Rutland Herald
Anthony Edwards / Staff Photo
A freshly made bed awaits a guest at the Homestyle Hostel Inn & Cafe in Ludlow.
Such was the case last September for Marji Graf, head of the local chamber of commerce. She was at openings for four new Ludlow businesses that month, Homestyle Hostel, Just Doggin’ It cafe, Big Eyes Bakery and Tygart Mountain Sports.
That was just one month out of what has been a blockbuster year for business activity in this small resort town and its neighboring communities. The chamber’s records show that 50 new businesses have opened in the region since January 2014, and the chamber has gained 84 new members over the last 12 months.
Graf, who is CEO of the Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce, said the number of new businesses that started in Ludlow, Chester and nearby towns over the past year was unusual, and spanned various types of industries. She said one of the major factors driving this large amount of business activity is what already exists in the region.
“People come here because of the people and businesses that are already here,” she said.
Graf also pointed out recent investments by Okemo Mountain Resort as a big draw.
“The mountain certainly has put a lot of money into being a four-season resort, and that helps everybody,” she said.
Another local business with a successful recent opening in Ludlow is Mojo Café, which opened last July. Owners John and Jodi Seward grew up in the area and worked together in area restaurants, including Harry’s Cafe, before opening Mojo last year.
“We chose Ludlow because it’s where we live and it’s what we’re familiar with,” he said.
Ingredients grown in this region and elsewhere in Vermont are a key part of the menu. The restaurant gets its chicken from Misty Knoll Farms in New Haven, and the beef comes from Boyden Farm, located farther north in Cambridge. The Sewards have created a diverse menu, including Mexican and Cajun influences and other New England-style options, to offer a unique selection that so far has drawn in local people and visitors alike. Aside from online tools like TripAdvisor and Yelp, it’s the customers who have spread the word.
“We just do word-of-mouth and let the product shine,” Seward said.
Homestyle Hostel is also located on Main Street and has taken advantage of local resources to help their business get off the ground. Owners Eliza Greene and Justin Hyjek, who each graduated high school in the area, saw Ludlow as a place that could use a hostel that offers a comfortable home-like atmosphere. They had returned to the area with the idea of starting a local hostel, after years of traveling through South America and running several hostels.
So far it’s been good news for the business. Not only have they had a busy season with the out-of-town crowd, but local people have also given the business some early success, filling its 24-seat restaurant for trivia night and bringing in some small business groups. Homestyle Hostel joined the chamber well before its opening day, and Hyjek said that has helped them form some important relationships in the business community.
“They’ve been the conduit between us and the resort,” Hyjek said. The chamber has also helped connect Greene and Hyjek with local people who can help with key parts of a business, such as the hiring process.
The last two years also brought big news for Okemo Mountain Resort. Bonnie MacPherson, director of public relations at Okemo, said the mountain has invested more than $1 million in snowmaking. That included new HKD snow guns, which are tower guns that are more energy efficient. MacPherson also said the resort has also made improvements to its snowmaking infrastructure overall, including the pump houses and water capacity. Now, the system can pump 9,200 gallons per minute.
Recent developments have also included a partnership with Snow Park Technologies, a Nevada-based company which is helping Okemo with a makeover of all its terrain parks. Last December, Okemo unveiled the Sunburst Six bubble chair, a state-of-the-art chair lift with heated seats.
While visitor traffic is key for this community, the new and existing businesses in this region are also maintaining a strong focus on serving the local customers. An example of this is The Free Range, a new restaurant that opened in Chester. Rick and Anne Paterno opened the restaurant in August 2014, and they also hired chef and co-owner Michael Kennedy, who was born and raised in Chester.
Paterno, a 30-year veteran of the footwear and fashion industry, was looking for a way to retire from his career and realize his desire to open a restaurant. They bought their business location in Chester in December 2013, and now, Rick Paterno said he has noticed more traffic in that end of The Common and in Chester as a whole. He said the restaurant has helped bring more customers to nearby shops as well.
While the abundant sources of local, fresh food here and in Vermont have helped hugely, for Paterno, the biggest reason to open his business was to establish a restaurant that the local people could enjoy. He noted that the popular, longtime Chester restaurant, Raspberries and Thyme, closed about five years ago.
“It was something we knew the town needed,” Paterno said. “We really wanted to do something for the town we fell in love with.”
The Paternos have lived in Chester for 30 years, and bought a permanent home here in 2006.
Tesha Buss, head of the chamber’s clean energy committee and also a business owner, said the region’s trend of positive business activity certainly builds on itself. The chamber has made various efforts to keep that trend going, she added.
“We’ve worked really hard to make it a four-season economy,” Buss said.
Buss sees the inter-connected nature of the local economy firsthand through her own business. Buss owns a retreat home in Plymouth, where she welcomes large business retreats and similar group-business gatherings. She often sends groups Okemo and Killington, and to Camp Plymouth, the Coolidge site, the Plymouth Cheese Factory and other local attractions.
Comment: Gee, I didn't see the town of Ludlow having an Economic Development Commission or spend millions on economic development. The key factor cited - "recent investments by Okemo Mountain Resort as a big draw".
Vito
1 comment:
Good point, Vito. Also, Ludlow is designed like a village. Tourists can walk around from shops to restaurants without climbing a hill. Killington is spread all over the place and the only walking is on the steep access road.
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