LAKE PLACID -- Business partners Brooks Reynolds and Molly Shubert know the northern Adirondacks.
Their new personal-assistance venture, Camp Concierge, offers a variety of services for local residents, second-homeowners and vacation renters. Both are seasoned Lake Placid residents, and they say they want to offer their clients the lay of the land.
Inspired by comparable services in Aspen and other mountain resort communities around the United States, Camp Concierge, its owners say, aims to help people enjoy their time in the Olympic Region.
Reynolds said in an interview this week that their business focuses on grocery and beverage delivery (by car and by boat), appointment making for anything from auto delivery to spa treatments, restaurant reservation-making, arranging for private chefs and catering, helping to open up camps and cottages by stacking pantries and on and on.
"The whole idea," Reynolds said, "is that our clients make one phone call and we take care of it all."
Reynolds began putting the pieces of Camp Concierge together last summer with her friend, Erin Koerselman. Koerselman's husband Steve was, at the time, manager of the Lake Placid Lodge. Reynolds said he's worked as a concierge at resorts in the west and gave them a lot of guidance.
When the Koerselmans left Lake Placid earlier this year, Reynolds turned to her friend Molly Shubert for help.
"I was so psyched," Reynolds said of Shubert's agreement to partner in Camp Concierge. "I knew I wouldn't be able to do it alone."
"I was excited when Brooks asked me," Shubert said, "I'd been thinking that I'd offer to help she and Erin out."
Shubert said she felt the concept was sure-fire in the Lake Placid area.
"It's a service I would want when I travel somewhere different," she said.
Together, the two have developed a Web site, and for the last few weeks have been high gear with work for clients all over Lake Placid and the surrounding area.
They work for a nominal, hourly fee and Reynolds said they do apply an extra charge for grocery shopping and delivery.
"We both have boats," Reynolds said, "so we can do deliveries on the lakes. That's one thing that sets us apart."
So far, she said, they've made deliveries on Lower Saranac Lake and Placid Lake, and are wiling to work in the St. Regis lakes and in Tupper Lake. They've also done personal assistance work in Keene and Keene Valley.
"We're also doing take-out deliveries up the lake," Shubert said. "We're planning on doing trash pick-up too."
Camp Concierge, its owners say, is planning on a busy summer and early fall. Reynolds said the pair knew they'd be working hard during the horse shows and Ironman, but they've got bookings well into August.
Reaching out to new clients through local real estate offices, the Web and brochures, Shubert said, should help keep the business going through the hectic holiday periods this winter.
"People who are new to town don't know the lay of the land," Reynolds explained. "We're here to help orient people."
Reynolds, 27, lives in Lake Placid and works as a real estate agent and as a fishing guide in addition to her Camp Concierge work.
Shubert, 25, lives in Saranac Lake and grew up in Lake Placid.
For more information, visit Camp Concierge's Web site: www.campconcierge.net.
