Restaurant closures affect economy in Hadley-Luzerne
Four restaurants in the Hadley/Lake Luzerne corridor have closed in recent years, the Chronicle is reporting on its front page this week. That leaves the central business district without a dinner restaurant, the story says. One local business owner says the time is right to start trolley runs from the Lake Luzerne area to Lake George while a restaurant owner says the boost in minimum wage means the dishwasher and the chef make close to the same money, and larger restaurants can easily lure the skilled labor away, the story says.
Bolton’s Gem is open
The Lake George Mirror has a profile (see page 5) of the new Gem Restaurant in Bolton Landing. The former Sagamore Pub and connected liquor store, now the Little Gem, was purchased in 2020 by two married couples, Paty Bocato and her world-famous mixologist husband Richard Bocato along with Kirby and Kristan Farmer, the story says. The story has pictures of the renovated space.
[See our previous coverage here.]
Crossgates sells land for apartments
The owner of Crossgates Mall has sold nearby land to a developer who plans to build a 222-apartment complex. Gabelry Development, LLC, part of the United Group of Cos., bought two parcel for over $8 million, the Albany Business Journal is reporting. The sale has been a few years in the making.
TrustCo bank fills branches
When most banks are shuttering branches and focusing efforts on online banking, TrustCo Bank is following an expansion strategy that relies on small, cost-effective branches, and they have opened yet another branch, their 67th in the region, this time in Loudonville. Branches are billboards for local customers and customers then use the bank’s own ATMs, which lowers fees, a story in the Albany Business Journal says. The Loudonville branch was a Bank of America branch, and filling pre-built spaces is part of the TrustCo plan, too.
Stec has the backbone to fight animals that don’t
The municipalities surrounding lakes in northern New York need a stronger tool to fight invasive invertebrates, animals such as zebra mussels that have no backbone, and State Sen. Dan Stec of Queensbury is pushing legislation to do it, the Post-Star says. State law already allows municipalities to create lakefront taxing districts that fight invasive aquatic plants. Land owners within the district pay an extra tax, and the money goes toward eradication. Stec’s bill would add the invertebrate animals to the list. It failed over a technicality this year but he fights on.
Vestal-based auto group buys Fuccillo Hyundai, Kia
Matthews Auto Group, of Vestal near Binghamton, bought the Hyundai and Kia dealerships from the Fuccillo Autogroup, the second time recently that the local dealership has sold properties. The purchase is the first in the Capital Region for Matthews, the Times Union says.