2013. Both in New York and nationally, there was at least a 2.9-point drop in future confidence. In New York, confidence in the future dropped across all demographic groups with the most dramatic decline among Republicans dropping 14.1 points to 74.9.” Siena said buying plans were mostly un-
changed. Intentions to buy a home fell 1.0 percentage point to 9.9%. Plans to buy a car or truck declined 0.7 percentage point to 18.3%, and major home improvement plans edged down to 22.1%. Plans to buy consumer electronics rose to 41.6%, and plans to purchase furniture increased 5.6 percentage points to 30.1%. Siena reported that 79% of New Yorkers said food costs were having a very or somewhat serious impact on their financial condition, and 51% said the same about gasoline prices, up five points from last quarter. Utilities were cited as a very or somewhat serious impact by 75%, up five points. “Gas prices are up and so is the number of New Yorkers who say that gas prices are having a serious impact on their financial condition”, Brodbeck said. “To ensure we are capturing the evolving situation impacting the budgets of New Yorkers, we took two additional measurements on the seriousness of gas prices. First, we conducted an online poll of 389 state residents in late March and found that 70% say that gas prices are seriously impacting their financial condition. In our survey of New York’s registered voters released earlier this week, 64% of voters said that gas prices are having a somewhat or very serious impact on their financial condition. The trend from these three measurements shows that as geopolitContinued On Page 2
BY CAROL ANN CONOVER Tim Ortiz spent four years, a small fortune in rent and a detour through the state Legislature before he finally made his first sale at Glens Falls Liquor, the downtown storefront he had long envisioned filling a conspicuous gap in the city’s retail landscape. Ortiz, a musician and longtime resident of downtown Glens Falls, opened the shop on Glen Street in early March 2026 after signing a lease in July 2024 and paying full rent every month through a protracted licensing process. The store occupies a small, carefully curated space, where Ortiz said he deliberately chose not to expand into a larger adjacent unit. “I wanted to open a business in Glens Falls since I live downtown, and I started thinking about what the area didn’t have yet,” Ortiz said. “What it didn’t have was a place to buy a bottle of wine or liquor downtown.” The idea came to him after late nights playing gigs. The nearest option, he said, was a drive to another local store just outside town. “Literally one night well, a few nights, I wanted to get a bottle of something after a gig, but everything around was closed,” he said. “So I thought, there should be a liquor store here. Why don’t we have a small liquor store?”
Tim Ortiz poses inside Glens Falls Liquor, his new downtown shop on Glen Street. Glens Falls Business Journal
He filed for the DBA “Glens Falls Liquor” four years ago. What he did not anticipate was that the licensing process would require an act of the state Legislature. After the State Liquor Authority initially denied his application over a proximity isContinued On Page 11