The owner of Wheatfields in Saratoga Springs and Clifton Park said today that reports a deal is finalized for him to open a new location in Malta's Ellsworth Commons are extremely premature. 

Tim Holmes, who owns both locations with his wife, Colleen, and several development partners, said that while he is always considering new business opportunities, there is no done deal right now. "At this point in time we are not creating another Wheatfields," he said. 

"We're very happy with the two that we have in Clifton Park and Saratoga, they're performing well, and we are always looking at sites for business opportunities throughout the Capital Region," he added.

The Holmes have owned the Saratoga Springs Wheatfields since 2004, but the Broadway restaurant will celebrate its 25th anniversary in April. The pair opened their Clifton Park location in 2009. 

Both the Business Review and the Daily Gazette reported on the possible plans this week.

The question of which businesses will fill in the 68,000 square feet of available retail space in the retail/residential complex on Route 9 has been a hot topic for several months. 

As of late July, just two businesses -- an OB-GYN and an electronics company -- had signed leases for space in the complex. Meanwhile, the 312 available apartments are going fast.

In June, on her blog SaratogaMama.com, Malta resident Colleen Pierre took a close look at Ellsworth Commons and the promise it held to create a "downtown" Malta and the failure, thus far, for that concept to launch. It's a very worthwhile read, find it here.

Emily