Bertoline & Sons Selling Business after 90 Years in Peekskill
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One of the oldest family-owned businesses in the City of Peekskill will be changing hands shortly. Bertoline & Sons, a prominent wholesale distributor of domestic, craft and imported beers, fine wines, spirits and non-alcoholic products since 1933, is in the process of selling its business on John Walsh Blvd. and is expected to turn over the operation to a Goshen company within the next two months.
“We had a good run,” said Dominick A. Bertoline, President and Chairman of the Board of D. Bertoline & Sons, which was started by his grandfather. “It just became time. It’s time for us to move on.”
Bertoline & Sons serves more than 2,300 accounts in Westchester and Putnam counties. It will be turning over its keys to Dana Distributors, which was founded in 1970 and incorporated in Orange County, NY with Budweiser, Michelob and Piels franchises. It has operated at a facility in Goshen since 2002 and sells more than three million cases annually.
Bertoline, who noted the business started with one truck and now sends out about 25, said most of the company’s more than 80 employees will be retained by Dana Distributors, including Dominick P. Bertoline, Jr., who will run their sales division.
When asked about the secret of the businesses’ success, Bertoline said it was the dedicated employees, many of whom have worked for the company for decades.
“Everyone becomes part of the Bertoline family and we treated them as such,” he said. “That was our main asset. There was a lot of staying power with us. That’s what we strive for.”
Bertoline said the family first started planning to retire in 2019, but then the COVID-19 pandemic put everything on hold. He noted the pandemic created a challenge for the company with many restaurants and businesses they served closing.
“The pandemic hurt us a lot. I didn’t want to put people out of work when they were hit with a pandemic,” he said. “Sales were dropping and costs were going up, not a good combination. We’ve seen everything to the top and to the bottom and everything in between. We’ve seen it all. It’s been a helluva a run.”
Lisa Montalto, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, said Bertoline & Sons will be missed in many ways.
“On behalf of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Bertoline’s on their retirement,” Montalto said. “They were always very supportive of the community. We will remember them for their generosity when it came to the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber’s Annual golf outing. Their support aided us in awarding scholarships to the seniors of Peekskill, Hendrick Hudson, Croton, Lakeland, Walter Panas and Putnam Valley high schools. They truly will be missed.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
