With Wolff ’s sale finalized, manager, patron take over

AAlbany deal to sell the Wolff ’s Biergarten brand, initially announced in January, was finalized last week, parties on both sides said. The new owners are Sam Leamy, a longtime manager for Wolff ’s, and business partner Dan Henley, who is an accountant, Wolff ’s patron and who played recreational soccer with Leamy.

They have acquired the original Wolff’s, open since 2009 in the city’s warehouse district, and its 7-year-old Schenectady sibling on Erie Boulevard, and will be taking over the Syracuse Wolff ’s in the future, according to Wolff ’s founder Matt Baumgartner, who continues to run Wolff’s-syracuse. Baumgartner retains ownership of the

Albany and Syracuse Wolff ’s buildings; the Schenectady location is leased. This past spring, Baumgartner converted the Troy location of Wolff ’s into the vegetarian-focused Troy Beer Garden, which has an upstairs cocktail lounge called The Berlin.

Wolff ’s, with its emphasis on beer and soccer, will be largely unchanged, according to the new owners.

“The bars will remain the same. The incredible friendly service will remain the same. The soccer will remain the same. But we have a few exciting things up our sleeves,” Leamy and Henley said in a statement.

As a promotion, Wolff ’s is offering all Oktoberfest beers for $5 per half liter and $10 per liter during October. A giveaway this past weekend for a $500 bar tab drew 1,000 entries, according to Leamy.

Leamy said in an interview Tuesday that he and Henley plan to bolster Wolff ’s food menu, currently limited to sausages and pretzels, by late this year or

early next and also will be hosting monthly barbecue pop-ups in Albany and Schenectady. Halloween and holiday parties, special events and other promotions are planned through the end of the year. Leamy said the delay of the sale was due to protracted negotiations and a long backlog of paperwork processing by state agencies.

“I’m a little sad,” Baumgartner said Tuesday. “It was fun to own a place that was so wellreceived right from the start. But I need to simplify my professional life.”

To that end, Baumgartner said, he will try to sell Troy Beer Garden and The Berlin as a package in order to concentrate on June Farms, a 4-year-old animal farm, bar and event space in West Sand Lake that also has accommodations in seven cabins and tipis available via Airbnb, with more being built.

Baumgartner still has a fractional ownership of The Olde English Pub in downtown Albany, which he opened in 2009. He founded and ran the Albanybased Bombers Burrito Bar, which grew to multiple locations, until selling it in 2017, and other bars and restaurants as well.

Provided photo Sam Leamy, left, and Dan Henley are the new owners of the Wolff’s Biergarten brand. The deal, initially announced in January by Wolff’s founder Matt Baumgartner, was finalized on Oct. 1. Leamy was a longtime manager for the company. He and Henley, shown at the original Wolff’s, in Albany’s warehouse district, have taken over that location and the Wolff’s in Schenectady; they will be acquiring the Syracuse Wolff’s in the future. Baumgartner retains ownership of the two buildings, and this past spring he converted the Troy Wolff’s into Troy Beer Garden, which he still runs.