Bethlehem business booms in Town’s Glenmont and Delmar shopping corridors |

BETHLEHEM – Business is blooming in Bethlehem, with the arrival of national brand stores and Bethlehem residents opening businesses in their own community. Since Trader Joe’s much-acclaimed October 2025 Glenmont opening, new establishments keep sprouting this Spring in Glenmont and Delmar’s commercial corridors.

Glenmont’s Route 9 commerce continues expansion

At Glenmont’s Route 9’s northern end, Dollar Tree store displaced by Trader Joe’s has taken over some of Staples’s vacated space.

All In Athletics, an indoor sports turf and basketball venue, will fill the remaining footage come May or early June. Bethlehem resident Jessica Fuller, who co-owns All In Athletics with her husband and another Bethlehem couple, said the business grew from their love of sports and the Bethlehem community. She said the venue uniquely meets a community need for a sports facility with both green soccer/baseball turf and basketball courts, while providing an indoor space for kids and adults to play sports and socialize. She envisions the space as being used for everything from team practices to hosting birthday parties, summer camps and sports tournaments.

Just south on Route 9, Old Brick Mattress opened on March 6, replacing the Metro Mattress store that closed in 2025. Sales Associate Elan Whitbeck said when Metro Mattress closed, Old Brick’s owner saw an opportunity that would be snagged by someone else and decided, “why not me?”

At the corridor’s southern end at Glenmont Plaza, Simone’s Kitchen, a fast-casual Mediterranean eatery named after co-owner Bashir Chedrawee’s mother, will add to the restaurant’s three existing locations when it opens in a building currently under construction in the Plaza’s parking lot.

As for complaints about construction in the parking lot when the Plaza has empty storefronts, Bethlehem Senior Economic Developer Brianne Conner said the Town cannot dictate how a property owner uses its property, as long as that use complies with zoning regulations. Subject to those regulations, the builder can construct new structures on the property rather than fill empty storefronts. “If the owner can fit a building in there, the owner can do that,” Conner said.

She added she expects any empty storefronts to be filled by summer. National apparel brand J.Crew Outlet, which already advertises a “Coming Soon!” sign in the window next to the T-Mobile store, is set to follow Trader Joe as the next national retailer to occupy a Plaza storefront.

Conner credited Trader Joe’s with upping business interest in the Plaza. “The Plaza is more attractive to businesses because there is so much more customer traffic coming to the location,” she said.

Delmar’s Four Corners experiences quieter growth

Although Delmar’s Four Corners currently has no vacancies, Conner acknowledged business life spans there vary because smaller and sometimes family-owned businesses occupy the storefronts. She said those businesses can be more sensitive to seasonal factors, economic pressures, and owner life-cycle changes.

Ice cream shop Delmar Scoop moved in this winter, but FoCo Taco just closed. Chris Stewart, co-owner of Stacked Grill, an eatery that will replace FoCo Taco at the Four Corners’ intersection, said FoCo Taco’s owner was just ready to do something different, but is helping Stewart. Stacked Grill, which Stewart hopes to open in mid-April, will serve American fare, focusing on smash burgers and mostly take-out. Its name comes from the idea of stacking burgers and fries way high.

Stewart believes Stacked Grill can succeed because it will offer a variety of family-friendly options, making it appealing every day. He said people are already stopping by during renovations. He added there is room in the Four Corners for both Swifty’s, an established Delmar pub and eatery, and Stacked Grill because Swifty’s focuses on a “sit-down” experience and his restaurant is more “for a quick grab.”

After working in the industry for 17 years, Stewart, a Bethlehem native, decided to open his own dining establishment and he knew Bethlehem was where to do it. “I love this town. It’s what I know and I have always known and dreamed of doing.”

The Tipsy Moose, which replaces 333 restaurant, is still under construction, but is expected to open this summer. And the RealMcCoy brewery, which quietly closed on Hallwood Road, may soon be occupied by a similar business, according to Conner.

