While Maine’s family-owned businesses are facing challenges, one thing is keeping them going

Photo/ Courtesy, Gifford’s Ice Cream From left, Lindsay Skilling, JC Gifford, Staci Gifford and Sam Plourd.

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By Alexis Wells

Family dynamics are just the tip of the iceberg of what family-owned businesses deal with on a daily basis.

Three family-owned food businesses Mainebiz spoke with — Gifford’s Ice Cream in Skowhegan, Raye’s Mustard in Eastport and Len Libby Candies in Scarborough — say owning a family business has pros and cons.

Challenges range from what every business deals with — competition, labor shortages and inflation — to the dynamics of working with a sibling, spouse or relative and lack of boundaries. And that’s not to mention keeping up with continuous change while getting ready to pass the business to the next generation.

These family-owned businesses have faced various challenges, including fire, floods, construction projects, and the development of new products.

“The only way I can explain it to someone is, ‘When [else] would you be able to see your siblings, aunts and uncles, cousins and parents daily?’” says Lindsay Skilling, CEO of Gifford’s Ice Cream.

“It really is unique and rare. You always have that support system from your family no matter what kind of day you have. You know you can depend on them and they will lift you up and likewise for me to them.”

Ice cream brand ready for 2025

Gifford’s Ice Cream is a fifth-generation company that operates manufacturing in Skowhegan and retail stands in Bangor, Skowhegan and Waterville.

Skilling’s grandfather, Randall Gifford, and his wife Audrey bought a dairy in Farmington and in the 1970s purchased Hunt’s Dairy in Skowhegan, where production continues today.

In 1983, they sold the milk portion of Gifford’s to Oakhurst Dairy, where Gifford’s still get its milk and cream. Later, they transitioned from the third generation to Skilling’s father and uncle. Skilling became CEO in 2016.

Each of the siblings and cousins started in roles where the family had a need, and then from there, based on strengths and what was the best fit for the business.

“My brother, sister and cousin are members of our senior leadership team, which meets regularly,” says Skilling. “This group is charged with guiding the company’s strategic growth and direction. While we may disagree at times, we’re extremely collaborative.

"As CEO, I value having this trusted group to discuss important initiatives, especially as I weigh and consider long-term company goals.”

Each family member has a role, but they all know how to multitask.

“We literally work side by side most days and if we have to, we can wear multiple hats in order to get the job done,” Skilling says. “For many of us we’ve worked in different roles at Gifford’s and can empathize with our colleagues’ challenges and are ready to help solve problems if needed.

"We work together well because we share common values. We all believe in the same mission — to make the best ice cream possible — and to do it in an environment that values the people making that ice cream, the customers buying it and the people who enjoy it.”

The past two years haven’t been easy at Gifford’s.

In February 2023, a fire caused extensive damage to the main production facility in Skowhegan, forcing the plant to shut down for months.

In the short-term, the company worked with out-of-state manufacturers to produce ice cream for retail, food service and ice cream stands. At the same time, Gifford’s made the necessary repairs to the building. The fire was ruled accidental and production has resumed.

This past winter, the ice cream stand in Farmington was damaged by flooding. In August, the company made the decision to close the stand permanently.

The Farmington stand opened in 1982, two years after Gifford’s had established its first shop in Skowhegan.

“That stand was the second stand that we opened and a core piece of our history,” says Skilling. “Dealing with all that in one year was a lot, but getting through it every day is a new challenge. That is life and business. We keep moving forward.”

Although the business has faced many challenges over the past two years, Skilling says she is optimistic about the future. Renovations are finishing up on a mini-golf project at the Waterville stand, which will reopen in the spring.

“As far as the manufacturing end of things, we are just hoping to get back to more normalcy once our factory is 100% completed so we can return to making all of the flavors we used to make and product lines,” says Skilling.

Mustard company expansion

Raye’s Mustard was founded in 1900 in Eastport by J. Wesley Raye, the 20-year-old son of a sea captain. He had just returned home from the Spanish-American War and had the idea to produce mustard to supply Eastport’s then-thriving sardine industry.

The business took off, and since then, the Raye family, now in its fourth generation of ownership, has maintained its vintage machinery that dates to the second Industrial Revolution. The machinery uses the traditional cold-grinding process, which preserves the qualities of whole seeds, natural herbs and spices.

“We view ourselves as stewards of a family tradition and an iconic Maine brand that is a source of pride for Eastport,” owners Kevin and Karen Raye, a husband-and-wife team, write in a joint email.

“We know how rare it is for a small family business to survive for four generations, and we look forward to handing it off to the next generation at some point.”

With the collapse of the sardine industry in the early 1980s, Raye’s reoriented the business to gourmet and specialty mustards that could be sold in supermarkets and specialty shops.

Still, the owners told Mainebiz that they face other challenges today: the aging of their building, which was not built to modern construction standards. The parts for the vintage equipment are no longer available; when a part needs to be replaced, the Rayes have to send it out to be fabricated.

To address the building issue, the owners are renovating the existing site. They are also adding onto the facility, including expansion and updating an in-house Mustard Mill Museum.

The mustard is still made at the Mustard Mill Museum at 83 Washington St., while the gift shop with products is located downtown. Raye’s has 11 employees.

Photo/ Courtesy of Rayes Mustard

Karen and Kevin Raye are fourth-generation owners of Rayes Mustard, founded in Eastport.

On the product side, Raye’s added a production line to create individual serving-size mustard packets, which allows the company to compete in the food service sector. Other product additions include salad dressings and a new mustard-barbeque sauce.

Karen Raye says Raye’s uses social media to engage with customers and collaborators and listen to requests from customers who visit and meet at events and fairs.

“We’ve had a good, strong year overall,” say the Rayes. “And our retail store is going well and has been buoyed by cruise ship visits to Eastport. Adding hundreds or thousands of potential customers to our city is a real opportunity. And one that has allowed us to break records.”

A downside to owning a small business in the food sector is that it “competes against major corporations with deep pockets, and the grocery side of its business is extremely competitive and not friendly to small businesses.”

Yet, the owners say, “food tourism is increasing in demand, and people love visiting our last-in-the-nation traditional stone mill to see our historic stones and rare second-industrial revolution equipment working. We closed to the public during COVID-19 and decided to remain closed for tours until our renovation and construction project is completed.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors again so they can see and experience our people firsthand once our renovations are completed,” they say.

Libby’s makes working together easy

Len Libby, founder of Len Libby Candies in Scarborough, worked for candy companies in Portland, learning the art of chocolate and confectionery before starting his career as a music teacher.

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.

Photo/ tim greenway

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.

The 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. “That is great and it is great that our kids have a place to come home to and make a little extra money during the holidays. It is our favorite thing to have three generations at the shop working side by side and getting us through the busy times.”