SARATOGA LIVINGThe City. The Culture. The Life.

Photography by Rachel Lanzi/The Content Agency

In honor of Saratoga Living‘s silver anniversary, we selected 25 people who have made Saratoga what it is and who will continue to shape its future for years to come. From the couple that literally built this city to a star high school student with high hopes for her hometown, meet The Saratoga 25.

Join us in celebrating these movers and shakers at our Saratoga 25 party on Thursday, June 8 at Putnam Place. Get your tickets here.

Sonny and Julie Bonacio

Claim to Fame: The power couple behind Bonacio Construction and Julie & Co. Realty

There’s arguably no one alive today to which you can credit the actual physical appearance of Saratoga more than Sonny and Julie Bonacio. The power couple is responsible for the construction or renovation of local museums, horse barns, concert venues, apartments, condominiums, medical offices, fire stations, banks, stores, restaurants, golf clubs…Need we go on? Most recently, Bonacio Construction has undertaken the behemoth Adelphi Hotel expansion, as well as the redevelopment of Longfellows and, outside of town, a sprawling 36-acre resort in Schroon Lake.

Oh, and the Bonacios don’t just create the structures that define the look and feel of Saratoga Springs today—they sell them, too. In 2015, Julie opened Julie & Co. Realty, a boutique brokerage firm that to date has closed more than $1.7 billion in sales combined, opened a second office in Schroon Lake, and recently hired six new agents. This, in addition to her role as vice president of her husband’s construction company, which he started in 1988 right before the duo said “I do.” Power couple indeed.

Thirty-five years later, the Bonacios have built a bona fide empire on the promise of what Saratoga has to offer. “We create a product for people who want a different level of quality of life,” Sonny says. “At the end of the day, it’s the quality of life and the interesting things—”

“—that Saratoga has to offer,” Julie jumps in, a regular occurrence after more than three decades of marriage. “It’s the arts, the track, the downtown that’s so pedestrian friendly, all our great restaurants, boutiques…people really love to be here.”

Ed and Lisa Mitzen

Claim to Fame: Cofounders of Business for Good, a foundation that transforms the traditional philanthropic model by buying businesses and donating profits to charity, supporting minority-owned businesses with capital and resources, and assisting charities with donations

Ed on Saratoga: “With Fingerpaint [the marketing firm he founded] being in Saratoga, it gave us instant recognition all over the country. There were so many clients that had heard about it, been here for a concert or for the track. There’s a nice national cachet to the city.”

Lisa on Saratoga: “We’d like to see more attention given to diversity in Saratoga. Close the income gap so that you can help people that struggle with homelessness or food insecurity.”

Carmine DeCrescente

Claim to Fame: Vice president of DeCrescente Distributing Company, the Saratoga County–based business that his great-grandfather started 75 years ago this year

On Saratoga: “I love wakesurfing on Saratoga Lake. Just going out there, stopping at one of the bars or restaurants that are on the lake, hanging out, spending time with my family.”

Taylor Rao

Claim to Fame: Co-founder, head of business development and “Buttonista” of Two Buttons Deep, which is known for Gen Z-luring videos—that can garner tens of thousands of views —and unconventional sponsorship opps, such as a recent car wash scavenger hunt

On Saratoga: “I’m one of those people who loves the tourist season. I don’t hide or go to Ballston Spa to get dinner during track season. It goes by so fast, but the energy… It puts a nonstop smile on your face for eight weeks.”

Tony Panza

Claim to Fame: Panza’s Restaurant’s personable, tireless owner who greets every one of his regulars himself—if they can get him out of the kitchen

On Saratoga: “Looking back, at one point there was only the Wishing Well, the Trade Winds, our place on the lake, Mangino’s and a place called the Country Gentleman. After the track, there was nowhere to go. You look at the number of restaurants that have moved in—there’s amazing competition. Everybody’s got to step up their game to compete.”

Garland Nelson

Claim to Fame: Owner and bandleader of Soul Session Entertainment, self-proclaimed “edu-tainer,” and quite possibly Saratoga’s most beloved musician

On Saratoga: “I remember being at the Arcade building, setting up my full drum kit and having people come and join me and just jam out. Why? Just for the sake of jamming. Foot traffic made it really easy for me to be on the street and just play.”

Helen Watson

Claim to Fame: General manager of The Adelphi Hotel in the midst of its mammoth expansion to add 33 rooms and 79 condominiums, and dog mom to Adelphi regular Jackson, her 40-pound Goldendoodle

On Saratoga: “Saratoga has so much to offer. It’s not just about the racetrack, it’s not just about SPAC. It’s about a collaboration of a lot of different entities in town that make it a special place to be.”

