FOOD + DRINK

Gaffney’s Sold for $3.5 Million

New ownership expects to reopen the longtime local bar in the spring of 2026.

By Natalie Moore

December 31, 2025

Photo by Adam Russell

Don’t call it a comeback. On Wednesday, Roohan Realty announced the sale of Gaffney’s, the longtime Spa City bar and restaurant located on the corner of Caroline and Putnam streets, for $3.5 million. The property, which includes the multi-room bar and outdoor patio as well as several rental units, was originally listed in 2024 for $4.6 million.

The property has been purchased by an LLC controlled by Scott and Kristine Grodsky, who were also behind the 2024 purchases of South Broadway’s St. Francis Motel and St. Charles Motel. Kristine, the Albany Business Review reported, grew up in Saratoga and now resides in Long Island with her husband.

The new owners have already begun repairs and improvements to bring the building up to code for residential tenants. The bar is expected to reopen in spring 2026 under new management.

First opened in 1978 by Davis and Roxanne Mead, Gaffney’s became a popular nightlife destination under the ownership of John Baker, who ran it from 1982–2016. In 2016, Baker sold the bar to Saratoga Hospitality, which at the time owned Max London’s Restaurant, Mrs. London’s Bakery, and the now-closed Saratoga Stadium.

Saratoga Hospitality ran into some trouble in 2022 following reports of violent incidents that occurred inside Gaffney’s, including two separate stabbings in January and May of that year. As a result, the New York State Liquor Authority suspended the bar’s license on May 3, 2022. After paying a $70,000 fine, Saratoga Hospitality was permitted to resume operations in the summer of 2022, but by May 2024, the business faced foreclosure over hundreds of thousands of dollars of unpaid taxes and an unpaid mortgage. In recent months, the bar has sat closed at the epicenter of Saratoga nightlife.

“Gaffney’s is an institution, and a place I spent a lot of time in my twenties,” says Dan Roohan, who represented both the buyer and the seller in the recent transaction. “It was an honor to help bring this deal together, and I look forward to seeing the lights on and the patio full again.”

Natalie Moore

Natalie Moore is the editor of Saratoga Living and Capital Region Living magazines. A native of Ballston Lake, she began her career as an editorial intern at Saratoga Living, and, essentially, never left. In addition to overseeing the creation of the print magazines, she is the main contributor to Saratoga Living After Hours, a Substack newsletter that covers the Spa City’s social scene. In an alternate reality, she is a professional pickleball player.