The N.Y.-based Empire Cider Co. LLC (not this other, really cool Empire Cider in Canada) is relocating its business operations from Beacon, N.Y., to the Finger Lakes region and the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva beginning in the fall of 2015.
“We are moving to Geneva so that our operations are closer to where the apple crops are sourced and also where there seems to be great knowledge in wine making,” explains James Chuck, co-founder and president of Empire Cider.
Empire Cider’s Geneva location will include management operations and a quality assurance lab to formulate and create small batches of cider for their company and eventually batch processing for other small-scale cider producers in the region.
James Chuck and business partner Jacob Israelow anticipate rolling out operations during the fourth quarter of 2015 and partnering with local experts from Red Jacket Orchards, Hazlitt Winery, Cornell’s Experiment Station in Geneva and the Finger Lakes Community College Viticulture Center.
The Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park’s mission is to foster the creation and expansion of emerging agriculture and food enterprises that will benefit the local economy and leverage industry research from Cornell University’s Agricultural Experiment Station. The Technology Farm is a New York State-certified business incubator participating in StartUp NY, a New York State economic development program which offers tax incentives to qualified businesses.
