People of Troy

Interview with James and Erin Kehoe, Downtown Troy property owners, and owners of The Workspace + more!

Is there a place downtown that holds a special memory for you guys?

"When we first moved to Troy. We were living in South Troy. We loved living in South Troy. It was kind of our first experience here. We were living in Albany and had heard Troy was getting cooler— and it was cheaper. So we found this really nice apartment in South Troy. It had just been redone by a local landlord— she did architectural rehab— and she did an amazing job. Oil-painted moldings, painted floors… it honestly felt like walking into a museum. It was gorgeous. So we moved in— price was right— and just fell in love with Troy. We’re Troy people now. We lived there for two years, and that’s also where everything kind of started. The first “bar” we opened wasn’t really a bar— we literally ordered a bar off Overstock and put it in the corner of our living room. Then Erin got coasters for Christmas that said “Jim’s Pub,” and that was kind of the seed of what became Whiskey Pickle. It all started with that move to Troy and that Overstock bar. After that, we bought a house in Lansingburgh. At this point, we’ve lived pretty much everywhere in Troy except maybe the east side. But we always come back to South Troy— every time we drive through, we’re like, maybe we should move back."

Any projects you’re excited about?

"The new workspace is a big one. We’re almost done, so that’s exciting. And a recording studio, It’s part of Bacchanalia, the music festival we’re hoping to bring back. I think the music and entertainment side is what I’m most excited about. Once that’s fully back, it’s going to be a really good time. Last year we did a few concerts at No Name Cannabis— we linked up with Tom over there. Back when it was Rare Form, they were doing shows regularly, so we brought Bacchanalia back as a series— four events, got sponsors, the whole thing. Originally, we wanted to bring back the full-scale festival— the three-day, 150-act version we did in 2022— but this year it’ll probably be smaller while we rebuild. The recording studio is part of that— bringing artists in from out of town, getting them into the studio, doing live sessions, and pushing that out digitally. There are artists playing Whiskey Pickle and No Fun all the time who are traveling through, so being able to capture that is something we’re really excited about."

What about Troy do you see yourself in?

"I think part of what drew me here in the first place— I studied archaeology and anthropology— and there’s something about Troy. The buildings, the age, the fact that it’s not overly polished…it’s just interesting. I still walk around and notice little weird details all the time, even after living here for years. I just really enjoy that. And beyond that, Troy is super receptive to people trying to do things. It’s one of the most receptive places I’ve ever been. Starting a business here felt easy. There are properties available, and the business community really supports each other.

Especially in the service industry— that’s not something you usually see. Here it’s very much “all ships rise with the tide.” Everyone wants to help each other out.

We worked with places like Nighthawks a lot, and it just felt like— this is great.

People are working together instead of against each other. And you can already see it happening— thousands of apartment units going up, even just on this corner in the next 6–12 months. So yeah, it feels like being in the right place at the right time, surrounded by people with a similar mindset."

What does success look like for you in Troy?

"I think success is making people want to be here— by creating things that make people want to be here. A lot of what we do— and what our friends do— comes from that. People like August from No Fun, Nick from Herbie’s… these are all people we were in bands with. We spent years traveling, seeing different cities, venues, restaurants— experiences. Then we came back and were like, why don’t we have this here? So it’s not a coincidence we all started things that didn’t exist here before. We saw gaps. In other cities of a similar size, there are places where everyone hangs out, where things feel alive. So we just try to bring that energy back here. Yeah— bringing something back from your travels. Exactly. After seeing so much, it’s kind of natural to ask: what’s missing here? What would we want to go to? Not everything is reinventing the wheel. We’re not the first music studio— but there wasn’t one here. So yeah—that’s kind of the game."