“The hope out there now in the community is amazing. People are so excited to see us succeed. We renovated a building that was part of an old paper mill, which went out of business in 2000,” he said. “It was abandoned and sitting in the middle of this quaint little New York town. It was falling apart, and for us to come in, renovate and create a thriving business … It’s really added a lot of excitement to the town. County-wide people see this, and we’ve been able to bring together a lot of other processors and make them excited.” He says one thing they really enjoy is seeing people who’ve been struggling now realizing there’s a momentum and expects good things for Lewis County. His wife, Bethany, says there is a ton of things to look forward to, and things are moving organically.
“We tell the farmers and producers this is about collaboration, not com- petition. We lift people up and build trust. We are in multiple stores and trying to reach out and help,” she said. “We want to partner with producers who can’t get their product out of the area. I have over 11 years of marketing experience, and we can distribute product to Lake George, Syracuse and more. We are dedicat- ed to helping everyone do well.” The food movement is happening because others want to work with them, she says. “The money is in exporting unique products out of the county that people want, and that will bring money back into our town,” she said.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • JANUARY 2020 U E 2019
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