Editor’s Note: The following video took place at Bright Sighted Media’s Saratoga studio on July 31. Since then, there has been some turmoil surrounding Tin & Lint’s ownership, and at press time, it was not yet clear what the outcome would be.

Meet The Panelists

BRIANNA COLLINS

age: 28
hometown: Glens Falls
bar/restaurant: Tin & Lint
previous job: Commercial finance specialist
hidden talent: Playing piano
chipotle order: Steak burrito bowl
life philosophy: Live each day like it’s your last

NOAH FRESE

age: 28
hometown: Albany
bar/restaurant: Noah’s Italian
previous job: Chef at Siro’s
hidden talent: Dancing
chipotle order: Chicken bowl with extra corn salsa
life philosophy: Dream big

NICHOLAS BYRNE

age: 32
hometown: Saratoga Springs
bar/restaurant: Osteria Danny
previous job: Corporate operations
hidden talent: Multitasking
chipotle order: He prefers Taco Bell’s Cheesy Gordita Crunch
life philosophy: “Benvolio”

JACOB MYERS

age: 32
hometown: Greenfield
bar/restaurant: Comfort Kitchen
previous job: Bartender at Solevo, The Merc, and Kindred
hidden talent: Sports betting
chipotle order: Carnitas burrito
life philosophy: Every day is a gift

Below is an edited transcription of the roundtable discussion.

Natalie Moore: Hi, guys. I’m going to jump right in: What is your first memory of food and drink in Saratoga?

Brianna Collins: I actually didn’t go out in Saratoga until a few years ago, so I don’t know what my first memory is…Probably trying to sneak into the City Tavern. I didn’t have my ID on me, but I was of age. 

NM: Were you trying to go in through the window? 

BC: Yeah. 

Noah Frese: Probably Night Owl. We used to take a party bus up there from Albany.

Nicholas Byrne: Mine’s definitely a lot older: dancing around with my grandparents as a little kid at The Wishing Well when Lou used to play the piano in the tavern. 

Jacob Myers: Mine’s also wholesome and old. My mom used to work as a server at a big movie theater called Broadway Joe’s where the new
hotel is over by Purdy’s. I’d sit down and they would just feed us food, because they were like, “Mary’s kids are here—let’s give them food.” So I got fat as a kid.

NM: Nick and Jake—it sounds like you grew up in this area. How has the local food and drink scene changed since you can remember?

JM: It’s transformed in a way where now you’re seeing less restaurant traffic on Broadway, which has been consistent for a long time, to it being spread around the city with places like Solevo and the Phila Street scene.

NB: My only piggyback to that would be that I’m sad to see a lot of my favorites from growing up leave. I miss Lillian’s. Professor Moriarty’s, which is now The Merc, was insane as a kid growing up. I remember being there with my parents and they’d drop a menu down in the summer and it’d be a local menu and a track menu—it would say that on the top of it. But I’m excited to see what these next steps have. Caroline has a lot of growth potential. To Jake’s point, it’s awesome to see restaurants on the side streets.

NM: Speaking of the future, what’s something you guys would like to see change in Saratoga’s dining scene in, say, the next five years?

NF: I’d like to see some more pizza spots open downtown, and then also an Italian deli downtown. As far as pizza, you’ve got to kind of go out of downtown to get a slice.

NM: Especially now that D’Andrea’s is gone. Now it’s just Pizza 7 and Esperanto, right?

JM: I think Gennaro’s delivers downtown.

NM: And West Ave is close-ish, but not walkable. Anyone else have anything you’d like to see change, even from an industry standpoint?

JM: Oh, I would like rent to go back down, and I’d like less corporate places to come in. I love the whole corporate sector and I just wish we’d keep them over there as far away from downtown as we can. And I want more small restaurants. It’s all big rent, big money. But I think chefs do a lot better work when they’ve focused it down and trimmed it down.

NM: Brianna, do you have anything from a bar ownership standpoint that you’d like to see change?

BC: Yeah, I feel like everyone closes at a different time right now, despite the last call being 4am. I’m usually one of the last bars open on Caroline Street, which is great for business, but I would love if everyone was able to control the crowd and keep it going and make it more lively, especially in the off-season, so it’s not just those seven weeks of track season that are so busy and fun.

NM: Do you consider Saratoga a seasonal town? 

JM: The numbers say yes. Certainly, it prolongs into fall—September is usually down but October and leaf-peeping season is good for a lot of businesses. But come January until March, I think every business owner is like, “All right, which staff do I fire? Which staff do I have to keep?” You’re sitting there trying to give everyone 40 hours. 

