Food Archives

Bogey’s Veterans Day Celebration

Written by Kate Haggerty on November 11, 2022. Posted in Business, Community, Entertainment, Featured, Food, News.

Bogey’s Pub and Grill located at 31 Cronin Road in Queensbury is honoring those who served and are currently serving with Veterans Day specials. For this Veterans Day celebration, Bogey’s offerings include free golf, 20% off food and $2 domestic beers.

Located on the Bay Meadow Golf Course, Bogey’s is family run and operated. Deric Buck, owner of Bogey’s, has offerings for both lunch and dinner. This extensive menu has items for the whole family. Diners and golfers alike will find menu items that range from lite fare to entrees that come with house salad and rolls. Bogey’s would never forget the kids. Kids menu includes grilled cheese with fries, kids burger with fries, chicken tenders with fries and mac and cheese.

The extensive menu features generous portions. The signature lunch items are served with a choice of kettle chips, fries, or coleslaw and pickle. For an additional $2.00, you can upgrade to sweet potato, cottage cheese or waffle fries. Prime rib is also available on Fridays and Saturdays. Bogey’s prefers reservations but they are not necessary. The restaurant and bar has options for everyone from a pub style environment to event spaces available for private parties. This venue is an ideal location for reunions, birthday parties and corporate events.

Bogey’s also offers more fun! There is karaoke on Fridays and live music on Saturdays. Please come and share your Veterans Day with our Bogey’s family and let us thank you and your family for your service. Please visit Bogey’s Pub and Grill at Bay Meadows for more information.

Coming Soon: Go Play With Your Food

Written by Kate Haggerty on November 7, 2022. Posted in Business, Columns, Community, Downtown, Entertainment, Featured, Food, News.

Glens Falls seems to inspire the entrepreneurial spirit. This new inspiration comes in the form of a new restaurant concept that is sweeping the world. Go Play With Your Food, a board game tavern, will find its home as a tenant in 126 Glen Street. This historical building was bought in August 2022, by Elizabeth MIller for $845,000.

Mark and Kristin Shaw were board game skeptics turned devotees to the board game world. The Shaws’ along with six investors are responsible for bringing this concept to Glens Falls. Board games are growing in popularity as are board game eateries. Shaw and his wife were convinced by friends in North Carolina to “go out and play” and have enjoyed the concept ever since.

The increase in popularity of board games is due to a few factors. During the pandemic board games became a preferred form of entertainment for families. Board games have also evolved. Games are more challenging for the players. They have more than one outcome which encourages the player to play the game more than once. The construction of the pieces and the boards have become more substantial. The pieces have a better feel in the player’s hand.

Trends show that the increased popularity of board games matches the rise in use of social media. Our dependence on technology creates isolation. This isolation creates a need for social connection. Board games create a social connection, they span generations and are inclusive as well as nostalgic.

The increase in our dependence on technology has also affected our social interactions. People who are communicating more through technology feel less comfortable in social situations. Social anxiety disorder affects 15 million adults and is on the rise. The board game tavern concept can help alleviate some social anxiety. Adding an activity to a social interaction provides social cues as well as topics of conversation. These are factors that help people feel more comfortable in social situations.In preparation for the opening the Shaws’ have amassed 500 board games. Go Play With Your Food will offer beer, mead and wine as well as; sandwiches, salads, and flatbread pizza. Go Play With Your Food is expected to open in January of 2023.

An employee scans a family's items at the register of a store.

‘It worked out beautifully’: Pure N’ Simple under new ownership

Written by Dylan McGlynn on September 22, 2022. Posted in Business, Community, Downtown, Food.

GLENS FALLS — New ownership took over Pure N’ Simple Natural Foods in June, but not much else has changed for the longtime Glens Falls store.

Kristen and Andrew Holt have run the store for just over three months, taking over for former owners Paul and Bonnie Savard. Kristen Holt said the transition was “seamless.”

“They closed on a Friday under their name, and we opened on a Monday under our name,” said Holt. “The health inspector came in Monday morning before we opened, and it was just a seamless transition.”

Holt said the idea to run a health food store initially came from her husband.

“Several months back, my husband just randomly mentioned to me that we should start a health food store,” Holt said. “I said, ‘Well, you should talk to the other health food store in town. … We should talk to them and see if we can partner with them.”

What the Holts found instead, however, was that the property had been listed for sale.

“Two days later, I walked into the store and saw a ‘For Sale’ sign on the building,” said Holt. “I asked them about it, and they said that they were going to be selling the store.”

The Savards were planning on closing the store altogether at the end of May, Holt said. This led the Holts to take over Pure N’ Simple, which they have operated since June 6.

