If you’ve ever been in downtown Saratoga and craved a snack—not a full-on meal, but just something to tide you over—listen up. Mittler’s, a convenience store and appetizer bar owned by former banker Steve Mittler, is coming soon to the corner of Phila and Putnam streets.
“There used to be a market up on Broadway when I was in college, and that went away,” says Mittler, who plans to open his new venture in April. “I’ve been spending a lot of time in that part of the city, and I’m often like, ‘God, I wish there was somewhere I could just grab something to eat.’ And then I’m like, ‘You idiot—that’s what you’re building.’”
What exactly does a convenience store/bar hybrid look like? Mittler’s will take over the former home of Tailgate and Party, which spanned two levels separated by a few steps. The convenience store will be on the lower level looking out onto Putnam Street, and the bar will be on the upper level with an entrance on Phila Street.
In the convenience store, Mittler’s vision is to offer grab-and-go cooler items such as fruit cups, salads and yogurt parfaits, plus a small selection of grocery items such as milk, eggs and dry goods, as well as breakfast sandwiches all day (and possibly night, for the Caroline Street crowd). In the bar, which will have 15 two-top tables and 14 seats at the bar, he’ll serve appetizers such as hummus, dips, salads, soups, charcuterie, deviled eggs and sliders—small dishes to tide you over until your dinner reservation—plus specialty cocktails and mocktails at the full bar.
Even before opening, Mittler had a couple of dedicated employees working hard behind the scenes: his kids, high-schoolers Julia and Max. “Julia is leading my marketing campaign and Max is working on the culinary side,” Mittler says. “Even at their young ages, they’re the best at what they do.”
What’s it like working for one’s father on his first foray into the food service industry? “It’s good so far,” says Julia, who plans to study marketing in college next year. “It’s super convenient, and we all have similar personalities so it works well.”
