This week we caught up with Paul Nasrani, who you may know as the owner of Adirondack Creamery! He shares what brought him to this area to start his ice cream business, some favorites in and around their home on Glen Lake, and what type of restaurant he’d like to see added to the region…
Tell us about yourself!
My name is Paul Nasrani. I’m the founder and owner of Adirondack Creamery Ice Cream. My wife Simi and I have two children.
On the Ice Cream Business
In the early 2000s I was the Chief Financial Officer of a company in NYC and dreaming of starting my own business. I used to make ice cream as a child on a friend's farm and began to make ice cream using simple ingredients – milk, cream, sugar and eggs — in my tiny Manhattan studio apartment for friends. My ice cream was so well received that in 2004 I quit my job and relocated to Silver Bay on Lake George start Adirondack Creamery which was also my introduction to life in the Glens Falls region. I now have an ice cream company which produces all of our ice cream with milk and cream from small family farms to stores throughout the New York Metropolitan, Hudson Valley, Capital and Adirondack regions. Some of our flavors include Whiteface Mint Chip (named after the Olympic mountain in Lake Placid), Syrian Date and Walnut (50% of the profits are donated to groups that help Syrian refugees), Chocolate Peanut Butter, Kulfi Pistachio Cardamom, Pumpkin Pie, and more.
On Life In and Around Glens Falls
While I had spent summer vacations on Northern Lake George throughout my youth, I was not familiar with Glens Falls until founding Adirondack Creamery in 2004. On a trip to plan the opening of Adirondack Creamery at Silver Bay, my then girlfriend, Simi (now my wife of almost 15 years) mentioned we should stay over at her mother’s place which I thought was in Albany, but it turned out to be a lovely home on Glen Lake that she had owned since the early 1990s. Simi's parents loved the Lake George region because the mountains and lakes reminded them of Kashmir, where they are from. We stayed at Glen Lake a lot during the early years of Adirondack Creamery and over the years as the ice cream company and our family grew, we spent more time there each summer, as well as the holiday season and ski weekends in winter. During the pandemic, we decided to spend most of our time at Glen Lake.
Since we have been spending more time here, we have discovered wonderful things in our neighborhood (beyond the lake we love so much). For example, biking the trail to Coopers Cave (and stopping at Sprinkles on the way), shopping at the Farmer’s Market downtown, cross country skiing at Cole’s Woods, basketball in Crandall Park, the pool and trails at Gurney Lane, shows at The Wood Theater, and more. We also love the amazing proximity to our favorite Adirondack areas for outdoor activities – Northern Lake George, Keene Valley, and Lake Placid.
We really enjoyed how our neighborhood came together this past winter to create and maintain an ice rink which stayed in use until mid-March. We enjoyed hockey games that lasted until dark, skating lessons, and even a neighborhood barbeque out on the ice.
Some Glens Falls Favorites
I love the energy and evolving downtown – wonderful shops, an amazing library, green public spaces and of course so many wonderful food options that I can’t name them all– Morgan and Co, Mikado, Flight, Radici. A favorite hidden gem for us is La Cosina Mexicana on Bay Road and we also love Bean's Country Store in Queensbury (which sells our ice cream).
A Perfect Glens Falls Day
I’d start the day with an early morning bike trip from Glen Lake to Glens Falls, grab the first coffee at Stewart’s just off the trail, and then ride back to get in the first dip in the lake for the day. If it’s a Saturday, we’d head back downtown to pick up coffee and an egg sandwich at Flight and then to the Farmer’s Market for eggs, vegetables, fruit and whatever else looks great. We’d then head back home for another swim and cooking up some of the Farmer’s Market food on the grill for lunch.
We would kayak and swim with the boys in the afternoon and then paddle over to the Docksider for mid afternoon cocktails. In the early evening we’d all pile into our old Lincoln and head south to Common Roots for dinner outside and then we’d be off to the Glen Drive-In where we’d enjoy popcorn and our own Adirondack Creamery ice cream all while having a blast watching a feature under the stars.
On the Past
I miss having Kashmiri tea with my mother-in-law on the deck of the house on Glen Lake. She was a doctor in the Albany area but had Wednesdays off and loved spending her days off here as it reminded her of the lakes and mountains of her native Kashmir. She was never happier than when our kids were running all about the yard and jumping in the lake. She passed away a few years back and I am certain she would be thrilled that her grandchildren continue to love the area as much as she did and we continue to have tea on the deck.
On the Future
I'd love to see a Middle Eastern restaurant or a gourmet grocery store selling more ethnically diverse foods, similar to Kalustyans in NYC. I definitely miss the variety of food options we have in NYC.
