By Andrew Macdonald
The big question now is whether Dean Leland, newly minted CEO of Tim Moore-operated Oceanstone Resort near Peggy’s Cove, might eventually buy out all the shares in the 30-room resort and take complete ownership.
I asked Tim Moore about that idea after he invited me into his Chester Peninsula mansion to chat about his decision to hire Leland.
Does part of Leland’s five-year plan at Oceanstone include an exit strategy for the Moore family and a 100 per cent sale of the resort to Leland?
“Because of his age—(Leland is 57)—I doubt it. But who can predict the future,” replies Moore.
Leland is a leading Halifax businessman, who previously ran Empire Theatres when it was owned by the Sobey family before it was sold in recent years to Cineplex.
For the past three years, Leland co-operated the eatery chain, Bertossi Group, which includes its flagship establishment, Bicycle Thief, at Bishop’s Landing.
He sold that stake in Bertossi Group in January, took a few months off, before entering into a three-month consulting contract at Oceanstone to test drive whether it would be a good career fit.
Over multiple meetings during last winter and stretching into summer, Leland met Moore at the Moore residential compound in Chester, a home Moore once put on the market for $12 million with Tradewinds Realty broker, Tim Harris, a mover of million-dollar and over mansions on the South Shore.
Moore and Leland also held meetings at trendy independent downtown Chester village coffee emporium, Kiwi Cafe, which is a success story in a village that also has a Tim Hortons outlet.
Leland has a cottage at Chester Front Harbour, in front of the fabled Chester Yacht Club, and he is a regular at the high society charity fundraisers throughout the year in Halifax.
Moore has high praise for Leland’s business acumen, and describes him as “Mr. Hospitality”.
Leland is taking an equity stake of 25-30 per cent in Oceanstone, which Moore bought eight years ago from founder Ron MacInnes, a Cape Bretoner who is now a Halifax filmmaker.
The Macdonald Notebook understands Tim Moore has about 30 per cent equity in Oceanstone, while his daughter-in-law Lizzie Dodds Moore, controls about 35 per cent.
Her father, educator Colin Dodds has four per cent, and his son James Dodds, a banker with TD, based in Toronto, owns one per cent.
Fashion TV retired host Jeannie Beker has one preferred share, which pays her a dividend. She is a friend of Tim and Bernadine Moore, often visiting Chester during the high season summer months.
The Chester high season has ended, a sign that the NSLC store is now closed on Sundays. It only does Sunday trade in the seaside village in July and August.
That reminds me of a recent Chester joke I heard the other week. It goes like this: “How can you tell the Chester high season has ended?”
The answer: “The Independent Loblaw store and Sobey-owned Foodland no longer sell gluten-free, free-range tomatoes!”
As for Leland, Moore says the deal “has been in the works since early January when he sold his restaurants. We began with very light conversations and it progressed. He became more and more intrigued and agreed to a three-month consulting contract” as CEO.
Moore and Lizzie Dodds Moore remain as co-chair, while Susan Wilson stays as president of Oceanstone.
What does Leland bring to the table?
Moore replies: “He has a very outgoing personality, very approachable, very positive, and very optimistic. And, of course, his philosophy on how to do business, appeals to me.
“He is a firm believer that ‘No’ is not in our vocabulary. You don’t say ‘No’ to a customer. That is so important,” Moore tells The Macdonald Notebook.
“The good thing for us is that 95 per cent of companies in the hospitality or service industry don’t understand what good service is. They talk about it,” notes Moore. “And, they put people through service courses, but they don’t understand it. Dean knows what exceptional service is all about. He lives and breathes customer service, he knows who the customer is.
“He’s also very creative…and thinks outside the box. I love the way he thinks. He’s also a doer. We have been putting things off at the resort, even small things like getting kayaks—and he’ll get them. He’s not just a talker.”
Oceanstone often sees $6,500 wedding packages booked a year in advance, and it has a corporate business element because it is so handy to Halifax’s business community.
Moore says that Leland, because of his friendship with a corporate lawyer, has already nabbed business from a regional law firm for the next five years for corporate retreats at Oceanstone.
“I don’t think there is anyone in the city that has more contacts then Dean Leland,” boasts Moore, over a porridge breakfast prepared by his wife, Bernadine.
“I had a senior guy at one of the large Halifax law firms say now that we have Dean, that law firm will give us all their corporate retreats for the next five years,” says Moore.
“He’ll increase our volume of business, and with more volume, you need to make the demand, so once we get HRM rezoning approved, any expansion plans at Oceanstone will be made by Dean, who has a five-year game plan,” adds Moore.
“You can never have enough business, you never think you are there,” Moore says of his business philosophy.
Moore is a self-described serial entrepreneur who founded national moving lines, AMJ Campbell, and Premier Van Lines, and founded Premiere Executive Suites in 1999.
“With Dean, I think we can easily triple our revenue at Oceanstone.”
Currently, there are 30 rooms at the resort, and it could double in the next five years to 60 rooms. “We can easily do that, we need a pool, hot tubs and fireplaces added to the property.”
Moore has known Leland for a number of years. “He’s a very classy guy and anyone who meets him is impressed by him.”
“One neat thing about him, he is a very punctual guy. It’s a gift to be timely and he is known for that.”