Schenectady

Druthers Brewing Co. will open its third Capital Region location this summer at the Riverhouse at Mohawk Harbor, a $480 million development by The Galesi Group that includes the new Rivers Casino.

Local officials gathered Tuesday morning at the Marriott Courtyard Inn to make the announcement.

The Marriott hotel is already open, and the new casino will open on Feb. 8.

The 60-acre development on a former industrial site next to the Mohawk River also will include apartments, condominiums, townhouses, a second hotel, and retail, dining and office space.

The project has transformed the site, once home to the American Locomotive Co. and other manufacturers.

That transformation appealed to the brothers who operate Druthers, which also has restaurants in downtown Saratoga Springs and in Albany's warehouse district.

"We are blown away by The Galesi Group's vision for Mohawk Harbor," said CEO Chris Martell, who with his brother, Brian, the chief pub officer, operate the local brewery. "We've spent the last couple of years looking for the perfect spot for our third location and we found it in Schenectady.

"A brew pub with a beer garden overlooking the water — we can't wait," he added.

Druthers will employ 60 to 70 people at the new location.

"Those are real jobs for Schenectady," said Galesi CEO and President Dave Buicko.

Capital Region Chamber of Commerce CEO Mark Eagan said Galesi "wanted to have a local flavor here."

Coincidentally, Schenectady County Community College on Tuesday evening was holding a ceremony for students who had completed its course, Introduction to Craft Brewing. Buicko and other local officials see SCCC's culinary arts, gaming and hospitality programs as a source of talent for what likely will be hundreds of jobs to be created at Mohawk Harbor and Rivers Casino.

Among those students is Steve DiGiovanni, who's studying craft brewing at SCCC.

"I work as a server with the Saratoga Druthers," he said Tuesday. He said he hopes to play a larger role in the business as it expands, perhaps in marketing and merchandising.

Officials meanwhile marveled at how rapidly the construction has progressed.

"Every time I drive in, I pinch myself," Eagan said. With all the development, "I'm like a kid in a candy store, or an adult in a brewpub."

eanderson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5323