It’s been a whirlwind first year for new Vermont Tortilla co-owners Leyland Papa and Lindsey West, who bought the 10-year-old organic corn tortilla biz from founders April and Azur Moulaert in June 2025.
The local business partners knew they had to relocate from Vermont Tortilla’s longtime Shelburne spot when their lease was up in August 2025. But, like many food manufacturers in Vermont, they found their search for a suitable facility both frustrating and costly, Papa said.
Monthslong plans for a space in Hinesburg were derailed by the town’s water allocation limits, he explained, which didn’t allow for the 500 gallons per day they’d requested for the tortilla-making process.
Vermont Tortilla’s eventual home, at 30 Boston Court in Essex, came with the same “exhausting” — and expensive — permitting process to increase its water allocation from 200 to 450 gallons per day, Papa said. He had hoped to open there on July 1, but the staff of three ended up returning to production at the end of August.
“This isn’t some unique thing for me,” Papa said of the long process. “This is the crux of what is going on when they say, ‘We need to fix small business’ or ‘Why are businesses leaving?’”
Papa estimated that the business currently operates at 50 percent of the total annual sales it had when he and West bought it. To help rebuild, they’ve focused on direct-to-consumer online sales — including new boxes of frozen tortillas that can be shipped nationwide — in addition to distribution to area stores and restaurants.
The new Essex facility is not open for walk-in sales, but customers can pick up preordered tortillas by appointment.
This article appears in The Tech Issue • 2026.
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