From The Broadway Salon, 445 Broadway:

Heather Savage, 29, was the winner of a free makeover hosted by The Broadway Salon on Halloween. See "before" and "after" photos of Savage below.


She was chosen "Today Show" style off the street last weekend and treated to a manicure, pedicure, makeup and hair cut by a beauty team at the Salon and then she enjoyed a mini shopping trip at Lifestyles. She'll also be dining at Cantina as part of the tri-business promotion The Broadway Salon initiated this year.

Savage is a former Saratoga Springs High School graduate and a sports enthusiast. She loves riding her motorcycle, hiking, biking and spending time with her family and her boyfriend, Jeff.

If you're anywhere south of Exit 9 Tuesday evening, consider checking out the new Wheatfields Bistro & Wine Bar in Clifton Park (The Crossing Plaza, 54 Crossing Blvd.)

The brand new eatery opening tomorrow is sister restaurant to Colleen and Tim Holmes' Wheatfields Restaurant and Bar on Broadway.

The Bistro opens at 4 p.m. for dinner.

For reservations, call 383-4444.

Check out photos of Wheatfields II (my name for it) at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/32flavorspr/sets/72157621531672753/
and comment here to tell me how that delicious-looking food tastes!

An area events Web site, www.thesaratogalife.com, which launched locally four years ago, has undergone a complete redesign this fall, and advocates say it’s drawing more business their way.

TheSaratogaLife.com is a “comprehensive guide to all things shop-dine-stay and play in Saratoga,” according to local directors Annemarie Bradt and George Ehinger. The colorful, user-friendly Web site caters to advertisers, consumers and community causes.

Most significantly, it offers a guide for both locals and tourists of what to do around town by allowing businesses to create a profile including a summary, links to their Web sites, upcoming events, photos and customer reviews.

This service is $800 per year, Ehinger said, with options for shorter membership available too.

Currently, more than 60 local businesses have signed on, Ehinger said.

Another aspect of the site is Community Causes, where nonprofits can post their events and fundraisers for free. Saratoga Reads, The Children’s Museum and Double H Ranch are among the community groups signed on to promote their causes. Individual users can also join for free and post blog entries, business and restaurant reviews and information about sales or community events.

The Web site is run by The Local Life LLC, a company that operates nationally with similar locale-oriented online guides scattered throughout the Northeast.

In addition to Saratoga, The Local Life targets Providence, Rhode Island, New Haven, Conn., Arlington, Va., and Bethesda, Md.

For more information, contact Ehinger at george@thelocallife.com or Annemarie Bradt at 320-2537 or annemarie@thelocallife.com.

Community causes can contact community@thelocallife.com for more information.

The dedicated staff and members of Total Body Trifecta Fitness Studio celebrated a milestone Sunday, marking the 12th anniversary of the business’s opening on the West side of town.

As a small and unassuming studio at 61 Lawrence St., Total Body Trifecta has weathered the years despite roadblocks like fire and recession.

Longtime members laud the sense of community created there by co-owners Mary Anne Fantauzzi and Brian Bayly, who’ve worked together for more than 15 years.

“We figured we might as well do what we do best, which is teach class,” Fantauzzi said of the partnership with Bayly that began years ago at Saratoga Athletic Club on West Avenue.

“We decided we’d make a go of it,” Bayly added.

Both are certified personal trainers. Fantauzzi specializes in the New York City Ballet workout and Bayly is a practicing dancer himself, appearing locally in performances like “The Nutcracker.”

Along with about 10 other certified instructors, they teach fitness classes in everything from low-impact aerobics, pilates, kick-boxing, yoga, ballet and salsa, seven days a week.

They call Total Body Trifecta its own family, counting less than 100 people between staff and members, who range from college students to Baby Boomers; 99 percent of them are female.

The location of the studio has changed throughout the years, but the business has survived with adaptability, said Bayly and Fantauzzi, who both maintain non-related full-time jobs in the area.

A fire started by a curling iron in a former rented space on Lawrence Street burned that building to the ground, so Total Body Trifecta moved next door to the Freeman & Shea Plumbing building, a converted carriage house where oddities like an antique safe and original flooring from the Grand Union Hotel share space with mats and exercise balls.

Currently, the studio offers walk-in classes, class cards and month-by-month membership.

“We’re changing with the times to adapt,” Fantauzzi said. “This way, people have the flexibility to do a class without making a big commitment.”

Contact Total Body Trifecta at 581-8025.

In photo above, fitness instructors Mary Anne Fantauzzi and Brian Bayly pose in their studio Sunday.

The new Saratoga Health and Wellness center officially opens today.

The facility at 30 Gick Road has undergone months of renovation work to institute a completely new, original design scheme by owners Michael Lapolla and Nicholas Galuardi.

I wrote about the center in September, when Mike and Nick kindly showed me around what was at that point 7,200 square feet of dark, dusty space — a cavernous shell of a facility.

Now it's promised to be a bit lighter and cozier, so I'd go over there and check it out! (Photos from today's opening may be forthcoming, so check back later.)

Saratoga Health and Wellness is a team of professionals, including Mike and Nick plus Erin Mattson and Rebecca Mahoney, that provides fitness, wellness, nutrition and exercise consulting services.

For more info, e-mail info@saratogahealthandwellness.com or call 306-6987.

Dan Bell has been prepping roots to make horseradish for the last 13 years, and he thinks it’s time he passed the peeler.

That’s why he’s selling Whalen’s Horseradish Products, a specialty food company he runs out of his home in Ballston Spa that has expanded into a full-time operation in the last decade.

“I think now’s the time, because I’ve got more work than I can handle,” said Bell, who is retired from the National Guard. “It’s gotten to be more than just a one-man business.”

Whalen’s Horseradish has been around since 1925 and is known for hand-prepared, coarse-ground horseradish made from roots grown in Mississippi. Products such as horseradish sauces, cheese spreads and mustard are distributed to a national customer base mainly through Bell’s established craft show circuit as well as via Web, mail and phone orders.

He also distributes horseradish products to about 11 specialty shops in the region, from Cooperstown to Glens Falls to Amsterdam.

Bell said the business is perfect for an entrepreneur or a retired couple willing to take the momentum he’s already created to the next level, by hiring staff and continuing the company’s growth. A local buyer would be ideal, Bell said, because they could keep the company’s current phone number and post office box.

“There’s a lot of advantages if somebody locally were interested,” he said, adding, “I wouldn’t mind working for them a day or two a week.”

The business itself is for sale for $90,000, which includes an established craft show schedule, a refrigerated trailer used to sell products out of at the craft shows, customer lists, recipes, a Web site and customer relations. An additional $30,000 worth of equipment is also available.

Contact Bell at 587-6404.

A new business has been taking shape under wraps for the last several weeks at 10 Lake Ave., right across from the police station and kitty-corner to The Saratogian's offices.

Numerous calls to Conboy & Mannion Contracting, the group that owns the building and occupies the second floor, have gone unreturned in recent weeks.

However, a cheeky sign printed in minuscule type now hangs in the paper-covered window at the street level: “A small note to let you know something big is on its way this fall.”

Stay tuned for a follow-up in a future post.