Photo courtesy of Tom Sblendorio of tomstudios.com
The community of Clinton, NY has been the home of Tom’s Natural Foods (originally known as Whole Earth Natural Foods) at 16 College Street for almost 50 years.
Any business with such a long run of success is undoubtedly going to reach a time for succession, where the owner(s) are ready for retirement, undoubtedly wanting their life’s work and legacy to continue. In stepped Jason Townsend (Professor of environmental science at Hamilton College), Nancy Morelle (Co-owner of Old Path Farm and part-time employee at Tom’s) and Andrew Sblendorio, who contacted the Onondaga SBDC for assistance in navigating the purchase.
Starting in January of 2020, SBDC Business Advisor Frank Cetera assisted the buyers with understanding their form of business entity options, as they were initially looking at forming a consumer cooperative. At the same time, the buyers were looking at the potential sale price that the owners had discussed with them and trying to determine if it was reasonable and feasible.
From left to right, Jason Townsend, Nancy Morelle, and Andrew Sblendorio. Photo courtesy of Tom Sblendorio of tomstudios.com
Using ProfitCents software, and the financial information from IRS tax return documents that Tom’s provided, Cetera was able to develop 5-year projections, a basic valuation for the buyers to use in comparison to the original offer, and a narrative report explaining some of the ratios and statistics from the analysis
After an online Zoom meeting to review the report that, as it turned out contained a valuation close to the sellers offer, the buyers had confidence in the upcoming transaction, and surety that they had done their due diligence in the process. Co-owner Andrew Sblendario says that "Frank and the SBDC answered all of our questions with an ease and clarity that really allowed us to proceed with confidence into this new venture. With Frank by your side, you'll be able to meet and then exceed not only your goals, but your wildest dreams."
The transition to the new owners operating the business did get pushed forward from the fall due to the coronavirus outbreak. They reopened the doors of Tom’s Natural Foods with its new owners on June 2nd, 2020, exactly 48 years to the day from when Tom’s originally opened in 1972.
Andrew, Nancy, and Jason actively engage with their local community through social media and traditional personal networking. They also work hard to put a major emphasis on local and regional products like meats, produce, mushrooms, breads and more.
Andrew Sblendario says "The community surrounding Tom's in Clinton is just amazing. People are so excited we are back open they can hardly contain themselves, and we are so happy to feed into that energy with many of the staples they've come to love, plus as many new and exciting offerings as we can get our hands on."
For more information about Tom’s Natural Foods, visit their Facebook page.
The question became how to keep the business running in the face of the impact of the pandemic. Again, they turned to the SBDC for assistance with loans and grants that were available for pandemic financial relief. Paul Brooks, senior business advisor, assisted the pair in navigating the initial complexities of the SBA Economic Injury loan process and the local grant opportunities, especially the Syracuse Economic Development Corporation loan fund. Brooks said, “working with David and Libby is a distinct honor since these two dedicated entrepreneurs are determined to restore glory to the notion of the “Salt City.”
Now that business is beginning to somewhat return to normal, David and Libby predict they will produce over 2,000 pounds of flake salt this year. And that is just the beginning. With an emphasis on social media marketing and a retail partner network consistently growing, the future looks “salty.”
In a recent discussion the entrepreneurs agreed on their principal business objective: “To produce a product that we are happy with, is sustainable, and that we are proud to put our name on.”
Syracuse Salt Co. products can be found at many local specialty retailers and on the web at: syracusesaltco.com
Keeping good records includes ensuring that tax returns and documents are properly completed, submitted, and filed for future use. These legal documents can become the backbone of business analysis for a buy & sell transaction, or for more regular and ongoing business operations and efficiencies analysis that an SBDC Advisor can assist with using the ProfitCents software platform from Abrigo.