“I just got the chills and I just felt such a deep grief for this couple that had poured their heart and soul into this shop for 35 years, and for the community, that it wasn’t going to be here anymore for them,” said Holt.

After returning from a vacation, the Holts began talks to take over the store.

“We came back, and we met with them. We were able to just talk about what we needed, and what they needed,” Holt explained. “It worked out beautifully. … It’s just been so beautiful working with Paul and Bonnie. They’ve been such an encouragement, such a support in training us and teaching us everything we would need to know for the shop.”

Since taking over, Holt says the response from the local community has been strong.

“We love it. We have four small kids that love to be here with us as well,” said Holt. “We’ve gotten really positive feedback from the community. Everyone’s very excited that we’re here. … It’s great to have the support of the customers.”

Pure N’ Simple specializes in health food and supplements, Holt said. She noted that the couple is attempting to “keep everything the same” as before the sale, in addition to adding several new options.

“We’ve got supplements and herbs, and vitamins. We’ve got a lot of healthy, organic foods and also non-organic,” said Holt. “We’ve got foods for special diets, like vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free. We have a lot of bulk foods. … We package all our own dried fruits, nuts, flowers, oats, that sort of thing.”

Holt mentioned that the store hopes to partner with local growers to sell fresh produce.

“It’s great that we have the farmer’s market on Saturday, but we would like to afford them a place where they can also sell Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Not just on Saturday’s,” said Holt. “That would be our biggest goal.”

Holt also said the store will fulfill custom orders, encouraging customers to reach out and provide feedback.

“We’re still doing the famous granola and muffins that they made,” Holt said. “If there’s any changes that they’re not used to, or anything they would like that we don’t have, we would love for them to let us know.

“We want to make sure our customers are getting the same thing that they had, plus a little extra.”

An artist rendering of the finished Park & Elm.

Downtown Revitalization: Park and Elm

Written by Melissa Downer on September 21, 2022. Posted in Business, Community, Downtown, Featured, Food.

The revitalization of downtown is being taken one step further with the development of a renovated multi-use building set to open this fall.

Elizabeth Miller and her son Ben Miller, who own the Park Theater and Doc’s Restaurant, purchased the property on the corner of Park and Elm Streets in 2019 with the vision to expand their business and open up space for more parking for events at the theater and restaurant. Formerly, the building was the home of Look TV.

“This is just a natural expansion for us,” Ben Miller said, “We are very excited to share this new operation with the public.”

The building will house a new fine dining restaurant, aptly named Park and Elm, and a deli and market on the first floor, and 10 apartments on the second and third floors. The deli will have a full butcher counter that will have the same cuts of meat served at the restaurant, and the market will sell fresh and local produce, eggs and dairy from area farms, including Miller’s own Sunset Farm in Queensbury. It will also have household items such as dish soap, paper towels and toilet paper.

**ADK Studios’ rendering of the Park & Elm Restaurant and Market.**

“The deli and market will be under the same umbrella as the fine-dining restaurant, using many of the same ingredients,” Ben said. “We will offer fast, casual breakfast and lunch sandwiches, house baked bread, and grab-and-go meals.”

Full and half pan to-go meals will be available for purchase as well.

The apartments are a mix of one and two bedroom apartments ranging from 700 square feet to almost 2,000 square feet. Rent will range from $1,300 to $1,900 per month.

Elizabeth stated that Park and Elm will be a great addition to downtown because currently, Doc’s is closed to the public often due to private events. Moving forward, Doc’s will only be open when there are events at the Park Theater. Park and Elm will give the public an option now, while Doc’s was usually closed. Ben added that they will consider private events at Park and Elm on a case-by-case basis.

A large motivation for this development for Elizabeth is parking.

“We wanted to make parking more viable for our customers and that area of town,” she said, adding that parking has been a problem for the Park Theater and Doc’s.

**ADK Studios’ artist rendering of the Park & Elm Market.**

Cifone Construction is handling the renovations. Plans were held up due to COVID-19, however that did not deter the Millers from moving forward.

“Construction didn’t come to a complete halt, but the pandemic did slow things down a bit,” Ben said. “We are just really excited to be able to share this publicly soon.”

Between the restaurant and the deli and market, there will be at least 8-10 job openings. There will also be a need for events at the Park Theater. Executive Chef Matthew J. Delos will continue his role at Park and Elm as well as at Doc’s for special events.

Elizabeth purchased the Park Theater in 2014 and with Cifone Construction, renovated the building, originally built in 1911. The Park Theater reopened as a state-of-the-art performing arts center, featuring national and international touring performers, as well as local community artists and productions.