Jason Golub

Claim to Fame: Saratoga’s Commissioner of Public Works, the City’s first Black commissioner ever, and a calm voice of reason during a particularly raucous local government spell 

On Saratoga: “Working for the City, there’s never a dull day. You get to interact with lots of different people, residents and groups on problems that impact our community. You get to make a significant impact on the residents’ lives day to day, which I find to be the best part of public works.”

Marcella Hammer

Claim to Fame: Resident Unicorn—a fitting title that really means COO—at Palette Community

On Saratoga: “I love the Spa State Park. When I die, I’ll be a ghost there haunting everyone—just preparing you. I would love to see Saratoga become a really bike-friendly city that’s more walkable. We already have such a lively downtown but we can make it even better.”

Mark Mulholland

Claim to Fame: “First on 13”: Breaking news guru/anchor/reporter and Saratoga-North Country news chief at NewsChannel 13, and founder of Kelly’s Angels, a charitable organization created in honor of his late wife, who died of breast cancer at 37

On Saratoga: “I’m reminded every day through Kelly’s Angels that most people are good and want to do good. And in this community, they do. They step up.”

Daniel Chessare

Claim to Fame: The notoriously pessimistic owner of Saratoga’s Broadway Deli, outspoken social media commentator (aka The
Deli Lama), and provider of free rotisserie chickens to those in need

On Saratoga: “My favorite part of Saratoga summer is when the tourists leave. Obviously, they are a great boon, but I’ve always worked in the restaurant industry and frankly, as nice as all that tourist business is, we do fine without it.” 

Kim Weir

Claim to Fame: Director of donor engagement and main spokesperson for Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary

On Saratoga: “This is a very special place for a million reasons, but one of them is that people from around the world come here. And when you are an organization that’s devoted to the welfare of horses, everyone we’d ever want to talk to—our whole universe—literally comes to us. No other organization has that kind of home-court advantage.”

Charles V. Wait

Claim to Fame: Chairman of the board of directors of Adirondack Trust Company and key player in Saratoga’s Plan of Action, which revitalized the city’s downtown beginning in the 1970s

On Saratoga: “One of the things about Saratoga that makes it possible to have a thriving and financially strong local institution is that people have an identity as Saratogians. Saratoga has such a strong self-identity, and people are so interested in supporting local stores and local institutions. It’s kind of in the DNA not only of people who grew up here, but people who move here too. There’s this tremendous sense of community.”

Jill Johnson VanKuren

Claim to Fame: Appointed president and CEO of Saratoga Hospital after the toughest healthcare crisis of our generation

On Saratoga: “I’ve lived most of my adult life in DC/Baltimore. There’s so much opportunity there, but people live so far apart from each other. You work and live in two very different places. In Saratoga, you work and live all together. The biggest change for me is being part of a real community where I see people I work with and I see our patients. It’s very nice to be a part of something bigger, even though it’s smaller.”

Marc C. Conner

Claim to Fame: President of Skidmore College, who moved to town during the height of Covid lockdown to navigate the school out of the pandemic

On Saratoga: “I’d never been here until my last interview at Skidmore. I knew Manhattan. I knew there was something north of Manhattan, but I didn’t know what, and now I’m discovering this amazing state and loving it.”

Marianne Barker and Maddy Zanetti

Claim to Fame: Co-owners of longtime—and dog-friendly—Spa City gift shops Impressions of Saratoga and The Dark Horse Mercantile, the latter of which is celebrating its five-year anniversary on June 17 (expect a visit from mascot Upset, their miniature horse)

Maddy on Saratoga: “Over the next few years there are going to be a lot of new entrepreneurs and new ideas coming to the city with the way people have moved around during Covid.”

Marianne on Saratoga: “You know, it has its pains and its little bumps and warts, but there isn’t any place else I’d want to be.”

Jim Bond

Claim to Fame: Longtime owner of H. James Bond Racing Stable, Thoroughbred Breeders board member and Saratoga Race Course enthusiast

On Saratoga: “I cannot tell you what it means to have a horse win in Saratoga. It’s the most special thing in the whole wide world. My heart flutters when I go on the backside of Saratoga and realize the people over the last 200 years that have touched that surface, walked on that dirt. It’s second to none.”

Zac Denham and Clark Gale

Claim to Fame: Co-owners of Bocage Champagne Bar—which just celebrated one year in business—who married at The Adelphi after hiding out from big-city life in Saratoga during the pandemic

Clark on Saratoga: “We always had a hunch that people in Saratoga would get what we’re into. There’s certainly a rich food and beverage scene here, and we thought we would fit into that.”

