Issuu

SBJ 9 Broad Street #7 Glens Falls, NY 12801

SARATOGA BUSINESS JOURNAL

VOL. 27 NO. 010

HH The Business Newspaper of Saratoga County HH

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

GLENS FALLS, NY 12801 PERMIT #600

DECEMBER 2022

www.saratogabusinessjournal.com

State’s Innovation Summit Will Be Held At West Mountain And Gore Ski Centers Saratoga City Center In October Of 2023 Anticipate Strong Season Based on Early Sales

This is one of the exhibits at the 2022 Innovation Summit held in Buffalo. Next year’s event will bring exhibitors and attendees to Saratoga Springs. Next year’s New York State Innovation Summit will be held in October in Saratoga Springs, presenters of the event NYSTAR and FuzeHub announced last month. The event will be held Oct. 16-17 at the Saratoga City Center. The multi-day event is for New York state organizations that want to showcase and discover new and emerging technologies that support innovation and drive business growth. It serves as an opportunity to foster collaboration; introduce industry to experts that can assist growth, strengthen our statewide innovation ecosystem and showcase promising early stage companies. “Whether you’re a startup, an economic developer, or an established manufacturer, the NYS Innovation Summit is for you,” organizers

Courtesy FuzeHub

said. The 2023 New York State Innovation Summit will showcase companies and researchers at the forefront of emerging technologies and new advancements in production capabilities. The event celebrates New York State leadership in technology-led economic growth with experts in biotechnology, new materials, energy innovation, and artificial intelligence that will explore current technology convergence opportunities, ways to accelerate commercialization, and issues of manufacturing sustainability. The decision by the organizers — Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), and FuzeHub, the statewide center for the New York Continued On Page 15

West Mountain installed a radio-frequency identification system that will help with the staffing shortages by reducing the need for ticket takers. The anticipated opening is Dec. 24. BY CHRISTINE GRAF With ski season officially underway, staffs at Gore Mountain and West Mountain are gearing up for what is likely to be another very busy winter. Last season, Gore had a record-breaking year for both revenue and season pass sales. According to Gore’s general manager James “Bone” Bayse, pass sales for the 2022-2023 season have been strong. “I’m not sure that we will break last year’s record because it was so high, but we will be very close. At the moment, we are tracking that way.” Meanwhile at West Mountain in Queensbury, “Last winter was a good, solid, profitable year,” said co-owner Spencer Montgomery. “Coming into this year, revenue-wise which includes season passes, we are up about 20 percent over last year. We presell school programs, and that has been really

Courtesy West Mountain

strong this year. We’re on a fiscal year that starts May 1 and we’re probably pushing a 30 percent increase in sales for the same period last year.” During the off season at Gore, an additional 230 snow guns were added to the snowmaking fleet. Some of these guns will be used on the new trail that was cut into Burnt Ridge Mountain. This 60-foot-wide, intermediate-rated trail with grooming and snowmaking capabilities is called Backwoods. It will enter near the top of the Burnt Ridge Quad and run alongside the Barkeater Glades, ending just uphill of the Roaring Brook Bridge at the bottom of the Pipeline. Others snow guns will be used on the interconnect trails that lead to Gore’s North Creek Ski Bowl area. In January 2022, officials at Gore unveiled Continued On Page 7

Motif Opens As Showroom For Interior SARATOGA CoWorks Opens Third Branch And Architectural Designer Kennedy Taylor In Saratoga Springs; Space Filling Fast BY SUSAN ELISE CAMPBELL Only one year after starting her own residential interior and architectural design business, Stuidio K owner Kennedy Taylor has opened a retail showroom called Motif Home Gallery that she says “bridges the gap” for homeowners, design professionals and vendors. The new venture comes at a time when home renovation has been in high demand, especially for the large scale remodels and luxury construction that is Taylor’s niche. “Motif is a one-stop shop where homeowners can have their spaces deigned from the ground up,” she said. “We display some favorite vendors of lighting, fixtures, wall coverings, fabric and furniture and assorted items of cool and unique home décor, all under one roof.” Taylor plans to introduce cabinetry displays in the spring, she said. Describing her style as “a mix of classic Americana and modern with some rock ’n roll,” Taylor said, “I like high-end glamour and elegance with a little glitter among the refined.” It’s a style that was informed in part by her education at Academy of Art University in San Francisco and her career training after graduation under Kevin Sawyers, whose work has been acclaimed and featured in both trade and national publications.

However, Taylor said another mentor, John Witt of Saratoga-based Witt Construction, “taught me everything I know about design. Witt Construction does not take on a lot of interns, but I had an internship since the age of 16 designing floor plans and exteriors.” “I had learned the architectural software and Continued On Page 13

BY CHRISTINE GRAF In response to the growing demand for coworking spaces, SARATOGA CoWorks has opened its third location at 92 Congress St. in Saratoga Springs. SARATOGA CoWorks provides fully remote, hybrid, or independent professionals with a shared workspace that features all of the amenities of a traditional office. The company’s other locations are at 462 Broadway and 153 Regent St. Owners Dan Bullis and Dorothy Rogers-Bullis also own drb Business Interiors, a commercial design and furniture company. That company designed and outfitted each of the three SARATOGA CoWorks spaces. After purchasing the building at 92 Congress Street, the couple transformed the second floor into a state of the art coworking space. It features private offices, suites, private desks, best in class internet, security, kitchen and on site parking. Falkbuilt wall systems were used for floor to ceiling privacy and reduced sound. Before going into business for themselves, Bullis was the director for a large commercial design and furniture company out of NYS. He and RogersBullis purchased a division of the company and moved it to Saratoga Springs, NY. “We leveraged everything – out house, our kids’ college education money – during the worst eco-

nomic downturn in history,” said Rogers-Bullis. “IT was the scariest thing we ever did.” They moved their newly-established business to Saratoga Springs where they had virtually no business. Although the store was losing money every month, they managed to hold on. “We got through it,” said Bullis. “They say when Continued On Page 17