SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — Two North Country businesses have been sold to new owners, according to the North Country Center for Businesses in Transition (CBIT). CBIT made the Jan. 28 announcement as the partnership enters its third year supporting transitioning businesses. Over the last two years, retiring owners of Tug Hill Vineyards and Adirondack Soy […]
SARANAC LAKE, N.Y. — Two North Country businesses have been sold to new owners, according to the North Country Center for Businesses in Transition (CBIT).
CBIT made the Jan. 28 announcement as the partnership enters its third year supporting transitioning businesses.
Over the last two years, retiring owners of Tug Hill Vineyards and Adirondack Soy Candles used local business-support services and resources — including CBIT’s community liaison network — to develop business-succession plans and connect with potential buyers.
“Preparing to sell a business can be intimidating,” Jenna Kraeger, economic-development specialist at Lewis County Economic Development, one of CBIT’s new community liaisons, said in a release. “These stories are testament to the hard work and dedication of these business owners, their professional services team and the economic development staff who supported them through the transition process.”
The North Country Center for Businesses in Transition works to “to help owners sell their businesses on the open market, complete intergenerational family transitions or convert to an employee-owned or cooperative model,” per the website of the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA)
CBIT is a collaboration of regional organizations and leaders that seeks to support existing business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs in developing successful business-transition strategies, ANCA said.
Tug Hill Vineyards
Sue and Mike Maring decided it was time to sell Tug Hill Vineyards in Lowville, a farm winery that grows French-American cold-hardy grapes.
The Marings planned, connected with professional support, and were “patient and flexible” in finding the right buyers. As a result, they successfully passed on their business to the Beller family this past January, CBIT said.
Jon and Taren Beller — and their three sons, Owen, Ty, and Dax — are long-time Lewis County residents. Jon Beller is an owner at Beller Farms where his family has milked cows for more than 100 years. Taren Beller is a special-education teacher in Beaver Falls, a hamlet in the town of Croghan in Lewis County.
“We are very excited to be purchasing Tug Hill Vineyards,” Jon Beller said. “It is truly a dream come true for us and combines Taren’s love of cooking and country style with my hobby of fruit trees and all things orchard related. We look forward to working together as a family to maintain and grow the wonderful business the Marings have established. We plan to make small changes, growing the restaurant and events, and adding more family-friendly activities. The staff at Tug Hill Vineyards are all maintaining their current roles and have been very patient teaching us about a business we knew little about.”
Adirondack Soy Candles
Another business — Adirondack Soy Candles, a home-based candle company in Saranac Lake — also transferred to new ownership. The 17-year-old business now belongs to Terry Reed, who is the store manager at The Village Mercantile, also in Saranac Lake.
Previous owner Sue Amell moved out of the region and continued to operate the business from out of state. She explored various transition options and contacted CBIT in 2018. She wanted her candle company to continue to grow in the place where it “took root.”
Reed told Patrick Murphy, executive director of the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, that she credits CBIT and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for “making the transition process run smoothly,” per the CBIT release.
“The connection with SBDC made possible by CBIT was wonderful. We had a great conversation with them to help start our business. The resources they provided were great and being able to go back to them to review was really good too,” Reed said. “SBDC provided the resources to help us understand how to finance the purchase … I had no clue on how to even get a tax ID number. [CBIT] really got me moving forward and where I needed to go to get the business moving.”
Reed also praised Amell, who supported her with an informal “apprenticeship” over the phone in the months leading up to the sale.