Mainebiz

V O L . X X X N O. X X V N OV E M B E R 4 , 2 0 2 4 24 FA M I LY - OW N E D B U S I N E S S In 1926, Libby began making candy again, selling it from his home to his first store on Higgins Beach. In 1949, Libby sold the store to Fernand Hemond but continued teaching Hemond's son, Fern, the art of candy making. Young Fern and his wife Maureen bought the candy store from his father in 1956 and kept the Len Libby Candies name. Since then, the business has stayed in the family and now has its third generation of owners: Fern and Maureen's daughter, Gisele, and her husband, John DeGrinney, who bought the business in 2015. e biggest reason people flock to Len Libby Candies is not to get the latest gummy, bag of saltwater taffy, package of licorice, or, of course, its massive inventory of chocolate. Customers still want to see Lenny, the 1,700- pound milk chocolate moose, who is in a Maine-like display inside the store. Since 1997, Lenny has proudly stood as the shop's centerpiece, complete with a white chocolate pond. Although the chocolate business has continued to thrive and Lenny continues to excite tourists, Gisele and John, a husband-and-wife team, are working behind the scenes to keep the business going. DeGrinney told Mainebiz that he and his wife never shut off when it comes to running the business. But they work off of each other's strengths and weaknesses. "Gisele is in charge of making sure that we have the right people in the right places for day-to-day tasks," says DeGrinney. "I run the kitchen with some terrific help, do the candy making and do a lot of the office work, given my legal background. We have a great team and couldn't do it without them. We also have Gisele's mom, who retired to 30 hours a week." DeGrinney said that the plus to running a family- owned business is being surrounded by the people you care about the most daily. When Gisele took over the business, she was working a 50-hour work week, and he was doing that or more as a lawyer in Portland. At the time, they did not see much of each other. "We made an intentional decision to be together more and this has done that," says John DeGrinney. "at is great and it is great that our kids have a place to come home to and make a little extra money dur- ing the holidays. It is our favorite thing to have three generations at the shop working side by side and get- ting us through the busy times." Alexis Wells, Mainebiz Staff Writer / Social Media St rategist, can be reached at aw el ls @ mainebiz.biz » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E F O C U S Gisele and John DeGrinney are standing near Lenny, the 1,700-pound milk chocolate moose. Since 1997, Lenny has proudly stood as the shop's centerpiece, complete with a white chocolate pond. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY At NBT Bank, our goal is to help you reach yours. Our relationship managers provide the expert guidance and custom solutions it takes to help grow your business. Our local commitment builds strong, long-lasting partnerships that maximize your potential for success. Capital and Treasury Management Solutions Fraud Protection & Secure Banking Solutions Local Perspective & Decision Making Let our experienced Maine commercial banking team create real opportunity for your business. Cameron McKague, Timothy McMachen, Ashley Gagnon, Jeremy Deering, Michael O'Reilly, Mark Schaub, Joseph Luciano, Kimberly Twitchell, Charles Mathews Member FDIC nbtbank.com/me

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