Save Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium (Bar Harbor)
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Help save Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium
Maine's statewide 14-day quarantine for out-of-staters puts longtime Bar Harbor staple in jeopardy
Message from Bill Coggins, Co-Founder and Candy Maker of Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium:
Paul and Mary Trahan started what would one day become Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium in 1956. With an aisle devoted to their handmade candies and chocolates inside the Ben Franklin store in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, Trahan's Candies embarked on a long journey of growth and development.
In 1958, the Trahans opened their very own retail shop and quickly found quite a demand for their quality products. They branched out to Falmouth and Hyannis, Massachusetts where they operated in the summers, and opened locations in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida during the winter months. In those days, the shops produced strictly homemade candy and chocolates.
Expansion continued and more locations came and went, leading up to the opening of a shop in Bar Harbor, Maine in 1980. Shortly thereafter, in 1983, the shops added another dimension to their product line, introducing a line of homemade ice cream. The Bar Harbor store began with sixteen flavors and added more as demand increased. This includes the store's signature flavor, its world-famous Lobster Ice Cream.
In 1988, after 32 years of operating Trahan's Candies, Paul and Mary sold the business to their nephews, Benjamin and William Coggins at which point the business became Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium as it is today. Today, Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium continues to offer quality candies and chocolates made with the original recipes and numerous flavors of ice cream: 64 hard-serve flavors plus 12 more flavors of gelato in the Bar Harbor store alone.
We deeply appreciate our customers continued patronage through the decades. It has made the story of this small, uniquely New England, family-owned business a continually successful one. A world without Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium on the corner of Main Street and Cottage Street in Bar Harbor is something Mainers, Down Easters, New Englanders, and tourists alike would have never thought about in their worst dreams. 2020 was supposed to be a milestone. It is the 40th year anniversary of Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium in Bar Harbor, but we are now all in uncharted and uncertain territory.
Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium is faced with formidable challenges due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent statewide travel restrictions in the state of Maine. Shortly after making preparations for the opening of our 2020 season in March, our store was promptly forced to close and remained closed for two months.
Once restrictions were lifted and the business was allowed to re-open in May, a number of safeguards were put in place to protect our employees and customers. That included a safety build-out that includes a protective barrier in the middle of our customer lobby, plastic shields in each purchase window, and personal protective equipment (PPE) for all of our employees.
These safety and health investments were well worth the cost of protecting our customers and employees, but it had no impact on the unprecedented number of tourists that are now being prevented from entering the state for their annual summer vacations. Bar Harbor businesses rely entirely on the summer season. Preventing tourists from spending their summer vacation in the #1 tourist destination in the state known as "Vacationland" has had a devastating economic impact on the town and Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium.
The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce is urging Governor Mills to reconsider the 14-day quarantine for out-of-state visitors to further avoid business closures during the summer tourist season. Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium was recently featured on WABI-TV channel 5 regarding this dire situation. CLICK HERE to read the article and watch a video of the news segment. WABI-TV is the CBS affiliated television station in Bangor, Maine. The Chamber reported massive reservation cancellations in June since the quarantine period was announced as well as cancellations for July and August. Some businesses in Bar Harbor were unable to open for Memorial Day weekend, and many of those that did, reported sales of less than half of what they did during the holiday weekend in 2019.
With all cruise ships and bus tours being banned from entering the town for the 2020 season along with the quarantine induced closure of Acadia National Park, hotels, and lodging accommodations, Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium now has no way to recoup the large amount of money lost due to the two-month lockdown that lasted from March until May. It also has very few ways to generate new income due to the prevention of out-of-state tourism, which makes up more than 90% of our business. This has impacted our ability to keep our store open due to lack of revenue to cover the cost of ingredients, utilities, and payroll for our loyal employees. Some of these employees live on Mount Desert Island year-round and have worked for Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium since the turn of the century. Our cash reserves are low and our payroll protection plan has already been implemented through the federal government, but this funding will be used up by June 24th. We are now humbled to come here to ask for your support in order to help save the future of one of Bar Harbor's most beloved businesses, while making sure our employees remain as healthy and financially secure as possible.
We know that this is a difficult time for everyone. We also understand that there are many individuals and organizations in need of similar help. If you are in a position to support us, we will be extremely grateful to receive that help. This will help ensure the store staying open through the 2020 season and onward in a historic tourist town that has been deeply impaired due to the pandemic. If you could let others know about this campaign and help spread the word, we would also appreciate that wholeheartedly as well.
Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium has always taken pride with its longtime place in the Bar Harbor community. We are proud of our roles as local candy and ice cream makers in the town for the past 40 years. The business has been in our family for 64 years and has earned a reputation as one of the most unique family-owned businesses in New England during that time. Our goal now is to find new ways to support our employees, while providing our homemade candy and ice cream to the community during these devastating times. Please be sure to stay in touch with us through Facebook.com/BenBillsBH (CLICK HERE ). We also ship candy nationwide from our online store BenandBills.com (CLICK HERE). Finally, please drop us a line to let us know more about you. The messages of support are very much appreciated.
Thank you from all of us at Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium!
