COMPANY HISTORY
It's family tradition...
A tradition that our founder, Joe Bute, inherited from his parents. Back in the mid-1970’s Joe and Peggy Bute took all of their experience and knowledge about hospitality in the restaurant business and applied to an old deteriorating farmhouse outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. They named the place Hollymead Inn after the name of the farm that it sat on since the American Revolution.
Origins of the name “Hollymead” are sketchy since no one has any other reference to the entomology of it. Which was just as well since as they opened the doors to the public, they invented their own idea of what it would mean – good food at a fair price and the highest quality in the friendliest surroundings. Over the nearly two decades that they operated the inn, they earned both a regional and national reputation as one of the best dining inns in the country.
Today, Hollymead Capital is taking on an ambitious and important challenge in our communities – namely the development and growth of a strong and viable local food enterprise network and an integrated regional food economy. Building on work that we have done since 2010 in conceptualizing and organizing efforts to increase the capacity of our local food economy, Hollymead is forming working partnerships with businesses and organizations with the same shared vision and goal. We will work to build the capital resources and the businesses that can put more locally grown and made food products on the shelves of retail stores everywhere in a local community. Our partners will bring business and capital development skills to this work along with a network of seasoned advisors in every phase of the food and beverage industry.
At the same time, Hollymead will continue to offer services directly to small and emerging businesses across the social enterprise spectrum, particularly in assessing capital needs, mapping a strategy for solving the need for growth capital and providing on-going assistance as a trusted advisor to responsible business owners and managers.
Joe and Peggy Bute outside of the Hollymead Inn.
Joe and Peggy Bute.
Hollymead Capital is an idea rooted in a family tradition. The idea is simple — important changes come from a lot of little changes done well. Doing something for the right reason is also doing something for the intelligent reason. Building sustainable enterprises increase the likelihood of families being able to raise their children and support their retirements.