Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Co. sells to a billionaire from Florida

The second of two ferry services that transport visitors to Mackinac Island from mainland Michigan has been sold to a Florida billionaire who bought Shepler’s Ferry two years ago, sources confirmed to the Detroit Free Press.

Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry Co. closed the deal at 11:59 p.m. Friday with the Hoffmann family of companies, headed by Naples, Fla. patriarch David Hoffmann. He recounted working as a child with his father, a milkman who made early-morning deliveries door-to-door in tiny Washington, Mo.

Employees were informed of the sale on Saturday morning.

Jenny Gezella, president of Hoffmann Marine, which owns Shepler’s and Sip n’ Sail Cruises on Mackinac Island, said operations of the newly acquired ferry company will continue as normal and all 200 employees have their jobs secured.

“All employees are staying,” she said. “We look forward to providing a first-class and efficient service to and from the island. All prices are subject to the licensing agreement. All prices will remain the same.”

Ferry prices, which are set under a licensing agreement with the island, will not change as a result of the sale, Gezella said.

She declined to provide the sale price.

Gezella said the latest acquisition makes the Hoffmann family of companies the largest landowner in the Mackinaw City and St. Ignace areas. Two local newspapers, the Mackinac Island Town Crier and the St. Ignace News, also were purchased by the Hoffmann group.

Since taking over Shepler’s in 2022, it has upgraded five ferry engines worth an estimated $1.3 million, and such investments will continue, said Gezella, who flew to Michigan to discuss the latest acquisition.

Starline services have been disrupted by equipment problems, including this season, causing concern among island leaders. The problems have included loss of propulsion and steering failure, according to documents obtained by the Free Press from the U.S. Coast Guard.

The reaction to the takeover is immediate

News of the acquisition sparked enthusiasm on the island.

Bart Berkshire, manager of the Chippewa Hotel, which is home to the Pink Pony Bar, told the Free Press: “The Hoffmann family is doing a great job continuing the tradition of Shepler’s Ferry. I look forward to seeing how they improve passenger ferries to and from Mackinac Island.”

Tim Hygh, executive director of the Mackinac Island Tourism Office, said Saturday afternoon after hearing the news: “Team Hoffmann… has really become immersed in the culture of the island over the last few years. We look forward to learning more about their vision for the Mackinac Island Ferry Company.”

The 2024 season is expected to be strong, and ferry traffic will be strong, Hygh said. “Revenue from (hotel) rooms in May was up 17.3% year-over-year,” reaching $9 million for the first time in history. “We’ve never had a May like this, and last year was a record year. The island has seen tremendous growth over the last decade.”

All eyes on Mackinac and keeping the tradition alive

A famous travel destination, Mackinac Island is a car-free island destination famous for hiking, biking and horse-drawn carriage rides.

When Hoffmann bid for Shepler, he didn’t make the highest bid. But the Shepler family wanted to sell the property to another family, Chris Shepler told the Free Press at the time. David Hoffmann runs the Hoffmann family of companies with his wife, Jerri, and sons, Geoff and Greg.

“We’re a family business, so we don’t have shareholders or quarterly reports or quarterly financials to report to Wall Street,” David Hoffmann told the Free Press in 2022. “We’re very committed to maintaining the culture of Mackinac Island, and that’s what we believe in. We don’t want to see this change.

Shepler ferries alone carry approximately 650,000 passengers between April and November to Mackinac Island from Mackinaw City and St. Ignace across the Straits of Mackinac. The newest ferry, which carries 210 passengers and launched in 2020, cost $5 million. Chris Shepler continues to be part of the Shepler Ferry Service and actively engages with business leaders on the island.

Shepler’s annual revenue alone is in the tens of millions and growing, Shepler told the Free Press at the time of the sale. He declined to comment on his former competitor this weekend, referring to Gezella, who oversaw the latest transaction.

Who is who

The Hoffmann family runs a multi-billion dollar operation with a presence in 27 countries. Hoffmann confirmed that he is the largest property owner in Naples, Florida. The family has renovated downtown Naples, Winnetka, Ill., on Chicago’s North Shore, and Avon, Colo., the base of Beaver Creek Ski Mountain, Hoffmann said. Their investments in vineyards in Augusta, Missouri have also attracted attention.

The ferry company purchased this week will change its name to Mackinac Island Ferry Company in 2022 to consolidate the Star Line Mackinac Island Hydro-Jet Ferry fleet, which began operations in the 1970s, the Arnold Line Ferry fleet, which has been operating since 1878, and the Mackinac Marine Services (MMS) shipyard, which was founded in 2019, according to a news release from Hoffmann Companies on Saturday afternoon.

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This acquisition expands the U.S. fleet in the Hoffmann Marine portfolio to 46 vessels in seven states, the press release said. Hoffmann purchased Sip n’ Sail in May 2024.

“With this expansion, HF Companies now owns over 116 parcels of land, including docks in Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island and St. Ignace, 51 buildings and 6,500 parking spaces,” we read in the press release. “This makes the company the largest real estate owner in the area and an employer of 500 people in the Mackinac area.”

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or [email protected] her on Twitter@phoebesaid.