Grapevine Farms

Tim and Tracy Purcell. credit: Kerri Bagley of Kerri Anne Photography — Tim and Tracy Purcell opened their gift shop in 2002. Photo courtesy of Kerri Bagley of Kerri Anne Photography

A Place for Shopping, Dining, and Relaxing

By Angie Landsverk

Both happened on Oct. 5, 2002. “We were married in Oneonta and stopped at Grapevine Farms to take photos and show all of our loved ones what we had been working on. Our first employee, Denean, worked that day and is still with us. We went on a short honeymoon to the Bahamas, but my mind was on opening to the public, which we did on Oct. 12,” Tim said.

Tim and Tracy were dating when he suggested they open a gift shop. A flight attendant at the time, Tim worked part time at a gift store when home in Cobleskill, New York.

Image of Grapevine Farms property in October 2002. Photos courtesy of Tracy and Tim Purcell

Changes in the airline industry after 9/11 resulted in Tim spending weeks at a time away from home. Tracy was working full time at an insurance company and found his suggestion intriguing. “We took small business courses at SUNY Cobleskill and started writing our business plan,” she said. “Tim would look for products while he was out flying, and we would scout out locations when he was home.”

Tim said, “Our Realtor showed us various commercial spaces around town, but none of them were right for my vision. In late fall, she took us to an abandoned farmhouse built in the 1850s and told us to keep an open mind. As soon as I walked in the door, I knew it was perfect. I could see it. I wanted it.”

Tracy and Tim Purcell got married and opened a gift shop — on the same day.

With the house too far in the foreclosure process for them to purchase it from the bank, they had to wait for it to come up for auction at the county courthouse. Tim proposed to Tracy on Christmas Eve in 2001. Over the next five months, he cared for the property like it was already his, she said.

“He made sure the bank winterized the house, sealed up broken windows, and our business plan shifted to center on this house,” Tracy said. “The day we went to the courthouse to bid on the property was tense, but we were surrounded by our incredibly supportive family and thankfully, we were the only bidders. With the building ours, we set about making the business plan come to life and at the same time, planned our wedding.”

Grapevine Farms is east of Cobleskill, a small rural town in upstate New York. They get a steady flow of traffic from locals, tourists, and people passing through. “We are an easy drive from the Capital District and a great meeting place for folks traveling from opposite directions,” she said. “We are also located near Howe Caverns, the Iroquois Indian Museum, and a 35- to 40-minute drive to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame.”

Tim explained the meaning behind the name of their business. “When I was a kid, my dad would take my sister and I out hunting for grapevines. We would pull the vines out of the trees and turn them into wreaths to make a few dollars,” he said. “When we bought the property, the landscape was overgrown and covered with grapevines, so that sort of naturally slid to the top of the list. Adding the Farms part was in recognition of the farmhouse and farmland that it sits on.”

With Tim and Tracy working full time elsewhere when they opened Grapevine Farms, Denean ran the store when Tim was out of town. “We made homemade cookies in the farmhouse kitchen using recipes from the Dairy Deli, a Cobleskill landmark that was no longer open. Denean and my cousin, Sandy, used to work at the Dairy Deli, and the cookies were just like the originals,” Tim said. “The smell would permeate the house, just like I had written in the business plan.”

Early on, they added soup and two sandwiches with only three or four tables. “We sold inexpensive gift items in our themed rooms and as we built capital, we reinvested it all back into the business to purchase better products and to expand the building,” Tim said.

“We are a destination, an experience that touches all of one’s senses.”
Tracy Purcell

Their first major renovation was to enclose the back deck, adding a coffee bar and more indoor seating. “We removed the old farmhouse kitchen, purchased a commercial oven, and moved baking and cooking to a stepdown space previously used for storage,” he said. “The checkout area was also moved closer to the main entrance in what was previously the kitchen. We also added some part-time employees, and as we gained customers, we expanded the parking area — which we ended up doing about four times.”

The business grew faster than their business plan. By 2005, they had one full-time and nine part-time employees.

“We decided since our cookies were selling faster than we could bake them, and our lunch tables were always full, that we would take on a major construction project. We had plans drawn up to double the size of the building, adding a commercial kitchen, bistro dining room, more retail space, and an apartment for ourselves since we were spending all our waking time at Grapevine,” Tracy said.

Tim retired from an airline in 2006. Tracy remained full time at an insurance company and did paperwork on nights and weekends. The addition was completed by 2007 and brought staffing to three full-time and 18 part-time employees.

The porch is set for a dining experience.

