Island Institute

Island Institute

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Island Institute episodes

  • Commercial Currents - Episode 10 - Topside Inn
    Business in Uncertain Times:
    Conversations with Maine's Island & Coastal Small Businesses
    In this episode, we talk with Mark Osborn, the owner and Innkeeper of Topside Inn in Boothbay Harbor. Recently, Facebook released their "State of Small Business Report," citing hospitality as one of the industries hit hardest by the pandemic, and unfortunately, the Topside Inn is no exception.
    Mark, a fourth-generation Boothbay Harbor summer resident turned local business owner, bought the Topside Inn with his husband Brian in 2014. Each year since then they've come to expect a fully booked inn during July and August. However, this year, despite the reopening efforts, Mark is seeing a record low number of reservations. But rather than shut their doors, Mark and Brian have decided to use this time to get creative.
    Learn what they're doing to help deal with the current situation and also use it as an opportunity to rethink their business model.
    Produced and edited by Galen Koch of The First Coast.
    _______________
    Topside Inn
    https://topsideinn.com/
    Subscribe to the Commercial Currents emails:
    eepurl.com/b4RMfb
    Small Business Support:
    www.islandinstitute.org/smallbusiness
    Tom Glenn Community Business Resilience Grant:
    form.jotform.com/201274314776152
    16 min
  • Commercial Currents - Episode 9 - Sammy's Deluxe
    Business in Uncertain Times:
    Conversations with Maine's Island & Coastal Small Businesses
    In this episode, we talk with Sam Richman, owner and chef of Sammy’s Deluxe in Rockland, Maine. As global food systems break down due to the pandemic, we see that the restaurants thriving are the ones who were already advocating for and supporting local food systems.
    Sammy’s Deluxe is known for its hyperlocal supply chain. The menu changes based on what is in season and what they can get from local farmers and fishermen. Because of that, Sam's supply chain hasn’t changed all that much. What has shifted, of course, is how his customers are getting his food. As many restaurants have done, he has shifted to the curbside takeout model and is just trying to figure out the best, and safest, way to run this restaurant in the months to come.
    Produced and edited by Galen Koch of The First Coast
    _______________
    Sammy's Deluxe
    https://sammysdeluxe.weebly.com/
    Subscribe to the Commercial Currents emails:
    eepurl.com/b4RMfb
    Small Business Support:
    www.islandinstitute.org/smallbusiness
    Tom Glenn Community Business Resilience Grant:
    form.jotform.com/201274314776152
    17 min
  • Commercial Currents - Episode 8 - Primo Restaurant
    Business in Uncertain Times:
    Conversations with Maine's Island & Coastal Small Businesses
    Running a restaurant in the best of times is a tricky business model to make work. Margins are slim, supply chains are delicate, and the hours are brutal. And that’s not during a pandemic. As we all know, restaurants have been hit hard, and many are struggling to figure out how to safely and efficiently be open right now.
    In this episode, we hear from Melissa Kelly, executive chef and owner of Primo Restaurant in Rockland, Maine. She talks about how she was able to pivot quickly, her ability to embrace innovation, and how her new business model has helped cultivate new a hyperlocal community—right in her neighborhood.
    Produced and edited by Galen Koch of The First Coast
    _______________
    Primo
    https://www.primorestaurant.com/
    Subscribe to the Commercial Currents emails:
    eepurl.com/b4RMfb
    Small Business Support:
    www.islandinstitute.org/smallbusiness
    Tom Glenn Community Business Resilience Grant:
    form.jotform.com/201274314776152
    24 min
  • Commercial Currents - Episode 7 - La Nef Chocolate
    Business in Uncertain Times:
    Conversations with Maine's Island & Coastal Small Businesses
    We've been having so many great conversations with local small business owners, and we're always trying to think of ways to share them whenever we can. In our first mini-episode, we have a short, 10-minute conversation with Mandy and Dylan Metrano of La Nef Chocolate on Monhegan Island.
    Monhegan has a high influx of tourists on daytrips in the summer months. This allows for their seasonal businesses to thrive, despite a very small year-round and summer population. However, this also means that the current pandemic is putting these businesses in a vulnerable position for the upcoming summer.
    But Mandy and Dylan are doing their best to pivot and make it work. Mandy and Dylan talk to us about the ways in which they're pivoting right now, the challenges of running an exclusively e-commerce business on a remote island, and the importance of cultivating a community with their customers.
    (Photo: Kelli Park https://kellipark.com/)
    _______________
    La Nef Chocolate:
    https://www.lanefchocolate.com/
    Subscribe to the Commercial Currents emails:
    http://eepurl.com/b4RMfb
    Small Business Support:
    http://www.islandinstitute.org/smallbusiness
    Tom Glenn Community Business Resilience Grant:
    http://form.jotform.com/201274314776152
    13 min
  • Commercial Currents - Episode 6 - Black Stone Point Oysters
    Business in Uncertain Times:
    Conversations with Maine's Island & Coastal Small Businesses
    In this episode, Peter Piconi, Marine Business Specialist at the Island Institute, talks with Brendan Parsons of Black Stone Point Oysters LLC. Having grown up in Damariscotta, Brendan is now an oyster farmer, a restaurant owner, and a three-time State of Maine Oyster Shucking Champion. Since his business is largely dependent on tourism, Brendan discusses the importance of network building in this uncertain economy. This episode features Galen Koch of The First Coast.
    Subscribe to the Commercial Currents newsletter here:
    http://eepurl.com/b4RMfb
    Small business resources:
    http://www.islandinstitute.org/resources-small-businesses-artists-and-nonprofits
    The First Coast:
    https://www.thefirstcoast.org
    27 min

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