Abbey Duke, cofounder and owner of Sugarsnap Catering, has sold her 21-year-old business for an undisclosed price to longtime employees Samantha and Mike Kilhullen. From a kitchen in South Burlington, the caterer supplies more than 400 events annually, from full-service weddings and holiday parties to office lunch meetings.
Duke, 55, said she’s been working on Sugarsnap’s next phase for about five years and hoped to sell to some or all of her six full-time employees, whether via a worker-owner co-op or a private sale.
The Kilhullens started working for Duke in 2017 as interns from the now-closed New England Culinary Institute. Samantha, 28, earned her bachelor’s degree in baking and pastry and Mike, 36, in culinary arts.
“These are people who have put a tremendous amount of work into the business, and they know the business,” Duke said. “They have the skills, and they know exactly what they’re getting into.”
Samantha said she and her husband very much appreciate the opportunities Duke gave them to learn and grow. “If you had told me five years ago, I couldn’t have imagined being able to do this,” she said. “We’re not going to rewrite the book.”
Duke will focus on her work as a Democratic state legislator representing part of Burlington’s Old and New North Ends, retaining ownership of the small Intervale farm she started with her catering business.
This article appears in Jun 11-17, 2025.
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