POSITIVE IMPACT
Cooperstown Distillery donates 400 bottles of hand sanitizer to city
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » As Cooperstown Distillery plans its upcoming expansion to the Spa City, the business is already proving to be a good neighbor.
The Cooperstown company, which is slated to open a new location in downtown Saratoga Springs, recently donated 400 bottles of its “Cooper’s Clean” hand sanitizer to the city.
The Saratoga Springs City Council voted to accept this donation, a value of $1,600, in its most recent meeting.
“We want to really thank Cooperstown Distillery,” Commissioner
of Accounts John P. Franck said while proposing the vote, noting that the sanitizer was distributed to the Wesley Community, the Saratoga Senior Center and Shelters of Saratoga.
“I’m really amazed how some of these people stepped up to the plate,” Commissioner of Public Works Anthony “Skip” Scirocco commented in the meeting, commending the distillery for thinking outside of the box and changing its production operations to make hand sanitizer. “That’s unbelievable. That’s the kind of ingenuity that in a crisis when people are really having a tough time - everybody
pulls together and makes it all work.”
“I totally agree. It was really incredible,” Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton added, encouraging all to support Cooperstown Distillery the way it has supported the city.
Area residents will have the chance to do that locally later this year, when Cooperstown Distillery anticipates opening a tavern, tasting room and retail shop at 453 Broadway, the former Bruegger’s Bagels location.
Beyond this initial donation, Cooperstown Distillery owner and distiller Gene Marra shared that the company plans to donate another 500 bottles of hand sanitizer to the city of Saratoga Springs.
“Since we are soon to be open in Saratoga we thought it would be a nice gesture for the community - sort of a welcome to Saratoga,” Marra said, explaining that these donations are an extension of a growing community give back program that began in Cooperstown.
Though progress has slowed at the new location due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the folks at Cooperstown Distillery are eager to open in Saratoga Springs. “It’s very exciting,” said Marra, who has been planning this expansion for a long time. “We’ve always had our crosshairs on Saratoga. We’ve always wanted to be there,” he said. “We think it’s a great town. I’ve been enamored with Saratoga since I was a kid.”
Along with the Saratoga Race Course and downtown dining scene that attracts Marra and many others to vacation in Saratoga Springs, the Cooperstown Distillery team is familiar with the area from attending industry events at the Saratoga Springs City Center.
“We love Saratoga, and we think we’re going to do extremely well,” Marra said, adding that the new site will have a similar business model as the Cooperstown Distillery Beverage Exchange on Main Street in Cooperstown, nearby the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
This site, separate from the production facility that opened in 2013, debuted four years ago and has been a hit with Cooperstown locals and visitors ever since.
Regarding the new location, “We’re extremely excited about the opportunity because we just feel like we’re going to have a very busy store, with the type of products that we’re dispensing, the amenities, the interior design,” Marra said. “It’s going to be a little different than what Saratoga is used to.”
Marra looks forward to sharing Cooperstown Distillery’s variety of awardwinning handcrafted artisanal spirits, including whiskey, vodka, gin and rum. The store will carry the company’s popular baseball-shaped Hall of Fame Signature Series Decanters as well.
Cooperstown Distillery will also introduce some Saratoga-influenced brands to its product lineup in the future.
In addition to its own products, the bar will serve other New York state craft beverages such as beer and cider, along with a limited bar menu for food.
As parts of the state start to reopen, Marra hopes his vision for Cooperstown Distillery’s expansion to Saratoga Springs will become a reality sooner than later. He said, “The whole thing is like a dream come true, it’s just waiting to get there.”
“We can’t wait to start construction,” Marra continued. “Once we get the green light, we’re going to be in there swinging hammers.”
Despite the COVID-19 setback, Marra sees the new expansion as a strategic opportunity to continue growing Cooperstown Distillery. Even if there is not a traditional meet at Saratoga Race Course this summer, Marra is optimistic that the business will have a good late summer and fall. “I think we have something really unique and something very special, and I think the local people are going to come out and embrace us quickly,” he said, “and I think that in a very short period of time, people that are traveling even from out of state or from neighboring counties will try and seek us out for our uniqueness.”
More information about Cooperstown Distillery is available online at cooperstowndistillery.com.