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Port of Quincy hears proposal to purchase Cave B Inn
The Port of Quincy commissioners heard a proposal by Vince and Carol Bryan, the owners of Cave B, during a special meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
Cave B would like the Port of Quincy to purchase the inn and round-house portion of the business.
The Bryans wish to sell the property to a local party that would use it to benefit the City of Quincy and tourism.
Several months ago, the Bryans put the inn on the market and were in the process of selling it, when they discovered that it would not be used for tourism and the promotion of Quincy.
“Some people just want it for themselves,” said Vince Bryan. “This belongs here. It is a part of this county. Everyone should be proud to take customers and family there. If it were owned by someone else outside of the community, it would go away.”
Currently, the inn is being run by Columbia Hospitality, a management group from Seattle. For the past couple of years, the management group has not been promoting the facility, particularly the yurts that were built a few years ago. If the Port were to buy the property, the management group’s contract would end and in-house advertisement and management would take over.
“We pay the management company for sales and outside marketing,” said Bryan. “We have a strong marketing team ready to go.”
“The Bryans wanted to let them do their job,” said Ron William, director of culinary and wine operations at Cave B, “but they missed the mark on this side of the mountains.”
The Cave B staff see untapped potential for the facility.
“People come for an experience,” said Patrick McFarlan, managing director for Cave B. “It needs rebranding as a world-class experience that can’t be duplicated anywhere else. People are looking for the promise of an experience and a story well told. That’s what branding is about.”
Cave B wants to make itself a local, regional and worldwide destination that would bring tourism dollars into the area. They believe that the purchase of the property by the Port would free up the money being spent on the management group for other building projects on the grounds.
“Wine is a lifestyle,” said McFarlan. “What we are doing in the process of developing the area, we want to do with tourism in mind.”
They also want to market themselves more to the local population.
Currently, the inn boasts business from Boeing, BMW and state-run colleges, as well as some local groups.
But some of the commissioners aren’t sure they want to invest in what could be a risky business deal.
“What worries me about the whole thing is if there is one hiccup, how much would it set us (the Port) back monetarily?” said Pat Connelly, Port of Quincy commissioner. “If something happens 20 or 10 years down the road, I feel responsible. The risk is great. This is a huge investment for the Port to do.”
Cave B is proposing a deal with safeguards in place, that if things were to go wrong, the taxpayers would not have to pay for it.
“If we agree to look forward, I’d like to see why it would not be a risk to the Port,” said Port commissioner Curt Morris.
The Port of Quincy commissioners will consider the matter further at a public meeting to be held on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Round House at Cave B.
Cave B will give a presentation explaining the financial benefits to the Port that the purchase would make.
The public is invited to attend and to give their comments.
2 Comments
#2
GML commented, on December 17, 2012 at 8:17 p.m.:
It is interesting that the Bryans have approached the Port of Quincy looking for financial help since the property is also being actively marketed by private firm www.parallel48ventures.com for the purpose of obtaining investors /partners and now they are trying to sell it off to a local government! Clearly desperation is taking precedent over a more sensible and focused approach
There is no question that the Bryans have made a huge personal investment in the property over the years and their vision is admirable, and yes they have helped put Quincy on the map. However placing blame on others for poor management is somewhat disingenuous. The ongoing troubles surrounding the property are well known, and some locals and other professionals in the tourism industry would argue that the Bryans have long been somewhat quirky in their approach to managing and operating the Inn and Spa
AW commented, on December 6, 2012 at 9:14 p.m.:
So who shall we bail out next? Are you kidding me, this is not right, the poor economy and not to mention the fact that Cave B hasn't exactly welcomed the Quincy Valley until they started having financial issues. There have been events that were not published to the community only to their those who belong to their wine club, seems to me that they don't really want the locals around. This is not a good move, but you know how the good old boys operate around here!
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