Next, they opened a greenhouse, selling hanging flower baskets and other annuals. By 2009, they opened a wine cellar in the walk-out basement of the addition, choosing to sell only New York state wines. That final addition resulted in five full-time and 23 part-time employees.

In addition to the expansions, there were numerous remodeling projects — some completed by members of their families. “There are countless projects needed in a building where half of it was built in the 1850s, but the charm and character and ghosts make it all worth it,” she said.

Each of the gift shop’s rooms has a theme.

Each room in the gift shop has a theme. Tim said they watch the trends and attend shows to see what is new and might be well received by their customers. There are products on three floors, with bestsellers the focus on the first floor.

“We are constantly changing the store around, so that each time a customer comes in, they see something different. The front room is seasonal and changes every four to six weeks. We look for products that aren’t available elsewhere in our area and discontinue brands that no longer work for our customers. We are diversified, so we have a little bit of something for everyone,” he said.

They sell a lot of jewelry and have an extensive selection of Beekman 1802 products — a company founded just 15 minutes away from them. “We provide a sink for testing the soaps, as well as lotion testers. We also sell a lot of products from Ganz, and their zinc charms are a huge hit with our customers,” Tracy said.

Their typical customer is a woman aged 35 to 75, with visitors ranging from infants to people 100+. Tim said people describe Grapevine Farms as an escape from reality, slice of heaven, Hallmark movie, or family tradition.

“We treat each of our customers like they are our family, because once they step into the building, they also step into our home. We greet them, tell them about everything that we have to offer, and check on them without hovering over them. Many of our customers have become our employees. We have never had to formally advertise for help,” he said.

Tracy said, “A customer can literally spend all day here eating, shopping, wine tasting, and relaxing on the covered porch in one of our comfy chairs. We started the business using our cookies to appeal to people’s sense of smell and taste and to draw the locals. While we continue to do that, the addition of our dining room brings people in that may not have stopped otherwise. Usually, once they enter the building, they don’t leave without buying, eating, or drinking something.”

A dining room was added during one of their expansion projects, and their wine cellar featuring New York state wines opened in 2009.

Most staff members can work in multiple positions. The diverse business appeals to a range of people. “Grapevine Farms is more than a gift shop, bistro, and wine cellar. We are a destination, an experience that touches all of one’s senses,” Tracy said.

Challenges faced through the years have included finances and the COVID-19 pandemic. The couple used a personal home loan to buy their building, a personal building loan for the addition, and maintained their full-time jobs until they were financially secure enough to each transition full time to Grapevine.

At the beginning of the pandemic, they acted quickly to minimize outgoing money and did Facebook Live events at 7 p.m. every night for 10 weeks. “We turned the dining room into a studio and staged the products we were going to talk about and sell. It became so successful we had our niece, Taylor, move in to help process all of the orders, payments, and shipping. It was very labor-intensive, and we were just winging it, but it helped us get through what was a very difficult time,” Tracy said.

People loved watching it, later telling them it helped take their minds off what was happening — even if for 30 minutes a day. That was the only time they came close to online selling — always believing their business is one to be experienced in person.

Their business has had two turning points. First was the addition that doubled their space. “We changed from a small country gift shop to a destination. We never thought that a dream would turn into full-time jobs for both of us and that we would have all of the opportunities and experiences that we have,” Tim said.

Their second turning point was the pandemic. After having to lay off their entire staff, they re-examined their business. “We streamlined and reduced staff and started doing more cross training. We started looking for merchandise that required less staff to maintain and sell it,” Tim said.

Tim and Tracy are active members of their community and hold fundraisers for local charities. Born and raised in Cobleskill, Tim loves their town.

They are proud of what they have built and did not do it alone. “We have been blessed to be surrounded by incredible people, our families, and our Grapevine family. We have watched our employees’ children grow up, watched our teenage staff mature and move on to start new lives, and we have spent many hours with our nieces and nephews making memories. The connections we have built with those that we have crossed paths with at Grapevine Farms are something we never could have captured in a business plan,” Tracy said.

An extensive selection of Beekman 1802 products are found inside the gift shop. The company was founded 15 minutes from Grapevine Farms.

Her advice to new shop owners is to be committed to their customers, employees, and business. “It isn’t something that will just happen on its own. You are the driving force. No one is going to give it to you or make it happen for you. Tim and I have missed many family events over the years as ultimately, we are responsible for keeping the shop open and running. If employees aren’t able to work, we take the shifts, and we never ask anyone to do something that we ourselves wouldn’t do. Be prepared for the hard work but enjoy it at the same time. Building your own business is not just about being successful — it is about enjoying the journey to success,” she said.