A popular downtown watering hole in Saratoga Springs is set to move in the coming months.
Just across Broadway from city hall sits a hole-in-the-wall where customers enjoy regionally brewed beers and rounds of Mario Kart on an N64.
The popular bar has already gone through a series of changes over the past few months.
“For the record, you can call it Pint Sized now. The way we look at it is it took a year of trying to figure out how we wanted to work all the branding stuff out. But, DIVE is the company, Pint Sized is the place,” said Rosa.
Owner August Rosa changed the name of the 700-square-foot taproom, but has since reversed course.
While Pint Sized has grown into the tight space over the past 7 years, Rosa recently announced he’ll be moving across downtown.
“This was something I put a lot of thought into. We have a lot of memories in this space. But, ultimately, what makes a bar is the people, your staff, patrons. That’s what I think cultivates a real vibe. Obviously this is a unique space, it’s a challenging space. It’s flooded multiple times – I think on average like one-and-a-half-times it floods. And the stairs do—the water backs up in the stairs. There’s challenges here, it’s small, it’s not conducive to the kind of events I’d like to do,” said Rosa.
The move could be part of a broader vibe shift in downtown Saratoga Springs. Traditional nightlife hotspots like Caroline Street and Broadway may be fading from popularity in favor of places like Phila Street.
Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus isn’t surprised by Phila’s trendiness.
“You know I don’t know that I’d call it a reshuffling or a reorganization. I think what’s happening is that with the outdoor dining that we added on Phila Street over the pandemic that still exists there today we made some of those small spots even bigger. So, I think just the interest in being on a street that’s got outdoor cafes, lots of restaurants, fun places, safe, right,” said Shimkus.
Rosa is packing up the polaroid pictures that line the walls and beer labels covering the ceiling and moving his taproom to Phila Street, where the 2,700-square-foot Mittler’s Market currently stands.
Rosa says through some careful planning, including splitting the space with a food vendor and installing some arcade machines, he hopes to be paying essentially the same amount of rent as he currently is for his Broadway location.
“Saratoga’s the place to be. There’s no way around it and there is value to that. So, naturally rents are going to go up and whatnot. I’m in a little bit of a unique situation here because of the size of it and the per-square-foot-price it just didn’t make any sense anymore. It made me look at sightly bigger spaces that might’ve just cost a bit more money,” said Rosa.
Rosa’s impending move comes as other downtown staples are in the midst of big changes.
D’Andreas, a long-time pizza spot, recently shuttered its Caroline Street location to make way for a multi-story luxury apartment complex.
Just up the street, the owners of two prominent Caroline Street bars, Gaffney’s and Saratoga City Tavern, are looking for buyers.
Last month, Caroline Street’s oldest bar, Tin & Lint, was sold to an employee.
Meanwhile, a handful of new restaurants and bars have popped up along Phila Street.
Discover Saratoga Executive Director Darryl Leggieri says while it can be jarring, he sees the changes to Saratoga Springs’ downtown as a good thing.
“The kind of shifts that you’re speaking about shows that our downtown isn’t static. It’s always adapting, it’s always growing. I feel like new or expanding establishments create a cycle, and that just continues to attract more visitors. And it in turn encourages others to explore, dine, and stay longer. There’s still some question marks as to who’s going to land in some of these spots. But, since the pandemic, there just has not been a lot of vacancy in downtown Saratoga Springs,” said Leggieri.
Mittler’s Market has been open less than two years. The bodega-bar combo was a passion project for owner Steve Mittler, who admits he’s just grown tired of it.
“You know I just came to a realization that I’m not enjoying what I’m doing. I bought myself a job which I loved. I loved building out the restaurant and the store but in reality, I’m a cashier eight hours a day if not 10 hours a day sometimes. And it’s just not fulfilling the way I thought it was going to be. So, we worked out a deal with Pint Sized and they’re going to come in and people are excited about it,” said Mittler.
Rosa says he’s aiming to open at the new location by the end of this year.
