Patagonia store coming to Ridge St. Coffee space in downtown GF

Article published in the Chronicle, January 20, 2011
By Gordon Woodworth
Chronicle News Editor

An outdoor clothing store featuring the Patagonia line will occupy the highly visible first-floor of the Barton building facing the roundabout at the corner of Ridge and Warren Streets in downtown Glens Falls.

Matt and Nancy (Bunker) Fuller of Queensbury have a memorandum of understanding for a three-year lease with Barton and aim to open in late April.

“The main line will be Patagonia,” said Mr. Fuller, a partner in the Glens Falls law firm FitzGerald Morris Baker Firth and a 1992 Fort Edward High School graduate.

“We will have men’s, women’s and children’s clothing. We will be outdoor-oriented, and carry some backpacks and maybe some snowshoes.

“We will have fleece jackets and hats, pants and shirts, and we’re working on a line of boots. We’ll have some outdoor stuff, but we’re not going to compete with Dick’s.”

Mrs. Fuller, a speech therapist at Shenendehowa school and a 1991 Warrensburg High School graduate, said the “broader lifestyle line of Patagonia clothing is not offered regionally. Trying to find Patagonia around here is not easy. It will be unique to have them here in Glens Falls. They don’t even have one in Saratoga.”

The Fullers are avid hikers, skiers and snowshoers.

Barton: ‘More retail good for everyone’

Rich Jenks, Barton Group Chief Financial Officer, said, “Having more retail is good for everyone in Glens Falls. It’s good for Barton, it’s good for the Chocolate Mill [which had eyed this space], and it’s good for all of the businesses downtown. We’re excited to have Matt and Nancy here.

“We need more reasons for people to come downtown, and more shopping opportunities does that. We think it’s a great fit.”

Mrs. Fuller said storefront, last occupied by Ridge Street Coffee Co., “looked very similar to the Patagonia stores we’ve been to in New York City. It seemed to be a good fit.

“It’s a fantastic space, and the brick interior will showcase the clothing well. It has great window frontage, and with all of the new restaurants and shops downtown and all of the positive energy, it seemed like the right time.”

Mr. Fuller said, “It is the space in downtown Glens Falls.”

He said the store will be named Fountain Square Outfitters. “We have some books on Glens Falls history and just started brainstorming ideas, and with Fountain Square being right outside and Scoville’s reviving the fountain, it was natural as soon as we came up with it.”

As for the emphasis on Patagonia, he said, “What drew us to the line is we could only get it online.” He said the Lake George Kayak Company in Bolton has some Patagonia merchandise, as does the Mountain Goat in Manchester, Vermont.

‘Environmentally-friendly renovations’

Barton hired The Honey-Do Man of Glens Falls to renovate the 1,600-squarefoot first floor. Mr. Jenks said, “We didn’t renovate the space when we bought the building because the coffee shop was here.”

He said there will be Forest Stewardship Council “green” hardwood floors, keeping with the building’s LEED Platinum Certification for energy efficiency and use of recycled materials.

Mr. Fuller said Patagonia is an environmentally conscious company, and their store will have a recycle bin where customers can bring in worn-out clothing for Patagonia to recycle.

Mr. Jenks said that ever since the coffee shop closed in March, “our goal has been to find the highest and best use for this space. We were looking for something good for Barton and something good for Glens Falls, and it really had to meet both criteria.”

Chocolate Mill proposal withdrawn
Barton had been talking with Chocolate Mill owner Frank Vollkommer on possibly converting the space into a business networking and meeting area.

Mr. Jenks termed it “quite an interesting idea, and a way to promote Glens Falls, but the broader business community didn’t embrace it as much as we thought it would.”

When the Fullers approached Barton with their idea, Mr. Jenks suggested they first talk to Mr. Vollkommer. “We had given Frank our word that we would move ahead with his idea,” Mr. Jenks said.

Mr. Vollkommer, contacted for comment, said, “The new proposal is very exciting and just what Glens Falls needs, so we took our proposal off the table to allow them to move forward. This is probably a better use of that space.”

Mr. Fuller said the basement will be used for storage, but will be partially lighted by opaque windows laid into the floor along the Warren Street side of the room.

He said they are talking to Outdoor Research, Smart Wool and Ibex about carrying some of their products in the store, “and we’ll have our own line of clothing, starting with shirts, that will be designed by an artist friend of mine.”

The Fullers also hope to feature outdoor products made in the Adirondack region.

Mrs. Fuller said she will work in the store on weekends and during the summer. She said they will be hiring two or three people to staff the store.

Mr. Fuller said they are working with Mike Murray from Adirondack Trust bank for financing. Mr. Fuller is the attorney for the Greater Glens Falls Local Development Corporation (LDC). He said that if he and his wife seek funding from the LDC, he would recuse himself to prevent a conflict of interest.