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SBA NAMES BELDOTTI BAKERIES FAMILY OWNED BUSINESS OF THE YEAR
-- First County Bank Helped Fund Beldotti’s Growth --
STAMFORD, Conn., March 17, 2010 — First County Bank customer Beldotti Bakeries LLC has recently been named the 2010 Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Connecticut District office. Beldotti Bakeries was nominated by First County Bank last November.
James F. Beldotti, Jr. bought his first bakery called DeLite Bakery on High Ridge Road here in 1985. In the early 1990s, with the assistance of an SBA loan, James “Jim” Beldotti purchased Cerbone Bakery, a full line bakery in a major and very accessible shopping center. Cerbone was already a very popular destination and one of the few kosher bakeries in Stamford.
Beldotti’s wife, Lorraine, and son, Michael, joined the growing business and renamed it Beldotti Bakeries in 1995. Soon after, another son, Christopher, came on board. As co-owners, Jim Beldotti, and sons, Michael P. and Christopher G., have continued to expand the business. In the late 1990s, space limitations were becoming an issue. To satisfy demand, the bakery was running two and three shifts. The situation was placing significant strain on the family, staff, equipment and bottom line. As a result, the Beldotti’s started to look for larger space.
“We might not have won this award nor have grown our business to its current size without the help of First County Bank,” said Jim Beldotti, owner and managing partner of Beldotti Bakeries. “My wife and I have been bank customers since 1973, when Lorraine opened her interior design store called Parkway Textiles on High Ridge Road.
“When we finally found an established commercial bakery in Port Chester, N.Y., we went to First County Bank’s Jim Darling and asked for a loan. We gave him a business plan, with costs and expected revenues, and showed how we would make it a more profitable business,” Beldotti explained. “First County Bank was very responsive from the beginning. Because of some difficult negotiations between us and the seller, it took close to eight months to close the deal. And First County Bank supported us the entire time.”
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BELDOTTI – Page Two
“The Beldotti’s were very concerned that we would back away from financing the deal because of the time it took to close,” said James H. Darling, vice president business banking at First County Bank. Darling has worked with the family business throughout its growth, including more than eight loans totaling over $1.7 million.
“With each road block in negotiations, Jim would call me and explain the situation. And as a long standing client with an excellent payment history and solid business acumen, we gladly pushed back the closing date without hesitation,” explained Darling. The Beldotti’s eventually bought Good Bread Bakery in Port Chester, N.Y. in September 2008 with an acquisition loan from First County Bank.
“My business philosophy has always been about relationships, customer service and excellent product. It’s that same philosophy I experience with First County Bank,” said Beldotti. “We have continued to do business with First County because of its commitment to the community and to us. We started as a very small business with six employees and First County helped us grow to a $5 million company with 45 employees.”
Beldotti Bakeries now has two locations, a retail store at 605 Newfield Avenue here and its wholesale operation at 33 New Broad St. in Port Chester, N.Y. The sons run the two facilities and the father is responsible for business development. The company delivers bread to large and small businesses from New York City to Hartford.
-- Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Business of the Year Award --
Awarded to family owned businesses that have passed from one generation to another and the owner has responsibility for operating the business. Nominees must serve as a majority owner and operator, or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business with at least a 15 year track record.
Other criteria include evidence of success as measured by sales and profits; increased employment opportunities for family and non-family members; demonstrated potential necessary for long-term business success and economic growth; and voluntary efforts to strengthen family owned businesses within the community.
The Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Business of the Year award was named after Jeffrey Butland who was the New England regional administrator at the time of his untimely death in 2004 and this national award was named in his honor.
First County Bank, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., is an independent mutual community bank with 15 branches in Stamford, Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk and Westport offering deposit products, mortgages, trust and investment services, business banking services and online banking. First County Bank has assets in excess of $1.2 billion. For additional information, please visit www.firstcountybank.com.
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