A popular Italian food chain in the Lewiston/Auburn area has been bought by a New York-based company that assists small businesses.
It’s the latest in a trend of Maine companies being scooped up by out-of-state firms, following recent sales of Dead River Co. and Getchell Brothers Inc.
The deal to hand off all locations of Sam’s Italian Foods to the venture-capital firm Teamshares closed on Dec. 1, according to MaineBiz.
“It should create continued new opportunities for our team members,” retiring owner Richard Michaud told MaineBiz.
Michaud, who has worked at Sam’s with his wife, Wendy, since 1988, believes this move will keep the family owned business intact. The local favorite began as a small shop near the intersection of Minot Avenue and Elm Street before eventually expanding to 14 locations in the Greater Lewiston-Auburn, according to MaineBiz.
Due to the pandemic-induced labor shortage, the Freeport location closed last year and the Teamshares intends to reopen that shop by this summer, the newspaper reported.
“Nothing is changing with the new ownership other than becoming an employee-owned company,” John Boyan, a broker relations lead with Teamshares, told MaineBiz.
Sam’s is Teamshares’ first acquisition in Maine.