NB: Not only is it seasonal—I think we’re starting to get a second summer season now with what NYRA’s been doing with the track. We almost have two summers now: the summer that starts in May, and then the real Saratoga summer in August. But I agree with Jake. You’ve got your regulars, and you’ve got Skidmore, and conferences. 

JM: There’s a chess event in early March. I’m like, “It’s March—it’s going to be a slow day.” And every year I get caught off guard by a mob of parents and their children coming in.

NM: Now that the city is used to having Belmont here, do you think it’ll be an adjustment for business owners when the race goes back to Belmont Park?

NB: If Belmont’s not here, there’s going to be no reason for people to come in June or the beginning half of July. Economically, we’re going to see number shifts. We have a family who’s dined with us 40 times from Belmont through Labor Day. But we won’t have them for probably half of that in 2027.

BC: Belmont was a great weekend—it was a record weekend for us, not having lived through a Travers there yet. But I think that it’s just one busy weekend. Everyone left town and it felt like a normal summer crowd after that. I’m viewing it as just losing one good weekend, which could always be replaced with some other event that could bring people to town, like a block party.

NM: Bring back the Caroline Street Block Party?

BC: I would love to bring it back.

JM: I would put money on NYRA being like, “So, we’re not doing Belmont in Saratoga anymore, but what if we just kept doing the track in June anyway?” 

NB: I follow horse racing, and Belmont Park is not anywhere near completion. If it weren’t for the Breeders’ Cup being there in ’27, I think we could count on Belmont at least two more summers. But I do see them shifting Aqueduct up here.

NM: Switching gears…What is your biggest restaurant pet peeve?

NB: Spots on glassware. I don’t care what size you are. I remember when Olive Garden opened in Clifton Park, the water glasses had food stuck to them and spots everywhere.

NF: I would say sh***y steak knives. If I’m spending $200 on a steak and you hand me something the Outback has to cut pumpernickel bread, it’s not a good thing.

JM: I mean, I sell hamburgers, but for me, it’s not having proper wine service. I’m a stickler about wine.

BC: I’ll stay silent on that. People will come for Tin & Lint.

NM: I do have a question for you, Bri. You took over Tin & Lint around Easter. Can you speak a little about how you’ve been navigating keeping the bar relevant in 2025 without changing the spirit of this iconic Saratoga watering hole?

BC: I had to be very careful not to change the spirit because so many people come to Saratoga to see Tin & Lint. It’s iconic. A lot of people are the third generation that’s been drinking there. There are always couples that come in and tell me they met there and they’re now married with three kids. So I had to make sure that I just updated it without changing the aesthetic. That was the main thing. I actually had a customer come in recently, and I love his quote. He was like, “Something’s different here. But it’s still sticky.”

NM: Nick, same question: You took over Danny’s earlier this year. How much of yourself are you putting into the restaurant and how much are you keeping the same? 

NB: The only real thing I’m trying to change is to put up some of my own family photos. The whole point of buying Danny’s was to keep it Danny’s. It’s never going to be the same
place it was without Danny being the chef. But my team has done the best that they’re able to with the cards they’ve been dealt. In my lifetime, Saratoga has lost so many of our staples that I wish my kids were going to be able to grow up going to. So I think if we can try to keep the places as similar as possible, we’re going
to be in good shape.

NM: Noah, these three bought existing restaurants, and you’re in the process of opening a new restaurant. What’s something that a lot of people don’t realize about opening a brand-new restaurant in Saratoga? 

NF: How hard construction actually is, as far as getting everything in. The timeline is the biggest part. I hire a plumber, and that plumber takes 10 other jobs. How does he come to your restaurant on time and get the job done in a timely fashion?

NM: I know you’re planning to open later this year…What can we expect?

NF: It’s two floors, so downstairs is a regular restaurant and upstairs, I wanted to maximize the space, so we built a loft—a third floor—that’s all glass. Growing up, I loved the movie The Mask, and I loved the scene where Cameron Diaz is singing at the supper club. I wanted to make it that vibe, where it’s two separate identities, because the restaurant is huge. So we built a chef’s table kitchen, where it’ll be a 16-seat table and you can book one of my staff members to cook in front of you. You get an experience where you come through the back door and it’s like you’re in GoodFellas.

NM: And Jake, you bought your restaurant last January, so you’re a seasoned veteran. With all your wisdom, do you have any advice for these three that are just starting out?

