Life is Beautiful Saratoga is ready to spread positivity

Life is Good Saratoga is officially open and ready to bring its positive message and apparel to the spa town. (Emma Ralls – Medianews Group)

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY — As of July 1, a familiar face is back on Broadway. Life is Good Saratoga is officially open and ready to spread the “power of optimism” to the spa town.

John Nemjo, owner of the new Life is Good store, said it feels like he’s returning to his roots. Nemjo also owns Saratoga Outdoors, which opened on Broadway in 2008 as “Just Plain Good” and was originally a Life is Good store.

“We had Just Plain Good, but we added some elements to it and pushed Life is Good a little bit, which made it smaller, but it’s been a really hot brand for us since the beginning,” Nemjo said. “We felt it was time to give it its own space again.”

Life is Good has been a top-selling brand, the second-best-selling brand according to Nemjo, and Saratoga Outdoor customers wanted more, but didn’t have the space to do it. By opening this location next to Saratoga Outdoors, they can make more Life is Good products available to the community and showcase more of what the brand has to offer.

“We’re really excited to grow our business through this and with it being right next door it couldn’t be easier,” Nemjo said. “I’m really excited about the management team I’ve put in place, we’ve got some brilliant people working for us and we’re really happy to be here.”

Elise Porter, who has been with Saratoga Outdoors since 2019, is the director of Life is Good Saratoga and shared that she is excited to lead the charge.

“I’m excited to see how this all comes together when it’s done, and to see what it can become and grow,” Porter said. “Not only to see what we can do with other brands, but also what we can do with Life is Good, because they have so much and they change every year, and we’re just seeing where it can go and how far we can take it.”

The store was up and running very quickly, taking about three weeks to get to a location where it could open and welcome the community. Porter said she was not only proud of all the hard work everyone put in to get the store up and running, but also for being able to spread the message behind Life is Good.

“Life is Good is a positive brand, it’s about spreading joy and kindness on all levels, and bringing that back to Saratoga is really cool,” Porter said. “Having the store have its own space to do what they do and spread kindness is something that’s really exciting.”

According to Nemjo, the community is just as excited to welcome Life is Good to Broadway as they are to open the store.

“As soon as we put the sign on the door, people were talking about it, taking pictures and telling their friends,” Nemjo said. “Our business has become a destination in Saratoga, and while we certainly welcome tourists, we cater mostly to locals. We are a destination and we are going to attract new business to that end of Broadway.”

“We think it’s the coolest side of Broadway, for sure. It’s the most independent stores and I think we have a variety of different things. We’re just happy to be a part of the overall business community of downtown Saratoga Springs, and especially on that side, we have some great businesses on that side of the street.

There is still a lot of work to be done, like bringing in more merchandise, decorating the venue with more Life is Good materials and images, and other behind-the-scenes work – but it can all be done because they are serving the community and are open for business.

“We still have a lot of work to do and we’re not 100% where we need to be yet, but summer is coming,” Nemjo said. “We opened on July 1st and it’s a brand that we can sell all year round, but certainly in the summer months, so we wanted to open the store to take full advantage of that summer season.”

Life is Good Saratoga is open daily from 10am to 8pm at 486 Broadway in Saratoga Springs. For more information, visit www.lifeisgoodsaratoga.com or visit their Instagram or Facebook.