click to enlarge - Courtesy
- New Cold Hollow Cider Mill owner Dan Snyder (back) with former owners Gayle and Paul Brown
Former Stowe Cider general manager Dan Snyder confirmed that he and a silent partner have bought Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury Center from its co-owners of 22 years, Gayle and Paul Brown, for an undisclosed price.
For close to half a century, the cider mill on Route 100 between Interstate 89 and Stowe has attracted tourists and locals with its fresh-pressed cider; its baked goods, such as cider doughnuts and apple pies; and, more recently, its hard cider tasting room and breakfast-and-lunch eatery.
The Browns made news in October 2021 when they announced that staffing challenges at the mill and its orchard suppliers had obliged them to stop selling jugged cider to Vermont supermarkets and other retailers.
Now that the labor market has settled a little, Snyder, 37, said of the wholesale cider sales, "That's something I'd love to see come back online."
Snyder, a New York native, moved to Vermont in 2013 to work at the Stowe Mountain Club, now the Club at Spruce Peak. "I wanted to live here, but I needed a job," he said. In 2016, he moved on to Stowe Cider, where he developed a relationship with the Browns, who supplied the hard cider company with fresh cider.
Cold Hollow produces its own line of hard ciders in partnership with another Vermont beverage maker and sells them only at the tasting room and via mail order. Despite his hard cider credentials, Snyder said he has no immediate plans to change that approach.
He sees room for growth in the existing strengths of the legacy business, he said, including e-commerce and the 16,000-square-foot retail visitor center.
"We are much more than a tourist destination," Snyder said.