The board of directors of Empire State Development (ESD) has awarded a nearly $1 million grant to the holding company of Owera Vineyards in Madison County.

EBAC, LLC will use a regional-council capital-fund grant of $994,000 to help pay for the cost of creating a new winery and farm on 58 acres of land adjacent to Cazenovia Lake in the town of Cazenovia.

EBAC completed the project in May, according to an ESD news release. The vineyard will use the funding to retain four jobs and create five new, full-time jobs.

The project scope included construction of a 11,700-square-foot building and barn for wine production, tastings, and related events. EBAC also purchased and installed new machinery and equipment, according to ESD.

For the past two years, owner Nancy Muserlain has operated Owera Vineyards from a temporary facility with “limited” wine production and warehousing capability, ESD said.

Owera Vineyards currently services more than a dozen wholesale clients including Liquor City in Fayetteville, MacKinnon Liquors of Cazenovia, and the Wine House of Manlius.

Empire State Development is New York’s chief economic-development agency.

More than half of the nation’s middle-market companies plan to expand their businesses in the next six months with the addition of employees, equipment, or adding new facilities.

That’s according to the new KeyBank Middle Market Business Sentiment Survey released on Thursday.

Predictions for 2013 indicated middle-market companies might set records for mergers and acquisitions, but the same survey found nearly half the respondents “have not been merger-minded” so far this year, according to Key.

The survey found 49 percent of middle-market business leaders polled had no interest in making an acquisition, and only 24 percent completed an acquisition. An additional 27 percent indicated they considered but did not complete an acquisition.

It appears the middle market wants to “hedge its bets” given ongoing uncertainty about issues such as the U.S. debt crisis and companies’ final tab for compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Cindy Crotty, head of KeyBank’s commercial-banking segment, said in a news release.

“Until they have more clear information about these big issues, middle-market companies just are not willing to take the risk of investing in and integrating acquisitions,” Crotty said.

Middle-market leaders remain risk-averse despite their growing confidence in the economic outlook nationally, locally, and for their businesses, KeyBank said.  More than half characterized the U.S. economic outlook to be “good to excellent” for the remainder of 2013 and early 2014.

KeyBank partnered with Los Angeles–based Lieberman Research Worldwide on the survey to understand what business sentiments are impacting each organization’s strategies and tactics, and to determine which regulatory and global-economic issues are affecting them, the bank said.

The research involved 400 financial decision-makers in middle-market businesses that generate between $20 million and $4 billion in annual revenue. Respondents answered online surveys in mid-April, according to Key.

Cleveland, Ohio–based KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) has more than 1,000 branches in 14 states.

KeyBank is the number two bank in the Syracuse–metro area deposit market with 27 branches, more than $1.8 billion in deposits, and a market share of 16.8 percent, according to the latest (June 2012)  statistics from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The bank has two offices, more than $58 million in deposits, and a market share of 1.6 percent in the Utica–Rome area.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

CLAY — Patrick (PJ) Tucci has a message to business and nonprofit managers planning a corporate outing for employees or clients or setting up a fundraiser: Don’t just reflexively reach for the golf course. Try a day out on the water catching fish instead.

Tucci and his wife Tracie own and operate T.I. Fishing Charters, LLC, which they operate from their two homes in Clay and Alexandria Bay. The charters run from May through November.

“What we offer is corporate fishing charters for businesses as an exciting way to show appreciation to their clients, employees, and even their suppliers,” says PJ Tucci, captain, noting that his business also organizes fundraising fishing tournaments. “One of the benefits is you don’t need to know how to catch a fish. With golf, it’s difficult. It’s tough to keep up if you haven’t practiced.”

He adds that the islands, castles, and wildlife are also attractions charter customers enjoy. “It seems to bring a lot more excitement than being on a closed golf course,” Tucci says.

In his day job, Patrick Tucci is general manager of Sposato Floor Covering Co. in Salina. He has worked there for six years. He’s also just hit the six-year mark since launching T.I. Fishing Charters in June 2007. Tracie Tucci is an IT recruiter at Contemporary Personnel Staffing, Inc. and Professionals, Inc. in Salina. On the fishing boat, her role is as first mate — helping the passengers onboard, including handling the tackle, baiting the hooks, and helping reel in the fish.