Zac on Saratoga: “This summer, we’re putting a focus on prioritizing our locals by giving them access to reservations that the general public can’t see in an effort to keep bringing people to downtown when they typically would avoid downtown.”

Heidi Owen West

Claim to Fame: Owner of downtown clothing boutiques Lifestyles of Saratoga, Caroline + Main and Union Hall Supply Co. (and its upcoming sister store in Albany); Downtown Business Association VP; and mastermind behind some of downtown’s most elaborate window displays

On Saratoga: “People that I’ve met throughout my life know that I’m here, so anyone who’s passing through Saratoga will pop in [the store]. Those unexpected moments with people I haven’t seen since high school are super fun.”

Susan Dake

Claim to Fame: President of the Stewart’s Foundation and chair of the SPAC board, among other philanthropic endeavors

On Saratoga: “In Saratoga, there has always been this commitment to giving back and making the community stronger. The Waits, the Dakes, the Grandes…I’m probably going to leave out all the other very important people because I wasn’t here then. They really made this community what it was, but also set it up for people to understand that if you’re going to be a member of this community, you’re going to be supportive. You’re going to give of your time and your talent and your money.”

Ciara Meyer

Claim to Fame: President and co-founder (supported by a teen A-team CFO, VP and others) of Stories for Success, a nonprofit that provides literacy materials and a children’s book to every baby born at Saratoga Hospital

On Saratoga: “We founded Stories for Success to improve childhood literacy, because that’s a big issue everywhere—even in a community that’s perceived as being well off like Saratoga. Saratoga has so many amazing opportunities, but not everyone has access to them.” 

Presented by Saratoga Honda

Saratoga is the summer place to be—for more than just humans! Meet a handful of the four-legged friends who call the Spa City home.

When a local magazine has a birthday, it’s really the stories at the heart of its community that are being celebrated. So, to toast our silver anniversary, Saratoga Living asked longtime Saratogians to share their fondest memories from the last 25 years of Spa City living.

1998

“I met my husband in the Gaffney’s parking lot. My car was frozen solid from an ice storm, and I was ending my work day at the nail salon I owned. He ran and got me a can of de-icer…the rest is history. We’ve been married 24 years.” –Joanne H. Roulier

“My first customer at Saratoga Candy Co. was a new dad whose daughter was just born. He came in looking for some goodies to pass around at the hospital. I didn’t even have cash in the register yet! But I had gum cigars for him. Over the years he’s come back in with his daughter—she’s now 25—to say hi.” –Dawn Oesch

2000

“Most people have a sense of nostalgia for the big chains like Blockbuster or Hollywood video, but for us, none compared to The Drive In Movie Store. After the kids finished school on Fridays, they would pile into the van—often with a friend or two—to go check out the newest movie releases. The manager, Joe, was always ready to share the best recommendations. No matter your mood or the genre, he’d seen it all. And he wasn’t the only one. Customers and employees alike would share their impressions of their favorite new and old movies. There was just this sense of friendliness and community between the stacks of DVDs and VHS tapes.” –Kerry Conley

2003

“My parents started their own Italian restaurant called Lanci’s (our last name). They bought it when it was a hot dog joint and turned it into a hidden gem. My whole family worked there and it felt like the people who walked in our restaurant were walking into our home. My mother not only mastered Italian wines and knew what to pair with my father’s cooking, but she also made the most delicious dessert sampler: ‘tre bambini’ (the three babies)—panna cotta, chocolate budino and tiramisu.” –Juliana Russell

2007

“My Gramp came over from Italy, and his father created The Empire Fruit Company and then Tarantino Insurance Company, both on Division Street. Gramp was so proud of downtown Saratoga and all the treasures the town provided. In 2007, we purchased his home on the Oklahoma Track, and every morning during training track season it never fails to amaze us. Every day we are grateful to my Gramp for having the vision to build a house that will be carried down as a legacy home within our family.” –Sue Jeffreys

2009

“I was at the final weekend of Thoroughbred racing at Saratoga Race Course on Saturday, September 5. Part of the thrill was getting to watch the 3-year-old filly Rachel Alexandra, who was undefeated at that point, in the Grade I Woodward Stakes. She was racing against seven colts, including a Belmont winner, and no filly had ever won that race. When it started, she got to the front very quickly, but a horse from the back of the pack started picking up steam and catching up to her on the final stretch. With just meters to go ’til the finish line, Rachel Alexandra was able to give a little more, and won the race by a head. All 31,000 people at the track that day were on their feet and screaming at the top of their lungs. That day will never be forgotten and goes down in my memories as my favorite day at the track—ever!” –Maureen Roberts

