Molli Martin, co-owner of Sunshine Mill, prefers to work behind the scenes while her husband and daughter handle public presentations and media inquiries, but this year is different. In March, the Martins paid off a nearly $540,000 land sale agreement after seven years and received title to the iconic property on the east end of town. The achievement is cause for celebration, said Martin, who wants to share the family’s success with the community.
In a 5-4 vote Tuesday, the Columbia Gateway Urban Renewal Agency board voted to convert two balloon payments owed by Sunshine Mill into a single monthly payment. The restructured agreement with Sunshine, the old grain silo property that is operating as Copa Di Vino, a wine distribution company, will require payments of approximately $12,800 a month beginning next March. They will continue until August 2021.
On Memorial Day weekend seven years ago, James and Molli Martin, co-owners of the Sunshine Mill Winery, opened their doors to the public for the first time. “We went in with ‘this might work,’ that’s all we had,” said Molli. “It feels like it was yesterday.”
To the editor: It was a blast from the past! There’s nothing that compares to finding old friends and reconnecting with them — especially if you’ve watched them on national television. One day, last August, I took a gamble and decided to friend my old friends, Jim and Molli Martin. It had been over 20 years since we’d spoken, so it was a gamble; and to make it even more of a gamble they were now in the national spotlight with their new venture of Copa di Vino at Sunshine Mill.