“She is actually a much better fisherman than I’ll ever be,” PJ Tucci says. As captain, he focuses on steering the 25-foot boat (a 2005 bay boat made by Florida–based Pursuit, Boats, Inc.)  and putting it into the right places to catch a lot of fish.

T.I. Fishing Charters handles the whole trip, from start to finish, for clients, Tucci says.

“We would handle transportation, catering, and lodging if necessary. We make it an organized process, similar to the way they organize holiday parties or a golf outing,” he says.

The boat can accommodate six passengers. But with the help of fellow fishing guides and charters from the Alexandria Bay Fishing Guide Association, T.I. Fishing Charters can make arrangements to provide a fleet of 10 or more boats for large corporate or nonprofit groups.

A staple of the experience that T.I. Fishing Charters offers clients is the traditional shore dinner, which dates back to the late 1800s when boat oarsmen would stop at midday to prepare the days catch, according to Tucci. Today, his charter firm has a private location overlooking the Bolt Castle, where clients can relax and watch the ships navigate the St. Lawrence Seaway. The shore dinner menu consists of bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich appetizers, tossed salad with Thousand Islands dressing, salt potatoes, corn on the cob, fresh pan-fried fish, and French toast for dessert, Tucci says.

T.I. Fishing Charters’ past clients have included IBN Financial Services, Mass Mutual, Daltile, The MOST, Arc of Onondaga, CenterState CEO, and the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, according to Tucci.

The business has grown organically through referrals and word of mouth, he notes.

“Being in the corporate world created some connections. It came up in conversations and meetings with clients,” Tucci says. “Our passion was to introduce people to the fishing up there and specifically how business could benefit.”

That passion started at an early age for the Tuccis.

“My wife and I have grown up on the St. Lawrence River and have fished that area our whole lives. We started out taking friends, co-workers out on the water,” says Tucci. “What started out as a hobby turned into a business. It happened naturally.”

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

SYRACUSE — Edward (Ed) Levine, the president and CEO of Syracuse–based Galaxy Communications, LP, is planning to become full owner of his company that operates several radio stations in both Syracuse and Utica.

Levine has partnered with Alta Communications, a Waltham, Mass.–based private-equity firm that has served as Galaxy’s majority owner since 2000.

“They’ve been in the company for 12 years, which, for private equity, is two-and-a-half lifetimes,” Levine says.

Levine currently owns a 20 percent stake in Galaxy Communications, while Alta owns an 80 percent stake ahead of the upcoming transaction, he says.

Levine approached Alta at the end of 2012, and indicated his interest in making an offer to buy Alta’s ownership stake in Galaxy for $13 million, he says. The firm accepted the offer.

 “So my joke is … Galaxy is being sold to me,” says Levine.

New York City–based Atalaya Capital Management LP is providing the financing, according to Levine. Atalaya describes itself as an “alternative-investment firm primarily focused on investing in credit opportunities,” according to its website.

Each plans to file for a full transfer of control with the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC will then have to approve it.

“I would anticipate that by the early Fall, I will be the sole, 100 percent equity owner of Galaxy,” Levine says.

The company name would then change from Galaxy Communications, LP to Galaxy Communications, LLC, he adds.

The transaction will take a firm “that was a very good company with a challenged balance sheet and makes it now a very good operational company with a very good balance sheet,” Levine says.

“By removing a significant amount of debt from the company, it gives us tremendous flexibility to either … look at other acquisitions in the broadcast field, look at other acquisitions in the event field, and being able to continue to invest in the product without worrying about debt levels that might not have been market levels anymore,” Levine says.

When asked how the transaction removes debt from the company, Levine says, “We were able to buy out Alta at a number significantly less than what was owed as they are winding down their fund.”

The website for Alta Communications lists Galaxy Communications as a “middle-market radio broadcasting company formed to acquire radio stations in Syracuse, Albany, and Utica, N.Y.”

Alta Communications typically invests between $10 million and $30 million of equity in each of its portfolio companies, according to its website

Galaxy acquired nine Clear Channel stations in the Utica–Rome market in 2007, and then sold five of the stations to two other companies to comply with federal ownership restrictions, according to articles published in The Central New York Business Journal.

