Yum Yum Shop in Wolfeboro for sale
 

Saw a sign there, found this:

http://www.wolfeboro.co/real-estate/...73945/29762182

I'm not certain, but I believe this has been for sale since the fall. At that price I don't know how even a sharp operator could make a go of it given the seasonality and thin margins of the bakery business.

I presume it's the 24' of lake frontage that has convinced someone (perhaps the listing agent) that it's worth taking a shot at the moon.

Agree that over a million, to operate the place as a bakery, would be quite a reach.

Operating that place as a food establishment would be a stretch at half that price particularly when the 24 foot of lake front is not accessible except through the building (there is a cottage taking up the rest of the lake frontage) and the cottage has a right of way directly through the middle of the parking lot.

But don't count out the "Hobby" business person. Over 2/3 of all downtown Wolfeboro businesses are hobby businesses owned by trust fund recipients, and spouses of people with real jobs. So there is always the possibility of catching a CT or MA expat. with a spare million or two after shedding the out of state pile for one in Wolfeboro and is bored or needs something to keep the other half amused.

Stayed tuned.

So, from your perspective, owning and running your own business in not a "real job"? Sounds like something that would come out of the mouth of our esteemed POTUS.

I think the point was that owning and running an unprofitable business as a hobby is not the same as running a business to make a living. At least that is how I read it.

I read it as Acrossamerica is a jealous, and frustrated person.

That is a well known fact and I have done renovation work for many of them. Money is not the main reason they are in business.

Yum Yum Shop in Wolfeboro
 

I think this thread is beginning to get into waters it needn't get, and before somebody posts something "over the line", maybe it is time to relax and go on to something else.

Remember, for years and years the Yum Yum Shop was a staple in the business of Wolfeboro, serving several generations of residents and visitors, all of whom enjoyed the cookies, pasteries, donoughts, cakes, and more.

Times have changed, the present owners have decided to sell, and that is their prerogative.

Thank you to the Kelly Family for the sweets n' treats over the years.

By your standards, what can we say that won't put us "over the line"?

I am not sure why you are offended. Maybe it's because you are taking his words out of context. My husband and I are both business owners, and I didn't take offense because I know the economy and small shop owners around her. There are a lot of business (shop) owners who make a go of it in the lakes region, and are supplemented by another means.

He is just being honest in his assessment. Based on any kind of debt service from a donut shop, he is correct in stating that it won't be able to support a $1.2MM sale price based on standard commercial underwriting. Whoever buys that building at $1.2MM is going to need to pay cash. Do they have the same angst of losing their lease or their building because enough donuts didn't sell that day? Probably not. And if it's their last $1.2MM, they need a better financial advisor.

Maybe the realtors are hoping the State Police will buy it as they did the boat shop in Gilford? Then they can be on both sides of the lake. :laugh:

Yum Yum Shop
 

Oh no, I had my last raspberry turnover in August! I remember that in the
50s those turnovers wee a huge treat. I remember them as being bigger however. At Edward's Vacation Spot we had jelly doughnuts at the Wednesday picnic at the beach. Wonderful memories!

in the end all properties are worth what someone will pay for them . You can ask anything you want but someone has to see it is worth the price

I remember my grandmother bringing boxes of treats from the yum yum shop back to the cottage! Hopefully something new and distinctive will occupy that location and create lasting memories for coming generations on the lake.

Mixed info?
 

Current RSA/DES rule says you cannot put a dock closer than 20 feet from a lot line, so it appears to me that a 24 ft frontage means no dock. The shoreline water quality protection act restricts new construction within 50 feet of shore, and it is zoned commercial, so residential use is restricted, right? The tax card says it is assessed, land and building, for $512,000 which is supposed to be market value. People say they recall it as a bakery in the 50's, but it was built in 1956, and it looks like it was originally a gas station, probably Esso, based on the architectural style.

I just see a lot of conflicting information when it is listed for $1,200,000. I first looked at that and thought, OH! $1200.00/month rent. Very reasonable. Then I looked again. Not so reasonable.

I guess I'm just confused.
Any old timers from Wolfeboro know what the real history is?

The current Yum Yum location was a gas station, you are right. It used to be across the street just above the bridge- I think the third store-right beside the restaurant. That is where it started. I know it was still there in the 60s and probably quite a while after.

Yum Yum shop moved
 

The Yum Yum shop used to be across the street in the building that now houses the Art Gallery. The present bakery was a gas station back in the 1960's. We first visited the Yum Yum shop in 1961 and it was in its original location. After the bakery moved out there was a toy shop in the white fronted store. I remember wooden toys displayed in the individual windows.

Many would love to return Wolfeboro to the wonderful 50's. Of course they do not remember that in the 50's there were three gas stations along the "strip" plus a used car and repair garage. And the back bay area was a dump for the shoe factory and the excelsior plant both of which were not what one would call tourist spots.

