The Peru Gazette

Mary Ann Cayea and Scott Hite

By John T. Ryan 

Peru – On Saturday, April 29th Scott Hite and Mary Ann Cayea will celebrate their second anniversary as owners of Livations Wine and Spirits, located in Grand Union Plaza (formerly Swain’s Liquor and Wine). They’ll be offering numerous specials and tastings to celebrate the occasion. 

Today, when customers drive into the plaza, they see the Livations name on two other businesses. In August 2022, Scott and Mary Ann purchased the adjacent laundromat and the car wash across the driveway. When they first considered the purchase, Scott recalls, “We asked ourselves, how hard could it be?” Today both Scott and Mary Ann said, “It turned out to be hard.” 

Livations is an actual family business. Mary Ann handles the ordering, her daughter Brette Campbell manages the store, and Scott works wherever needed, such as behind the liquor counter or cleaning the laundromat’s clothes dryer vents. As a result, he’s become a jack of all trades.

There have been several changes at the wine and spirits shop. Scott commented, “If you look around, you’ll see we’ve remodeled, installed new shelving, a new counter, and almost doubled our inventory. Mary Ann added, “Now we buy from about six suppliers, not just one or two.” Scott commented, “We cater very well to our customers. If our customers want a product, we will do our best to order it. We listen to what our customers say and watch what they buy.”

Soon after purchasing the car wash and laundromat, they brought in maintenance crews to get the equipment in tip-top shape. Today, the no-touch car wash machine is much more reliable. Scott said, “If there’s a problem, my cellphone number is posted. I do my best to respond to a call immediately.” In a few days, many customers will undoubtedly smile when they see a credit card machine outfitted with the latest technology at the car wash. Previously the 24-hour car wash only accepted cash.  

The Livations laundromat is popular with residents and people from as far as Willsboro and Keeseville. Scott remarked, “People like the atmosphere and that we keep it clean.” The laundromat has eleven washing machines, ten clothes dryers, a new flat-screen television, a large snack machine, and a machine with all the popular Pepsi products. 

During our interview, Scott remarked, “As soon as we put the Livations signs on, the laundromat and car wash business increased. I like that people equate our name with something good.” Good includes supporting several local community service organizations and charities. 

Neither Scott Hite nor Mary Ann Cayea had any business experience before starting Livations. If people equate the Livations name with something good, that’s a tremendous vote of confidence in Scott, Mary Ann, store manager Brett Campbell and their staff. 

Congratulations to Livations! May you continue catering to your customers’ needs for years to come.