Long-Time Local Businesses Change Hands

Three long-time local businesses with a combined 236 years of history are heading into the new decade under new ownership, with Sleder’s Family Tavern, Benjamin Twiggs, and Easling Construction all changing hands.

Brian and Deb Cairns, who have owned Sleder’s Family Tavern on Randolph Street in Traverse City since 1992, are selling the restaurant to their son and daughter-in-law effective December 31. Ryan and Megan Cox will “continue the legacy of the third family to own the historic tavern long-term,” according to a family announcement. Sleder’s – which was founded in 1882 by Bohemian immigrant Vincil Sleder, making it Michigan’s oldest continuously operating restaurant – will celebrate its 138th anniversary in 2020.

The Cairns say they’ve been preparing for retirement for several years, with Brian about to celebrate his eightieth birthday next week. The coming days will also mark the couple’s last staff Christmas party. “We made this decision a year ago, and the kids had wanted it forever, and it just happened to correspond with somebody’s birthday,” laughs Deb. “We always hoped it would stay in the family….more than anything, I think that’s how the community will accept (a sale).”

Ryan and Megan Cox worked together at Sleder’s during high school and college, and later married and had three children – two of whom now also work at the restaurant. The couple’s youngest daughter, age 11, has already stated her intention to take over Sleder’s in the future. “We’re very proud that it’s something that’ll be able to continue on in the family,” says Megan. Deb says a family focus has been key to the restaurant’s success over the decades. Even as more competitors have flooded the market and consumers’ tastes have modernized, Sleder’s has consistently served at least 100,000 customers year after year, according to Brian.

“People come here for a cold beer, a burger, and wings,” adds Deb. “During the holidays next week, you’ll see a lot of families here. It’s a place people can come with eight family members and not spend an arm and a leg.” The Cairns themselves were married at the restaurant, with four of their children later holding their own rehearsal dinners there. Sleder’s has also maintained a commitment to community involvement, recently raising $130,000 for Hickory Hills Ski Area and hosting the On The Porch Concert Series, which the Coxes plan to continue.

Megan says customers can expect Sleder’s to continue on the same as usual, complete with Randolph the moose – and some occasional tweaks in the future. “We have some ideas of things we want to pursue,” she says. “We’d eventually like to have service outside someday. I think we need to adapt to the times and as the neighborhood changes…we’re excited to get behind the helm and keeping sailing it forward.”

Also in Traverse City, owner Julie Millen is preparing to hand off retail store Benjamin Twiggs – located in Campus Plaza on East Front Street – to new owner Lisa Eckerle effective January 2. Benjamin Twiggs, “original purveyor of fine cherry products in northern Michigan,” has been in business since 1966, with Millen at the helm since 2008. Over the last decade, Millen has doubled the store’s retail and wholesale sales and tripled online sales. She attributes that expansion to building relationships in the community – serving on the Impact 100 board and working with the National Cherry Festival and Traverse Connect, formerly the Traverse City Area Chamber of Commerce – and building personalized relationships with customers.

“We just keep growing, and every year is our best year,” she says. “This year has been our best one yet, and I had decided I wanted to do something else, so this felt like a good time to sell.”

Millen and Eckerle were connected through a mutual hairdresser – one of those “divine” fated connections, Millen says – and worked through advisory firm Golden Circle Advisors to negotiate a sale. The Eckerle family has long-time cherry farming and production roots in northern Michigan, which Millen says will be a boost to Benjamin Twiggs’ product lines and connections to the cherry industry. When Millen first started as a part-time employee at Benjamin Twiggs more than 11 years ago, she was coming off the heels of a difficult divorce and battle with cancer. Her decision to buy the store from its previous owner gave her a renewed passion and purpose – “it saved me,” she says – and prepared her to move on to new challenges. “Lisa has that same energy and passion, so I know she’s going to keep things going and help take the business even further,” says Millen.

In Leelanau County, Easling Construction Founder and CEO Marty Easling used his company’s annual holiday party this past weekend to announce the 44-year-old company was being sold to its employees via an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP). “You are my family,” Easling told the company’s nearly 100 employees at the party. “I sold my company to you.”

An ESOP allows employees to own shares in the company, usually as part of a benefit or retirement plan, cashing out when they leave or retire from the business. ESOPs are typically set up as a contribution to employees, not as an employee purchase. Employees participate in the economic growth of the company and are encouraged to “think like owners,” since their personal success is intertwined with that of the company. A Washington State study found that ESOP participants made five to twelve percent more in wages and had almost three times the retirement assets than workers in comparable non-ESOP companies, according to the National Center for Employee Ownership. Easling Construction's ESOP was arranged by Lazear Capital Partners.

Easling says the ESOP is a “smart financial move for the company” – such restructurings offer numerous tax benefits – but also provides an opportunity to support his “loyal and talented” employees. He says Easling Construction’s maintenance division has grown by 800 percent since the recession, with its shoreline protection business quadrupling in the last two years – growth driven by employees, according to the CEO.

“I am not going anywhere,” Easling says. “I love Leelanau County and want the best for my team, my clients, and the economic health of the region that has been my home my entire life.” 

Pictured: Brian & Deb Cairns hand over the Sleder's keys to Ryan & Megan Cox