If you are talking about Horne's garage they sold new cars too. They were also there in the sixties. Now you can't buy a new car in Wolfeboro. At one time the Back Bay area was the town dump!!! The excelsior plants were in Wolfeboro Falls.

The Excelsior Mill posts that got mixed into this thread about the Yum Yum Shop have been moved here:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...ad.php?t=20600

Thanks for separating the threads, and thanks to those who confirmed my memory. Visits in my youth to Wolfeboro were vivid memories, but not frequent visits. Sometimers a cruise, sometimes when my older sister was at Camp Kehonka, sometimes we stayed overnight at the town docks, which was not only allowed, but encouraged.
In any event, I'm pleased that the questions I had about the Yum Yum Shop have been clarified.

I hope somebody will find a way to continue this great asset to Wolfeboro's Main Street.

The Yum Yum Shop is supposed to open for one last year in a couple of weeks. :)

Yum Yum Shop
 

Good news. I would guess it is still actively for sale. You just never know who will walk through the door, like what they see, take out their checkbook and make an offer.

Maybe not that simple, but an open, functioning business is a lot more attractive than a closed up store front.

Thanks, tis, for the news.

I wonder what the real estate is worth on a standalone basis?

The list price of 1.2 mil does not include the business nor any equipment. Now to an actual value, we have 24 feet of lake frontage at $5,000 a foot for raw land. That work out to $120,000. However one would need more waivers than found at a fourth of July parade. There is a cabin directly behind the main part of the building and that has the bulk of the footage on the lake and that is not part of the deal for the 1.2 mil. Further the right of way for the access to that cabin and for the big Victorian next door runs directly down the center of the parking lot. And who knows if the former gas station was ever checked out for possible environmental issues. A new buyer would have to have this checked before any bank would agree to a mortgage.
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So the lake access and frontage for which the real estate agent has convinced the seller the property is worth is really not a factor in its economic value. No docks, patios etc. could be built without agreement from the abutter and lots of variances.

So we have only the possible rent from the building to provide an economic base. Remember 90% of all retail in downtown Wolfeboro is not profitable for better than six months of the year and close to 30% of all the restaurants including the Yum Yum shop close every winter due to a lack of business. so rents higher than $1,000 - $1,500 a month are not workable unless one has a trust fund or a significant other that will allow you to run a hobby business. Then value has nothing to do with the situation.

True value for that building is around $500,000-$600,000.

Yum Yum Shop Closed!!
 

Walk there from the dock Saturday around 1pm and they were closed.

Second week of June.

I wonder why the business and equipment are not part of the sale. The implication to me is the owners want to sell the real estate and open the business at a different, likely less expensive, location. Any thoughts?

I think the equipment goes with the sale.

This is what it says:

http://www.wolfeboro.co/real-estate/...73945/29762182

Thanks Rusty. You are correct. That being said, the ad reads like the business is being piecemealed as opposed to sold as an ongoing operation. Maybe it us just a poorly written ad. I hope someone buys the place and keeps it going as a bakery.

It is being sold because the owner of the family business died last year. They explain on their Facebook page:


https://www.facebook.com/Yum-Yum-Shop-191208414596/

Yum Yum Shop
May 23 at 5:58am ·
"Many of you may know that last year long time owner Lou Kelly passed away after a long illness. As a family we struggled to make a decision to reopen or not. You will be happy to know that we will be open the second week of June for one last summer. Thank you for your many years of support! We look forward to seeing you all soon!"




I have no idea what the property is worth, but it's a prime location for something like the former "The Restaurant," which was packed in season and did well enough to break even in the off-season, despite being on the wrong side of the street. One of the things that struck us when we first came to Wolfeboro years ago was that the business locations were exactly backwards -- shops instead of restaurants lakeside, what a waste. We miss Hall's Pharmacy but were delighted that the Downtown Market Grille had the sense to turn it into a lakeview restaurant.

In reply to the poster who downgraded Yum Yum's property for lacking lake "access" -- diners don't need to jump into the lake, just to look at it. Yum Yum was first and foremost a bakery; the owners never exploited their little lakeview restaurant add-on, but someone else might make something of it. I hope the Kelly family finds a worthy, creative entrepreneur for their landmark property.

Actually, the current site of the Yum Yum shop was a GULF station.

Across and just up the street where Nolan's is was a MOBIL station.

Further up the hill where the Meredith Savings Bank is was a SUNOCO station.

And for those with long distance memories: Across the street from the now Hunters (which used to be an A & P) there is a small park facing the lake. That small park used to be an ESSO station (long before they renamed ESSO stations into the EXXON name).

As for what the Yum Yum property is worth? Who really knows. My only comment is that the only way to expand the property is to use the existing footprint and build up. Maybe the town will buy it and turn it into another lakeside park like the old ESSO station.





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Good info. Well before my time. Thanks. A park would be a nice substitute for the Yum Yum Shop. But I hope someone buys the property and figures out how to keep the Yum Yum Shop going in its present form.