Love and luck bring 3rd generation owner to Adirondack business

Family legacy lives on at Nelson’s Cottages in Inlet

By Holly Riddle

The third-generation owner of Nelson’s Cottages in Inlet wasn’t born into the business, as is the case with many owners of multigenerational Adirondack businesses today. Instead, Julie Meeks Nelson’s path came about thanks to a little luck and a lot of love. 

Julie’s stepfather Ken Nelson had inherited the business from his parents, Clark and Betty Nelson, who’d purchased the property in the 1960s (the Nelsons had also at one point owned the adjacent Nelson’s Deerhurst Lodge and Rochester Motel, in the 1950s, before focusing solely on Nelson’s Cottages). 

“[Ken] was a bachelor and…he ran [Nelson’s Cottages] for a couple of years by himself,” said Julie. “We were on vacation — my mom, brother and me — and we were looking for a place to stay. This was when I was maybe 7. Nelson’s Cottages had a vacancy, so we came, my mom and stepdad ended up falling in love and we moved here,” she said. 

What started with Julie’s mom, Linda working for Ken ended up with the two becoming a couple. Linda moved with her children to Inlet from Mexico, New York. “I started school in Inlet in fifth grade and was helping clean cabins at the age of 10,” said Julie. 

Julie would work at Nelson’s Cottages all through high school and college and, even after becoming a teacher in Rochester, she would return to Inlet in the summer to help out. Still, she had no plans to leave her teaching career to take over the family business. However, just like Ken and Linda’s love story brought Julie to live at Nelson’s Cottages, it was Julie’s love for the business and her family’s role in Inlet that ultimately changed her course in life.

“My mom became disabled…and they were going to sell the place. I didn’t want them to. I told them I would quit teaching, come home and run the place if they would let me, and they did,” she said. 

Julie has run the business for just over a decade.

“All my best memories from childhood were living here at Nelson’s and in Inlet. I just couldn’t stomach the idea of this not being my home anymore,” she added. “We’re very fortunate to have lakefront property. When I was younger, my job every morning was to go sweep the dock and rake the beach. I used to resent that. Looking back, I’m like, ‘What better way is there to start a day than to be down there looking at this water, lapping up all softly, and the fog and loons? Now, it’s a moment of peace for me,” she summed up. “I love the fact that I’m back in my hometown.” 

Looking back, Julie feels that she definitely made the right decision, even though the adjustment was challenging. Like many seasonal businesses in the Adirondacks, running Nelson’s Cottages is a game of balancing the busy parts of the year with the quieter months. From about April to October, Julie works seven (long) days a week, but through the winter, she picks up extra work waitressing or bartending to keep busy. Still, even during the summer when she’s working 12 hours a day, with “no life,” she said, “you get to wake up and look at the water every morning and the sunset every night.” It’s a balancing act that multigenerational business owners that grew up in the Adirondacks, including Julie, have come to master. 

“I do very much enjoy the work, and we have guests that have been coming [here] since I was a kid. I played with them when we were kids and now, they’re bringing their kids and even their grandkids,” she said, noting that some families have been visiting Nelson’s Cottages every year for up to 50 years. “We live right on-site, so we basically spend the week with them. They’re important to me and I care about them more than just as customers.”