Rodd Miramichi sells for $7.3 million

Blueberry magnate purchases Miramichi hotel to ensure his deceased friends name lives on in the industry.

According to an online publication www.allnovascotia.com , the Rodd Miramichi has been sold for $7.3 million.

The article states that John Bragg, better known as the owner of Oxford Blueberries and Eastlink  than in the hotel business, has purchased the property in an attempt to ensure that the Rodd family name persists on one of its best properties.

Bragg was friends with David Rodd, and roomed with him at Mount Allison University.  Rodd was the son of Wally and Sandy Rodd who started the hotel business in the 1960’s, and David later took the reins of the company and developed the Rodd chain in 1982.  David Rodd died at the age of 66 in 2006 from ALS.  

Bragg donated a large amount of money to UPEI in 2010 and a research wing at the university was named after Rodd, the “David W. Rodd Health Research Floor”.  And it seems he wants his name to live on in the hotel industry.

The article stated that Bragg purchased the 73-room hotel in Miramichi to prevent his friend’s enduring brand from fading away.   The Miramichi hotel was a franchise of the Rodd chain and its owners were from Montreal. Bragg’s company said they were worried the hotel might be acquired by a different chain and lose the name.

The company said that little will change in the day to day operation of the Rodd Miramichi, and its General Manager Jim Gertridge will will stay on in the position because “he runs an excellent hotel”.

Braggs company said it shows a continued commitment to the northern NB region.  In 2016 they built a $184 million blueberry facility, and pledged an additional $25 million vegetable processing operation last year for the same area in the Acadian Peninsula.