Foodie 💪 heavyweights join forces
BUT FIRST: The ✌️ two future hotspots that recently, quietly opened — and their winter-specific MO.
Happy Monday, Dispatchers!
Two (very different) stories in one day about movers and shakers in the Saratoga dining scene jockeying for position before the summer influx.
❄️ In the meantime, I’m stranded in NYC, so this week might be a little off-schedule — and that summer season couldn’t come fast enough.
Let’s get to it.
— Abby
2 ✌️ hot openings, 1 winter-specific MO
Two new spots have opened quietly downtown, saving the hoopla and parties for warmer weather. In the meantime? Us locals get the place all to ourselves. See you there?
In-the-know locals only please — at least for now.
Contractors, permits and staffing oh my: You can’t always plan exactly when your new future hotspot is going to open. With that in mind, two new watering holes have launched during the dead of an incredibly snowy and bitterly cold winter. The result? Quiet openings, with the major hoopla being reserved for warmer weather.
First up: Hi-Note’s opening was eagerly anticipated as early as the fall of 2025, with rumors swirling of a music tie-in. In January, the bar opened in a decidedly (but very welcome) low key. Taquero owners Brady Dillon, Corey Melancon and Ryan Reed, with newcomer Rob Rezin (and his Familiar Creature credentials) designed and masterminded the concept, which feels equal parts louche ‘70s cocktail lounge and a cooler version of the coolest basement you hung out in as a kid for chill and mellow fun.
Also new on the scene: Keuka Spring Vineyards, which just did their Chamber ribbon-cutting on Friday afternoon. “Lots more parties to come,” the tasting room’s Autumn Manning promised.
Hi-Note — which is small and cozy, but sleek in a neon / jean jacket / puff sleeve / statement blush kind of way — has the same idea. “We’ll be slowly ramping up our activity online as we continue settling into our operations,” Rezin says, “and will expand hours as we get closer to summer.”
For now, head down there both to support local — and to be one of the first ones to see these guys’ fun new concept.
“Our hope was to create a place that felt familiar and where folks would feel comfortable, where folks always leave in a good mood,” says Rezin. “It seems like we’ve accomplished that.”
The response on social media has been as spirited as the vibe: “awesome concept,” “absolutely delicious drinks,” and even just a simple “Woo!!”
Favorite tipples vary depending on the night, with food being kept to a streamlined bar fave.
“Folks seem to really appreciate the way we’ve assembled our [drinks] menu and haven’t had trouble finding something they like,” Rezin says. “It’s too soon to anoint any one as the favorite, and we’re always tinkering a little bit and trying to make improvements where we can. I can say anyone who’s had it before, really loves to see that we stock Montucky.”
The crisp, refreshing lager is sessionable—and donates 8% of its proceeds to local nonprofits. Perfect for pairing with Hi-Note’s empanadas.
“We’re keeping it simple,” he says, “and offering empanadas with a few sauce options.
Visit Hi-Note at 63 Putnam Street. Keuka Spring is located at 15 Spring Street.
🗓️ You’re invited (and don’t have to leave home)
The President Emeritus of Skidmore College, Philip A. Glotzbach, is speaking tonight on Zoom as the (free!) kickoff for the Torch Club’s Torch Radio series. The author of Embrace Your Freedom: Winning Strategies for Success in College and Life. goes on at 7 p.m. “Glotzbach retired in 2017…but the questions that animated his tenure have followed him into a new chapter of civic and intellectual life—one marked by continued writing, mentoring, and an ongoing engagement with the national conversation about the future of liberal education,” writes the Torch Club. “Friends say he now enjoys the luxury of asking the questions rather than answering them, yet he remains, unmistakably, an educator at heart.”
Visit saratogatorchclub.org to register for this free event tonight, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
🌎 It’s compost time
Registration is now open for Saratoga Springs Community Compost Program’s second year, a joint effort between Pitney Meadows and Sustainable Saratoga. After the first successful run, the initiative is able to accept 150 households — up from 107 during its pilot season, which diverted more than 10,000 pounds of food scraps from going to the landfill. It is also extending the program to last from mid-April to mid-November, and boasts more flexible drop-off hours and an expansion of accepted materials.
For more information and to register, please visit pitneymeadows.org.
F&B 💪 heavyweights join forces
What do the Coat Room and Standard Fare now have in common?
Dan Cohen is coming to Phila Street.
After earning some A-list bragging rights in ultra-glam Palm Beach and at international juggernaut Tao, the Saratogian was part of the ownership team that launched the super-hot summer rooftop and hot new dinner program at Coat Room.
And now he’s joining forces with Zac Denham and Clark Gale as a minority partner of Standard Fare, the classic American restaurant they opened after enjoying much success across Phila — Downtown’s new restaurant row — at Bocage Champagne Bar.
For his first syndicate play with his investor group Twins & Losses, Cohen collected a group of friends “that have a lot of their own small businesses, go out a lot, and have a lot of connections” to join him as equal percentage equity partners (but under his firm). The deal was celebrated Sunday, Feb. 22.
“Zac and Clark have years and years of experience,” Cohen says. “They have what it takes to make an experience special, to touch tables and make you feel like you’re a guest. You go back to the people that take care of you, and Saratoga has a small pool of great people that can do that.”
Cohen’s crew does not have any ownership of Bocage — but that could change if the “little bubble bar,” as often Denham calls it, expands.
“I like the possibility of being involved with more Bocages in the future,” Cohen says. “Being a small space, non-restaurant could work in places all over the country: New Orleans, Charleston, Vegas. In the meantime, it’s more of a project and great hospitality group to have fun with and help grow.”
The new deal does not affect Cohen’s involvement with Coat Room.
📌 ICYMI…
Do ‘starter homes’ still exist in Saratoga?
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