In Syracuse, Galaxy operates WTKW-FM (TK99/TK105), which serves as the flagship station for both Syracuse University football and men’s basketball broadcasts. Its sister-station, ESPN Radio 97.7 FM/100.1 FM (which also transmits at both 1200 AM and 1440 AM), broadcasts men’s lacrosse and women’s basketball games.

Galaxy also operates KROCK (WKRL 100.9 FM and 106.5 FM).

Besides TK99/TK105, ESPN Radio, and KROCK, Galaxy also operates Syracuse radio stations that include Sunny 102 (WZUN 102.1 FM, 106.1 FM in Oswego) and ESPN Deportes (WSCP 1070AM in Oswego), which is ESPN’s Spanish-speaking network, according to the Galaxy website.

Galaxy’s 96.9 WOUR serves as the network affiliate for listeners in the Utica–Rome area, according to the Galaxy website. Besides WOUR, the company also operates Mix 102.5 (WUMX-FM), KROCK 94.9 (WKLL-FM), and ESPN Radio 99.1 FM and 1310 AM.

Galaxy Communication employs about 80 people between its Syracuse headquarters and the location in Utica. Most of the employees, or between 70 percent and 80 percent, work in the Syracuse location, Levine says.

The Utica stations operate at 39 Kellogg Rd. in New Hartford, according to the Galaxy website.

Galaxy annually generates about $13 million in revenue, Levine says.

Local market advertising-revenue increase

As Levine takes steps to become Galaxy’s full owner, he’s noticing a trend in the Syracuse radio market and has a theory as to why it’s occurring.

Advertising revenue in the Syracuse radio market through May 31 is up about 12 percent compared to the same time period in 2012, according to Levine.

He’s citing figures from Miller Kaplan Arase, LLP, a Los Angeles–based accounting firm that Levine says surveys the Syracuse radio market every month.

Levine believes the reduced print schedule for The Post-Standard for delivery to homes and newsstands is a factor in the increased radio-advertising revenue.

The reduced print schedule took effect earlier this year when the Syracuse Media Group became the parent company of both the newspaper and its sister website, Syracuse.com.

Levine is citing the combined advertising revenue of his company, Galaxy Communications, along with two of its local competitors, Clear Channel Communications, which operates six radio stations (WSYR 570 AM, WSYR 106.9 FM, WHEN 620 AM, WWHT 107.9 FM, WYYY 94.5FM, and WBBS 104.7FM) at 500 Plum St. in Syracuse, and Cumulus Media, which operates four radio stations (WSKO 1260AM, WNTQ 93.1 FM, WAQX 95.7FM, WXTL 105.9 FM) at 1074 James St. in Syracuse.

“We’re doing better than the overall market,” Levine says, declining to provide more specific numbers for Galaxy Communications.

When Galaxy crafted its budget for 2013, Levine and his team believed the advertising revenue in the Syracuse radio market would increase two to three percent over the 12-month period.

“That was our best guess,” he says.

Levine has operated in the Syracuse radio market for about 20 years, he says, and can’t recall seeing a double-digit, year-to-date advertising revenue figure like the figure for May.

Radio-advertising revenue nationwide in the first quarter was “flat,” according to Levine, and he’s hearing that advertising revenue in the second quarter will increase two to three percent compared the same quarter a year ago.

“The industry itself has not gone up double digits,” he says, figuring the revenue increase in the Syracuse market isn’t part of a national trend.

The newspaper reducing its weekly print schedule is a “major difference” in the Syracuse market compared to any others, Levine says.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

CLAY — At most hair salons, the term “highlights” refers to adding color accents to one’s locks, but at Sport Clips, highlights are also what the customer might be watching on TV while getting a haircut.

Sport Clips is a Georgetown, Texas–based company with franchised locations offering haircuts for men and boys in a sports-themed environment.

Patrons are able to watch sports on flat-screen televisions as stylists cut their hair.

The company has a location operating in a 1,600-square-foot space in COR Center, a shopping plaza at 3873 Route 31 in Clay.

