Saratoga Living After Hours: From the Vault

Our 5 favorite SLAH stories from 2021 and 2022.

Mar 08, 2025

While many of you have been with us since the early days of SLAH (back when we were still figuring out how to use Substack and what “After Hours” truly meant), more than half of you have subscribed in the last two years. And while you can always scroll back to read old stories on the SLAH website, you’d have to scroll for quite some time to find anything published in the olden days of 2022, and even further to get back to the very beginning: the wild west that was our first few Saratoga Living After Hours posts.

Rather than have you waste time doing that (save your doom-scrolling for Instagram and TikTok, people), I figured I’d hit you with some of the highlights of 2021-22, given that I’m currently on a ski vacation in Salt Lake City and didn’t have time to write an all-new post for this week. Our regularly scheduled SLAH programming will be back next week…Have an inside tip or story idea you’d like us to explore? Send me an email at natalie@saratogaliving.com.

The Night Before Thanksgiving
November 24, 2021

Back in the first few weeks of this newsletter, Saratoga Living After Hours was a spot for general musings, tidbits we heard around town, and…poetry? I spent an absurd amount of time transforming “The Night Before Christmas: A Visit From Saint Nicholas” into “The Night Before Thanksgiving: A Visit from Your High School Girlfriend,” an ode to Thanksgiving Eve in Saratoga.

Celeb Shot: Daniel Chessare
December 25, 2021

On our very first Christmas, Saratoga Living After Hours gave the Spa City the gift of our first Celeb Shot interview. Daniel Chessare, owner of Saratoga’s Broadway Deli (and now Bibulous), was the perfect subject, given his recent viral Instagram posts and the revival of his popular holiday rotisserie chicken giveaway. A lot has changed in Saratoga’s food scene since then…Comment “Deli Lama” below if you think SLAH should check back in with Dan some three-and-a-half years later.

What Saratoga Moms Really Want for Mother's Day
May 3, 2022

A few days before Mother’s Day 2022, we called up all the local mothers we knew and asked what they wanted—really wanted—for Mother’s Day. Three years later, their answers, which range from a clean house to a night at The Adelphi alone, ring true, and may provide some insight into what to get the mom in your life this year.

Mean Muggin’
September 13, 2022

In September 2022, I learned that not everyone knows what a mug club is. If you’re one of those people, you’ll have to read this story, which I like to believe is the definitive work on the inner workings of Saratoga’s organized drinking scene.

Ride Along: Saratoga Shredders Mountain Bike Ride
September 24, 2022

In September of 2022, I hopped on my mountain bike and joined the Saratoga Shredders (now Shredders MTB) for a group ride through the Luther Forest trails. In the last few years, the organization has expanded to include both boys and girls programming in Albany, Saratoga, and Queensbury, and has headed up the Bikes in Schools program, which has succeeded in funding learn-to-ride programs in all six of Saratoga’s elementary schools as well as Maple Ave Middle School.

Those are just my personal favorite stories from 2021 and 2022—SLAH readers had differing opinions. For more, check out our most-read stories of 2022, including our most popular story of all time, “The Unwritten Rules of the Victoria Pool.”

—Natalie

Can it Be?

Say goodbye to glass, because Extreme Heights Cidery, the hard cider brand launched by Adirondack Winery in 2023, is transitioning all its products to a different form: cans. Thanks to a partnership with Fort Edward–based DK Advanced Technologies, the brand’s flagship and seasonal flavors can now be taken on the go to all your upstate adventures. To celebrate, Extreme Heights Cidery is hosting Can Launch parties this weekend at the Adirondack Winery Tasting Rooms in Lake George and Queensbury. From now through Sunday, stop by either of the locations to:

Sample a brand-new cider flavor in development
Enjoy 50% off cider flights featuring any four Extreme Heights Cidery flavors
Score free merch: Every guest who purchases a cider flight or four-pack will receive a complimentary Extreme Heights Cidery koozie
Participate in exclusive giveaways featuring cider, merchandise, and discounts

Back and Better Than Ever

aroundsaratogasprings

A post shared by @aroundsaratogasprings

The near 20,000-square-foot mansion located at 637 North Broadway, better known as Palazzo Riggi, is back on the market for $24.9 million. You may be thinking to yourself, Wasn’t that place just sold? Yes. It was sold at auction for $7.1 million in 2023 to Joseph Gross, the owner of Gross Electric in Queensbury. Since then, he’s made major updates, including state-of-the-art electrical, heating, plumbing, and lighting systems; a Savant home control system; and a new security system. The twenty-mil price tag is also justified through the mansion’s six bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, two kitchens, four fireplaces, five-car garage, and elevator. Oh yeah, and its home theater, fitness room, bowling alley, bar, in-ground pool, pool house, koi pond, landscaping, and carriage house suite, all of which are set on 1.3 acres of land, with original charm and character intact. Ready to splurge? Check out the listing.