“Coldplay came to town on July 27. We had already turned our kids (then ages 7, 12 and 15) into super-fans, but our family was not ready for such an unbelievable show. Giant yellow balloons floated overhead as the band played ‘Yellow’ and paper butterflies exploded out of confetti cannons into the night. Somewhere in between, Chris Martin joined us all out on the SPAC lawn. It was pure joy. We knew that Coldplay was destined for greatness, but for just one special night they were here with us in our own backyard.” –Gabriela and Kevin Bartlett

2012

“On April 21, an activist community was born under the canopy of a legacy American elm. Two years before Sustainable Saratoga’s Tree Toga crews started planting trees each April, the organization recruited volunteers to conduct a tree inventory. The data these volunteers collected was the foundation upon which the city created its visionary, first-ever Urban Forest Master Plan in 2013. To me, the tree inventory team captures the spirit and power of Saratoga’s many volunteer communities. If you ask, Saratogians will pitch in.” –Tom Denny

2013

“The weekend of October 10 was our 50th class reunion (we were the first class from Saratoga High School to graduate outside at the Hall of Springs). We began with a mixer at the Parting Glass on Friday, and Saturday night Panza’s did an incredible job for dinner and dancing. After returning to the hotel, Joe Slocik, Bob Rowe and I decided to walk up to the OBI since the hotel bar was closed. Imagine two guys and a girl in their late sixties locking arms and skipping up and down the Maple Avenue hill. All their wives could do was follow behind us and shake their heads.” –JoAnn Hughes

“I kicked off Chowderfest at Peabody’s, where I was enjoying chowder and a beer that most would call ‘water.’ (Hey, I knew the day would be a marathon, not a sprint.) I ended up calling a good friend of mine who lived in Boston at the time. After a quick phone call, and being the foodie that she is, her ass was headed to Saratoga Springs. Three hours later, she was sitting next to me.” –Steve Bouchard 

2015

“I lived above what is now Hamlet & Ghost. We’d barbecue and watch live shows at Gaffney’s from the roof, play cards in the back of Smoking Sam’s cigar shop on Caroline Street when the streets were too crowded, and when it snowed, we’d start on the top of the stairs on the other side of Broadway and ski all the way down to our apartment.” –Brad Cranston

2019

“I used to live a block from the track next to the Horseshoe. I loved looking out my window and seeing people carrying their coolers and chairs to the track. I’d come home from work and hear the music from the Horseshoe. In the summer of 2019 I was training for a big MMA fight I had at Madison Square Garden, and every morning I’d take a 3- to 5-mile run by all the stables and the track and watch the sun come up.” –Brandon Jordan

2022

“I’ll never forget what SPAC looked like in 2020. I had a meeting there that July and when I saw the overgrown lawn with grass two feet tall, I immediately began to tear up. I didn’t get back to SPAC until July 13, 2022 for the ballet. I’ll never forget that night and what it felt like to see the dancers on our stage again, feel the energy of the audience, experience the life back in the amphitheater—and of course admire the perfectly manicured lawn again.” –Leah Ferrone

2023

“I coach the boys cross country and track teams at Saratoga High. This season, we had a young man on our team, Othmane Kerroum, who had religious obligations during the month-long Ramadan. Because he is required to fast all day, it was best for him to run in the evenings, so he could eat before and after his workout. We decided as a team to commit to an optional day of fasting on April 6, followed by a team practice after sundown and then a team meal, right on the track. Through this experience, we were able to collectively relate to the commitment Othmane had shown to his faith, as well as to his training. It was one of the most memorable nights I’ve experienced as a coach, and it made me proud to be a part of the Saratoga community.” –Shane Zanetti    

1998 Snapshot

What was happening in the Spa City 25 years ago?

• Blues Traveler, Barenaked Ladies and Paula Cole perform as part of the H.O.R.D.E. Festival at SPAC on August 2
• The Horse Whisperer, which filmed scenes in Saratoga Springs, is released
• Newlywed Marylou Whitney arrives at her annual gala in a flapper-era Ford Model T
• Opera Saratoga (then Lake George Opera) performs its first season at Saratoga’s Spa Little Theater, which becomes its permanent home for the next two decades
• Longfellows and Saratoga Arms hotels open their doors
• Siro’s hosts free daily public handicapping sessions during racing season
• Fred Clark answers a Hewitt’s Garden Center ad looking for someone to play Santa Claus and the Saratoga Santa is born

In 2018, we honored a tireless group of 20 Saratogians doing amazing things to celebrate Saratoga Living‘s 20th anniversary. Five years and a global pandemic later, we caught up with five of them to see what’s new. Spoiler alert: They’re still busy making Saratoga—and the world—a better place.