Delaware Avenue

Moving east along Delaware Avenue through Delmar’s “commercial hamlet”, Conner noted a couple of commercial vacancies in Main Square Shops and Delaware Plaza. With Uncommon Grounds just opening in Delaware Plaza, Conner predicted that synergy similar to that created by Trader Joe’s at Glenmont Plaza, will fill those vacancies.

“It’s synergy, which creates excitement and leads to possibility and growth,” she said. ”I think we will see even more new things, but it’s not always predictable.”

Is Bethlehem friendly or not to business?

Conner believes the energy around growth is contagious as new businesses generate excitement, more businesses consider doing business in Bethlehem.

Bethlehem has become such a popular business destination that Conner keeps a list of businesses interested in opening in the Town, but who cannot find the right space available. She said two restaurants are “watching and waiting.”

Remaining commercial building space is minimal, given wetlands and other State and federal rules that must be complied with. Conner said three or four plots along Route 9 near the relocated Panera eatery can be built on and might support a small strip mall.

While commercial development along Route 9 may vex some residents, Conner said the development seen there is comparatively small for Bethlehem’s size. She also said that development along the corridor “has always been” part of a plan and contemplates traffic and environmental impacts.

She remarked on the irony in face of complaints about over-development that a perception exists that Bethlehem is business unfriendly. She rejected that idea. “The Town holds builders accountable and makes decisions in accordance with state rules, regarding, for example, stormwater and wetlands,” she said. “We also listen to public opinion at public hearings and zoning and planning board meetings.”

“We don’t turn a blind eye just to support development and holding people accountable is not being business unfriendly.” She cited Trader Joe’s experience as an example. “There were lumps and bumps in the process, but in the end we have a good project that minimizes environmental and traffic impacts,” she said.

Conner said the Town is particularly supportive of its small businesses. It administers two grant programs to support those businesses and provides information resources for them.

Both Fuller and Stewart agreed. “I can’t say enough good things about Bethlehem,” Fuller said. “So many towns make it impossible to get a permit, but Bethlehem is really business friendly and doesn’t make it more difficult than necessary or make you jump through hoops.”

Stewart commended the town staff as “super helpful” for answering questions or directing him to other resources. Fuller singled out Conner as being a particularly helpful resource. “Other towns don’t have that,” Fuller said.

Growth still sluggish at Slingerland’s Vista Park

Conner said the biggest growth opportunity remains in Vista Park in Slingerlands. The back end of Vista Park, already partially occupied by Plug Power, contains additional industrial space. She said the Town’s Industrial Development Agency is taking steps to modernize the site’s dated marketing materials. “The site is shovel-ready, has infrastructure, but needs modern marketing to generate inquiries for the right kind of business for the park.”

As for getting retailers to move into Vista Park’s front area, Conner called it a “chicken and an egg problem,” stating there needs to be a larger customer pool supported by large-scale industries in the back portion to attract retailers/restaurants up front. “Then we can get more businesses that everyone can enjoy,” she said.

In tech park’s retail front, a 65,000 square foot site, formerly occupied by a ShopRite, remains vacant. It has remained vacant since ShopRite closed in December 2023 and Price Chopper/Market 32, the Schenectady-based supermarket chain that operates a store across the street, purchased ShopRite’s lease, equipment and fixtures, but does not own the property. Conner said Market 32 has a right of first refusal on tenant choice and is “not going to move forward with a competing business” and has rejected leasing to Target. She said Market 32 considers Target to be a competitor because Target sells groceries.

Market 32 did not respond to a request for comment as of press time.

Conner stated grocery stores and supermarkets “don’t even come to the table for a conversation because they know it’s not going to be an allowable use for them while Market 32 holds the lease.” She said Market 32 had supported an indoor sports venue tenant, but the property owner, an investor group, rejected that.

Conner allowed that Market 32 takes good care of the property and has not let it fall into disrepair and stands ready for occupancy by a new tenant. “I hope we get something in there soon because the lease still has seven years left,” Conner said.