Maine's statewide 14-day quarantine for out-of-staters puts longtime Bar Harbor staple in jeopardy
Message from Bill Coggins, Co-Founder and Candy Maker of Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium:
Paul and Mary Trahan started what would one day become Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium in 1956. With an aisle devoted to their handmade candies and chocolates inside the Ben Franklin store in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, Trahan's Candies embarked on a long journey of growth and development.
In 1958, the Trahans opened their very own retail shop and quickly found quite a demand for their quality products. They branched out to Falmouth and Hyannis, Massachusetts where they operated in the summers, and opened locations in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida during the winter months. In those days, the shops produced strictly homemade candy and chocolates.
Expansion continued and more locations came and went, leading up to the opening of a shop in Bar Harbor, Maine in 1980. Shortly thereafter, in 1983, the shops added another dimension to their product line, introducing a line of homemade ice cream. The Bar Harbor store began with sixteen flavors and added more as demand increased. This includes the store's signature flavor, its world-famous Lobster Ice Cream.
In 1988, after 32 years of operating Trahan's Candies, Paul and Mary sold the business to their nephews, Benjamin and William Coggins at which point the business became Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium as it is today. Today, Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium continues to offer quality candies and chocolates made with the original recipes and numerous flavors of ice cream: 64 hard-serve flavors plus 12 more flavors of gelato in the Bar Harbor store alone.
We deeply appreciate our customers continued patronage through the decades. It has made the story of this small, uniquely New England, family-owned business a continually successful one. A world without Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium on the corner of Main Street and Cottage Street in Bar Harbor is something Mainers, Down Easters, New Englanders, and tourists alike would have never thought about in their worst dreams. 2020 was supposed to be a milestone. It is the 40th year anniversary of Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium in Bar Harbor, but we are now all in uncharted and uncertain territory.
Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium is faced with formidable challenges due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent statewide travel restrictions in the state of Maine. Shortly after making preparations for the opening of our 2020 season in March, our store was promptly forced to close and remained closed for two months.
Once restrictions were lifted and the business was allowed to re-open in May, a number of safeguards were put in place to protect our employees and customers. That included a safety build-out that includes a protective barrier in the middle of our customer lobby, plastic shields in each purchase window, and personal protective equipment (PPE) for all of our employees.
These safety and health investments were well worth the cost of protecting our customers and employees, but it had no impact on the unprecedented number of tourists that are now being prevented from entering the state for their annual summer vacations. Bar Harbor businesses rely entirely on the summer season. Preventing tourists from spending their summer vacation in the #1 tourist destination in the state known as "Vacationland" has had a devastating economic impact on the town and Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium.
The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce is urging Governor Mills to reconsider the 14-day quarantine for out-of-state visitors to further avoid business closures during the summer tourist season. Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium was recently featured on WABI-TV channel 5 regarding this dire situation. CLICK HERE to read the article and watch a video of the news segment. WABI-TV is the CBS affiliated television station in Bangor, Maine. The Chamber reported massive reservation cancellations in June since the quarantine period was announced as well as cancellations for July and August. Some businesses in Bar Harbor were unable to open for Memorial Day weekend, and many of those that did, reported sales of less than half of what they did during the holiday weekend in 2019.
With all cruise ships and bus tours being banned from entering the town for the 2020 season along with the quarantine induced closure of Acadia National Park, hotels, and lodging accommodations, Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium now has no way to recoup the large amount of money lost due to the two-month lockdown that lasted from March until May. It also has very few ways to generate new income due to the prevention of out-of-state tourism, which makes up more than 90% of our business. This has impacted our ability to keep our store open due to lack of revenue to cover the cost of ingredients, utilities, and payroll for our loyal employees. Some of these employees live on Mount Desert Island year-round and have worked for Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium since the turn of the century. Our cash reserves are low and our payroll protection plan has already been implemented through the federal government, but this funding will be used up by June 24th. We are now humbled to come here to ask for your support in order to help save the future of one of Bar Harbor's most beloved businesses, while making sure our employees remain as healthy and financially secure as possible.
We know that this is a difficult time for everyone. We also understand that there are many individuals and organizations in need of similar help. If you are in a position to support us, we will be extremely grateful to receive that help. This will help ensure the store staying open through the 2020 season and onward in a historic tourist town that has been deeply impaired due to the pandemic. If you could let others know about this campaign and help spread the word, we would also appreciate that wholeheartedly as well.
Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium has always taken pride with its longtime place in the Bar Harbor community. We are proud of our roles as local candy and ice cream makers in the town for the past 40 years. The business has been in our family for 64 years and has earned a reputation as one of the most unique family-owned businesses in New England during that time. Our goal now is to find new ways to support our employees, while providing our homemade candy and ice cream to the community during these devastating times. Please be sure to stay in touch with us through Facebook.com/BenBillsBH (CLICK HERE ). We also ship candy nationwide from our online store BenandBills.com (CLICK HERE). Finally, please drop us a line to let us know more about you. The messages of support are very much appreciated.
Thank you from all of us at Ben & Bill's Chocolate Emporium!
Organizer
Bill Coggins
Organizer
Bar Harbor, ME