TJ Tracy

Saratoga Springs High School Junior turned Syracuse University Junior

Back in 2018, we selected 17-year-old TJ Tracy for the Saratoga 20 list for his entrepreneurial spirit. He had just started an errand-running business called SERV, and when he was just 9 years old, had founded TJ’s Turkeys, a nonprofit that to this day provides local families in need with holiday meals. Just by nature of his age, Tracy’s last five years have likely been more transformational than those of any other member of the Saratoga 20; since 2018 he’s graduated from high school, traveled the world as part of a gap year, and started college at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Business where he’s majoring in—what else?—entrepreneurship. 

Tracy plans to continue growing the sneaker reselling investment fund he started in college, expanding his photography business, and traveling the world. “I plan on moving out of the country for most of my twenties,” he says, “with the goal of better understanding different cultures around the world and exploring the abundance of opportunities there are to make a positive impact.”

Tim Pink

The Saratoga Dog Walker

While Tim Pink had enough local celebrity status to land him on the Saratoga 20 list five years ago, his stardom has only gone up since then. Pink, a dog-training wizard and owner of Saratoga Dog Walkers, is known around town for walking packs of dogs—and we mean packs—and taking impressive photos and Instagram reels showing said pack (sometimes 30-plus pups) posing in notable Saratoga locales. His social media posts are so captivating (one recent post racked up more than 870,000 likes) that they caught the attention of the national media—including The Kelly Clarkson Show.

But Pink has been up to more than spreading smiles via adorable dog pics and vids: He recently bought a farm in Gansevoort with a heated horse—now dog—arena and 12 fields where he plans to launch a 9-5 program featuring pack walking, play time and training. “We’re aiming,” he says, “for the happiest and most well behaved pack of dogs on Earth.”

Elizabeth Sobol

President and CEO of SPAC

When Elizabeth Sobol up and moved from Miami to upstate New York to take the job of president and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center in 2016, her presence was felt immediately. But she was just getting started.

Since then, SPAC has launched new programming around culinary, healing, visual and literary arts; undergone a complete campus transformation; grown its educational programming to serve 50,000 students throughout the Capital Region annually; opened the SPAC School of the Arts; took on year-round programming at the Spa Little Theater…the list goes on. And like SPAC’s list of offerings, Sobol’s love of her new home has only grown. “What started as a besotted infatuation with the city,” she says, “has grown into a deep and abiding love for my adopted hometown.”

Mike Phinney

Principal Architect/Owner of Phinney Design Group

For Mike Phinney, the last five years have been all about growing the environmentally responsible architecture and design firm he started in 2002. Four years ago, the firm opened a second location in Troy, which they have already outgrown (Phinney’s interior design department has doubled in size since 2018). Meanwhile, they just signed a lease on a Lake Placid office to better serve their Adirondack clients. Closer to home, the firm is responsible for the mixed-use 385 Broadway building in Saratoga, 550 Waterfront on Saratoga Lake, Walt and Whitman in the former Saratogian building, and Common Roots Brewing up the Northway in South Glens Falls. Up next? Amsure’s new headquarters in the former Salvation Army building on Woodlawn.

And while Phinney Design is known for its luxury homes, Phinney himself knows Saratoga won’t thrive without more affordable housing options. “We are really proud,” he says, “to be part of the Liberty Workforce Housing proposal that, once approved, will bring more than 200 workforce housing units to within walking distance of downtown and the Saratoga Race Course.”

Teddy Foster

Universal Preservation Hall Campaign Director turned Director

One highlight of the last few years in Saratoga as a whole, but certainly in the life of Teddy Foster, is the long anticipated opening of Universal Preservation Hall (UPH), a performing arts center housed in a historic church on Washington Street. Back in 2018, Foster was in charge of a capital campaign to raise $14 million to restore the run-down structure; now she’s the director of the venue, which provides Saratoga with year-round arts programming. But it wasn’t an easy path to get to this point. 

After Foster’s behemoth fundraising effort and then the building’s extensive renovations, UPH opened to the public in February 2020—yup, just in time to have Covid shut it right back down. Now, UPH is back on track with its regularly scheduled programming, and Foster couldn’t be happier with her new role. “It’s been a roller coaster ride for the last five years,” she says. “But I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”