Maple Grove Equipment Legacy Continues With Familiar Face
A bulletin board with newspaper articles and pictures of the late Peter Levesque is prominently displayed inside the shop.
"I know if Pete could be here today he would have a smile on his face," Lemaire said. "He always said, 'I want to see you run it.'"
Levesque had owned the 8 Leonard St. equipment sale, rental and service center since 1992 but the business had existed since 1936. Maple Grove had first operated as a marine sales and service family business under Chester Dydowicz, a longtime police officer and pilot, who died in 1990.
Lemaire said Maple Grove Equipment had long been the place to go for lawnmowers, snow blowers, and snowplow sales and service in Northern Berkshire County.
"Pete always said, 'in the winter everyone needs a snow plow or needs a snow blower,'" Lemaire said.
Lemaire worked for Levesque for nearly a decade and after leaving the shop for a spell, received a call from Levesque's wife who said he had fallen ill.
Lemaire said he visited him after surgeons tried to remove a brain tumor.
"I went to go see him. He was with it and he kind of talked to me for a little bit," he said. "Two weeks later she called me again and said he is not doing well. She said she knew nothing about the business."
"She was retired, she wanted Pete to retire and she wanted to spend time camping and doing stuff with him so she told me, 'Now is the time Brandon if you want to do it just let me know we can work something out.' So I am in the process of buying it right now."
Levesque passed in July 2023, and Lemaire took over in early November.
Lemaire said it has been business as usual and although he wants it to grow, he feels no need to disrupt the services people have grown to expect including the sale and service of lawnmowers, snowblowers, and snowplows among other things. The business specializes in servicing well-known plow brands.
"I see a lot of customers out in town, the grocery store or Walmart. Customers come up and talk to me. They like the service we offer," he said. "Obviously, we want to grow. Every business wants to grow and be better."
He said he did do some remodeling in the showroom and, eventually, wants to offer 24-hour plow repair.
"Plow guys, if they break down in the middle of the night, will want to get their plow fixed so they can finish their route instead of waiting," he said. "So that will be a big thing."
He added that the business still provides golf cart rentals, a unique service in the area.
And Lemaire said business so far has been good.
"Things have been busy now that we are open," he said. "We have been getting a lot of people from Bennington, Pittsfield, Lee, Lenox so that is really a big thing."
Maple Grove can be contacted at 413-743-2118 or sales@maplegroveequipment.com. Hours are 8 to 4 weekdays.
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