The Scene takes over Wheatfields space at 440 Broadway

The Scene Coffee & Cocktails, a cafe and cocktail bar that opened on Western Avenue in Guilderland in 2023, will take over the former Wheatfields Restaurant & Bar space at 440 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs. The owners announced the lease on Monday, Sept. 28, two days after Wheatfields served its last meals, and a publicist for the business told the Times Union that a summer 2027 opening is projected.

The space is close to 5,000 square feet, about 2,000 more than the Guilderland original, and it needs a significant renovation first. The publicist told the Times Union that substantial changes are planned to turn the dark-wood look of Wheatfields into the high-gloss style of The Scene.

The announcement at a glance

Here is what the owners and their publicist have said so far, according to the Times Union and NEWS10.

• The Scene’s second location will fill the Wheatfields space at 440 Broadway downtown.
• The opening is projected for summer 2027, and NEWS10 reported that a firm date will be announced in the coming months.
• The owners signed a lease for what Nick Forbes called an extended term with the building’s owners, Ashley Gardner and Alex Straus. He declined to give the length.
• The Saratoga location will have both a traditional bar and a coffee bar, plus catering and events.

Who is behind The Scene

Mariana and Nick Forbes own the business. They met at Siena University in Loudonville and married in September 2023, two months after the Guilderland cafe opened in July of that year, the Times Union reported. Mariana, who earned an MBA at Siena, was the face of the brand at the start. She is a member of the Lia family, which owns 22 car dealerships in three states, according to the paper.

The couple framed Saratoga as a test of whether the concept travels. “We really feel like Saratoga is a great test of our concept,” Nick Forbes told the Times Union, adding that the city’s demographics suit what they sell. In the announcement, Mariana Forbes thanked Wheatfields owners Tim and Colleen Holmes and said the Capital Region is built on strong family businesses, according to NEWS10.

Nick Forbes also credited the cafe’s employees. “Our staff has put so much into building The Scene,” he said, according to NEWS10.

The original Scene Coffee & Cocktails sits at 1671 Western Avenue, which has an Albany mailing address but is in the Town of Guilderland. The Times Union’s dining critic reviewed the cafe when it opened in 2023 and praised the look of the room.

What will be on the menu

The Saratoga location will serve coffee and breakfast in the morning and brunch all day, then switch to small plates at night under the name The Scene Cocktail Lounge, according to the announcement. The owners told the Times Union and NEWS10 that Guilderland favorites will come north, including these.

• Coffee drinks such as the cinnamon French toast latte.
• Brunch plates including a veggie scramble and a chicken pesto panini, with avocado toast among the Guilderland favorites.
• Cocktails including an espresso martini, a tiramisu martini and Linda’s Cosmo, plus the Champagne vending machine the Guilderland cafe is known for.
• Evening small plates such as a tomato and burrata salad, a prosciutto and burrata flatbread and a trio of beef sliders, with live music and DJs on some nights.

With the extra space, Mariana Forbes told the Times Union, the Saratoga location can give each of the business’s identities its own area over a day of service, from early coffee to late cocktails.

Where Wheatfields stands

Wheatfields closed after dinner on Saturday, Sept. 26. The restaurant was founded in 1988, and Tim and Colleen Holmes had owned it since 2004, the Times Union reported, so the Holmeses ran it for 22 of its 38 years. Wheatfields was known for pasta made in the building, and the restaurant’s website said the kitchen turned out close to 20 shapes and flavors a day. We covered the closing in our Sept. 25 story. The Holmeses still run Wheatfields Bistro & Wine Bar at The Crossing in Clifton Park, where Saratoga gift cards are being honored, and their sister restaurant BWP Your Local Bar & Grille on Weibel Avenue.

When the sale was first announced, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce confirmed that Wheatfields had been sold but the buyer was not named. Monday’s announcement answers what goes into the space.

What is still unannounced

The announcement left several practical questions open. These are the ones we are watching.

• A firm opening date. The owners project summer 2027, and NEWS10 reported that a date will be announced in the coming months.
• A construction start. Neither the announcement nor the local reports gave a date for the renovation to begin.
• Hours, prices and the full Saratoga menu, none of which have been released.

What it means for downtown

Our read: the move swaps a full-service dinner restaurant for a daytime cafe that turns into a cocktail bar at night, which changes who uses that block and when. A big all-day space gives people downtown another reason to stop on Broadway before noon, and another place for a drink after dinner elsewhere. The trade-off is roughly a year of renovation in a prime Broadway storefront.

The Scene is one of several new names downtown this fall. Tāng Dumplings opened on Marion Avenue this month, Viva Empanadas is now open on Congress Street, and Kuma Ani plans to open on Division Street in October, as we reported in our earlier roundup. We will report The Scene’s opening date and hours when the owners announce them.

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