Photos by Tom Rivers: Amy Sidari, left, congratulates Danielle Schmidt for becoming the new owner of Gotta Dance Performing Arts LLC in Albion. Sidari led the business, known as Gotta Dance by Miss Amy, for 28 years.

ALBION – A new owner will be taking over Gotta Dance in Albion, with the long-time leader staying on as a mentor the first year.

Amy Sidari is retiring as the business owner, choosing to spend more time for her family and pursue other projects. She will stay on to assist Danielle Schmidt in her first year running the dance studio and business based at 28 West Bank St.

“She has the charisma, the communication skills and the compassion,” Sidari said about Schmidt. “She has talent, talent, talent. This is a woman of confidence and a voice that belongs on Broadway.”

Besides assisting Schmidt in the transition to Gotta Dance owner, Sidari also hopes to teach a class to very young children, and be in the Thursday adult class as a participant.

Schmidt, 20, was a dancer at Gotta Dance for five years, and then studied dance for two years at Nazareth University. She is grateful for the opportunity to keep the dance studio going for the Albion community.

Schmidt was hedging whether to commit to buying the business and taking on the demands of that role. At age 20, she thought she might be too young to take on that challenge.

But she received strong feedback from those close to the studio. The April 5 dance recital, the last one for Sidari at Gotta Dance owner, sealed the deal for Schmidt. She saw more than 200 dancers get on stage and several hundred watch the recitals.

Schmidt could feel and see just how important Gotta Dance was to so many people.

“Everybody has been so loving and supportive,” Schmidt said. “I know how much this means to the community.”

Danielle Schmidt, right, has bought the Gotta Dance business at 28 West Bank St. from Amy Sidari.

Schmidt has been in the background assisting Sidari at dance recitals, cabaret shows, and benefits for people in need.

She has run the front of the house for some of the bus tours that attend cabaret shows at Gotta Dance for live music and comedians, sometimes two or three times a week. Those shows will continue with Schmidt as the owner.

Sidari in the past 28 years has gradually transformed the Gotta Dance building into three dance studios, the cabaret venue, and a piano studio. The building was used for a plumbing business before she acquired it.

The building has new wiring, insulation, a roof, three newer furnaces, thermal windows and a host of other upgrades.

Sidari is pleased Gotta Dance will enter into a new chapter, and Sidari can still be a part of it.

“It will be good for me because I love this place,” Sidari said about her continued role.

But she said ultimately she will support Schmidt as she makes Gotta Dance her own. Schmidt said nearly the entire staff has already committed to returning next season.

There will be an open house from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on June 12 at Gotta Dance for the community to meet the new owner. Schmidt will have dance registration in August, but may take sign-ups during the open house as well.

Schmidt said the studio will be a welcoming place where people can let loose, and build “confi-dance.”

Business has evolved, expanded to reach century mark

Photos by Tom Rivers: Bentley Brothers has reached 100 years in business and will have a celebration on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fairhaven Inn & Events at 14369 Ridge Rd. (the former Tillman’s Village Inn). Some of the staff are showed at Bentley’s Albion location. From left include Kevin Bentley, salesman; Lisa Ray, service advisor; Laura Bentley, owner and president; Hannah Wehling, marketing and advertising coordinator; Alex Murphy, Albion store manager and salesman; and Jim Puller, inventory control manager.

ALBION – Laura Bentley is proud of her family and employees for reaching 100 years selling tractors and other equipment.

Bentley, the owner and president of the business, is looking forward to a big celebration on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Fairhaven Inn & Events at 14369 Ridge Rd. She has sent out 7,500 invitations for the event.

“It’s a huge milestone,” she said about the century mark. “It’s a celebration of my family and the people who have worked for us over the years. They’ve put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears.”

The business was started by her great-grandfather, Allen Bentley, in Barre in 1925. It was originally called J. Allen Bentley and operated out of the grange. He sold some of the tractors and Cletrac machines that drained and cleared the Elba mucklands, equipment on tracks instead of tires that would have sunk into the muddy soil.

The business became Bentley Brothers when Allen’s sons, Gerald and Walter, came back from World War II and started working there in the mid-1940s.

Allen died in 1951 and his sons continued to run the business through the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were joined by Dave, his brother Doug and cousin Donna. After Donna left in the late 1980s as a bookkeeper, Doug and David stayed on, with David as manager and Doug as mechanic. (David and Doug are Gerald’s sons, and Donna is the daughter of Walter.)

David had graduated from high school in 1974 and then worked part time at the business while attending Alfred State College. After graduating from there, he started full time at Bentley’s in 1980. He led the move from Barre in 1991 to Albion on Route 31, and also opened the Brockport location in 2010. He retired in 2020.

Photo by Ginny Kropf: Laura Bentley and her dad David are shown in September 2020, while standing next to a Kubota backhoe on the lot at Bentley Brothers in Albion. This was taken when David announced he was retiring.

His daughter Laura is now the fourth generation running the business which has grown to 21 employees at two locations – 13936 Route 31 in Albion and 5605 Brockport Spencerport Rd. in Brockport.

Laura returned to the area 20 years ago after living in Ohio and earning a degree in public relations. She worked a year at the Washington Mutual when she first came back to Orleans County. When she joined Bentley Brothers she attended numerous conferences for equipment dealers, and took accounting classes at Genesee Community College.

“It’s the family tie,” she said about the desire to come back home and join Bentley’s. “When I was in Ohio, I was missing it. I wanted to put down some roots.”

The business has expanded over the years, and endured some lean times.

Whenever agriculture struggled, Bentley Brothers felt their pain. The business was very focused on selling to farmers until 1980. That’s when Bentley added Kubota equipment, with tractors, lawn mowers, backhoes and other machinery geared to hobby farmers and people with big yards to maintain. Commercial landscapers and municipalities are also big customers, with zero-turn mowers very popular.

Bentley’s also became a dealer for Stihl chainsaws and handheld equipment at its Albion location, while Brockport sells Echo handheld equipment.

The business evolved during the years, from selling Cletrac, which was bought out by Oliver, then Oliver was bought by White, and White was bought by Agco.

Bentley Brothers primary customer area includes the four counties of Genesee, Orleans, Livingston and Monroe. It has been recognized by Kubota as an “elite dealer” for many years.

Bentley carries the following brands: Kubota, Land Pride, Ariens, Gravely, Scag, Stihl, Echo, Terrain King, Brillion, Kubota Generators, Bush Hog, Stinger and Wallenstein.

Photo by Tom Rivers: Laura Bentley wanted a Kubota similar to the ones Bentley Brothers had in 1980 when the business first started selling them. Last year she hunted down this 1979 Kubota B6100E in Ohio and had it restored by her employees. The 24-horsepower tractor with 2-wheel drive is on display at the Albion location and not for sale.

Laura has been very involved in the community, serving on boards for the Orleans County United Way, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Cobblestone Museum and the Leadership Orleans steering committee. She also is part of a business management program run by Kubota for select dealerships.

Bentley said she enjoys the camaraderie among the customers and her employees. Most of the employees live in Orleans County, including those at the Brockport store.

As part of the celebration on Saturday, there will be a $25,000 giveaway to someone who bought a tractor this month from Bentley’s. That winner will be announced at the celebration.

There will be many other discounts on equipment and machinery, as well as parts purchases.

There also will be live music with Bill Pileggi and Jimmy Aina in the morning, followed by Savage Cabbage in the afternoon. The first 500 to RSVP will get a free gift bag.