“I personally have always wanted to own my own business,” says John Brecht, a Baldwinsville resident who along with his wife, Patricia, owns the local franchise of Sport Clips.

They opened the Clay Sport Clips on Jan. 11, he says.

As a sports fan, he also liked the company’s sports-themed environment and that Sport Clips doesn’t require its franchise owners to leave their jobs.

“We could continue with our careers while we build the business,” Brecht says.

Before pursuing the franchise, Brecht worked for much of his adult life as a project manager and estimator for companies that included the Suit-Kote Corp. in Cortland, DE Tarolli, Inc. in Van Buren, and most recently at AJAX Companies, LLC of Homer, where he was laid off from his position in 2012, he says.

Brecht says he is currently seeking a full-time position in the same line of work.

His wife, Patricia, works as a human-resources manager for SUNY Upstate Medical University, Brecht adds.

Pursuing the franchise

Brecht began looking into the idea of franchise ownership in 2011, and once he discovered Sport Clips, he signed the franchise agreement in January 2012.

Soon after, Brecht formed Jomeka Enterprises, LLC, which is now doing business as the local franchise of Sport Clips.

Sport Clips hired The Widewaters Group to help the Brechts find their space for operating the business, which had previously housed similar businesses, including a local franchise of Cost Cutters, a division of Minneapolis, Minn.–based Regis Corporation.

The company then drew up a letter of intent for the space with COR Development Co, LLC of Fayetteville. Syracuse contractor Rich & Gardner Construction Co. started work on the space in August 2012 and its effort continued through mid-October, according to Brecht.

Omaha, Neb.–based Sympateco Inc. designed the store, as it does for most Sport Clips locations, and provided the equipment for the space, he says. Brecht purchased the televisions from electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).

Brecht declined to disclose how much he invested to start the Clay location, but said a U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loan from College Station, Texas–based Spirit of Texas Bank provided the majority of the financing.

Sport Clips recommended Spirit of Texas Bank as a lender for the Brecht’s investment, he said.

The investment also covered the cost to prepare the space for business, he added.

The Clay Sports Clips employs eight full-time stylists, and Brecht says he’ll continue adding more employees as the business grows.

He declined to offer a 2013 revenue projection for the franchise location.

Five months into the operation, Brecht is generally with pleased with the store’s progress.

“I’m very satisfied with the way things have gone so far and encouraged to hopefully open other locations in the future,” Brecht says, noting he’s still primarily focused on the initial Clay location.

Brecht calls the marketing activities for his Sport Clips location an “ongoing process,” saying he’s pursuing advertising in the local media.

To this point, most of Brecht’s efforts have been in what he called “neighborhood marketing,” including attending some local events such as the opening day of little-league baseball in Baldwinsville. Sport Clips has an inflatable, eight-foot mascot named “Sporty” that a human gets inside, which Brecht calls “an attention grabber.”

“It gives us an opportunity at that time to hopefully hand out some coupons to potential clients,” he adds.

The basic haircut, called “Varsity Haircut” for adults is $17, the “Jr. Varsity Haircut” for kids is $14, and “The MVP Experience” which includes a hot-steam towel, massaging shampoo, neck and shoulder massage, along with the haircut for $22, Brecht says.

“All new clients, when they come in for the first time, get upgraded to the MVP for free, so they can see what the experience is all about,” he adds.

And even though most of its clients are male, the Clay location has serviced females for haircuts, he says.

About Sport Clips

CEO Gordon Logan founded Sport Clips in 1993 in Georgetown, Texas, and opened its first franchised store in Houston two years later, according to entrepreneur.com, the website for the publication Entrepreneur.

Sport Clips had 902 franchised units and 24 company-owned locations in 2012. The figures are up from 772 franchised units and 22 company-owned stores in 2011, and 683 and 21 respectively in 2010, according to the website.

The company requires a total startup investment between $177,800 and $277,000 and a franchise fee between $25,000 and $49,500. Sport Clips also requires an ongoing royalty fee of 6 percent and a five-year, renewable franchise agreement, the website says.

Sport Clips requires a franchisee to have a net worth of $300,000 with $100,000 of liquid cash available.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com