JM: The first year is the hardest because you’re adapting, putting in systems, making things your way. Once you have your system set up, it’ll feel way easier. You modify your own schedule and figure out what works for you.

NM: Now, a question for all of you. There are so many bars and restaurants in Saratoga. How do you set yourself apart?

NF:The best thing to do is not focus on anyone else. Just focus on what you do and what you’re good at. There are several Italian restaurants in Saratoga. But what do you do that separates yourself?

NB:Look at how many Italian restaurants Saratoga has. We’re all different. Every single one of us offers something that the other one doesn’t, whether it’s northern Italian food, southern Italian food, or Noah with his steakhouse style he’s coming in with. I don’t think you need to do anything. Just keep yourself honed in and focus on yourself.

JM: Yeah, just do a good job. It’s really not that hard.

BC: And have fun with it.

NM: What would you say is the biggest struggle that bars and restaurants are facing right now?

NB: I’d say all the heightened costs recently. From the supplier and purveyor standpoint, things have gone through the roof in the past couple of months. At some point, it’s going to put a pinch on everybody and you’re going to have to raise your prices. And when you raise your prices, the customer is going to get mad.

JM: And it’s across the board. This time last year, beef cost me $3.40 a pound. Now it’s up to $4.20, $4.50. When it comes to liquor and wine, they just announced the 15 percent tariff on European stuff. Do you want the customer to pay extra money, or are you going to eat the cost yourself? And people are just like, “Get local.” It doesn’t work like that with wine. As much as I might like Finger Lakes and Vermont wines, there’s something to be said about Italian wines.

NM: Jake, I feel like you have more to say on this topic.

JM: The biggest issue—and I love all my staff and I pay them as much as I can—is that people can’t afford to live in town. For us it’s going to be a worker squeeze. At some point, push comes to shove. It’s an issue that we as restaurant owners should be privy to, having to hire individuals driving 30, 40 minutes to work.

NM: If you guys are starving and need something to eat, what’s your go-to in Saratoga? 

BC: I always go to Siro’s, my favorite restaurant. Or the hot dog stand outside EBI.

NB: Definitely Henry Street Taproom on Tuesdays for dollar oysters. For brunch, and we’ll keep it in that family, Kindred. They have hands-down one of the best brunches in town.

NF: I would say Hamlet & Ghost is my go-to. I go there probably twice a week. The burger is great. Their beef tartare is always amazing. They actually had a cucumber salad that was insane. I would never order cucumber, but it was perfect.

JM: I had that last night. Natalie, you said quick bite, so I’m thinking about what I want to eat after a long shift at my restaurant: Price Chopper sushi, every single time. I love imitation crab. That, or a turkey club wrap. There’s something to be said about dirt-cheap food, because that’s what I sell. For a meal, I just go to Creature and get a Caesar salad.

NM: Is it so familiar that we’re dropping the first word and just calling it “Creature” now?

JM: I t’s too many words sometimes. Hamlet & Ghost got turned into Hamlet. Osteria Danny is Danny’s.

NM: The other day I heard someone call Cooperstown Distillery “Coop’s.” 

NM: OK, last question: What’s your favorite thing about owning a business in Saratoga?

NF: The coolest part for me, being from Albany where everything’s so spread out, is that Saratoga’s more
of a tight-knit community. You can walk outside and go to another restaurant. The community support is really cool.

BC: I agree. Not growing up in Saratoga, as soon as I moved here, I was like, “OK, there’s no other place in Upstate that I would live.” Everyone was so welcoming with open arms. Being in the service industry, you get to know everyone.

JM: There’s a mild notoriety to it where it’s like you’re in a club, not to put it in a weird way. I’ve known Ryan [from Henry Street Taproom], Ronnie [from Solevo], and Brendan [from Hamlet & Ghost] forever. But you buy a business, and it’s more like a community, where they’ll talk shop to me. All these people are looking out for you as long as you’re a good person, because they want to see other good business owners in town.

NB: Yeah, now that I’m in that seat, everyone’s so helpful. Mario at West Ave has been invaluable to me. He makes our focaccia. We’re the only place he makes it for. Dan at Saratoga’s Broadway Deli and Bibulous has been insanely helpful. Even Noah—we were in track season and I ran out of rocks glasses one night. I shot him a text and he was like, “go grab them if you need them.” It’s teamwork. I’m not saying we always get along, but I don’t think anyone wants to see the other one fail. There was a saying on a shirt I had back in college: “You don’t go far alone. You’ll get there fast, but you’ll fail.” And that’s the truth.