Restoring Balance: Midwest Restoration Builds for What’s Next

Built on Showing Up

Raised in a family of builders, Coyne Borree grew up around job sites. He learned very early that construction was as much about people as it was about materials. When he discovered restoration work, that connection deepened. Helping families rebuild after fires, floods, and other losses gave the work meaning beyond revenue or growth.

In one of his first major jobs, Coyne walked into a home devastated by a fire, hugged the homeowner, and told them everything would be okay—before discussing price, insurance, or credentials. He got the job that day.

It was the complete opposite approach to what his competitors were doing and reinforced a belief that would shape Midwest’s culture through today: showing up as a human being mattered more than any sales pitch.

Facing the Limits of Doing It Alone

By late 2023, Midwest’s growth was accelerating faster than Coyne could sustainably manage. He was working 70 to 80 hours a week, often more, personally carrying decisions he no longer had the capacity to scale alone. His business was thriving, but it was moving at a pace he couldn’t control by himself.

Like many founders, Coyne approached the idea of selling his company with skepticism. When private equity first entered the conversation, his concerns were familiar: loss of control, cultural erosion, cost cuts, people becoming numbers on a spreadsheet. Ultimately, he decided selling to the right partner was the best option for Midwest.

After months of preparation and due diligence, a deal with another private equity firm fell apart right before closing. It happened a few days before Christmas, forcing Coyne to tell his family it was over. After years of work, the future he thought he had secured disappeared overnight.

Rethinking What Private Equity Can Be

Coyne was convinced that working indefinitely—at the expense of personal time—was the only remaining option. He was done with private equity and was resigned to work for himself forever, even if it meant sacrificing time with loved ones.

Then came a conversation with Alpine Investors that changed everything.

Within hours of the initial call, Alpine’s team confirmed travel plans to meet in person—arriving just days after Christmas, before the New Year. The urgency and preparation signaled something Coyne hadn’t experienced before: genuine respect for the business and the person who built it.

From the first interaction, the tone was different. “They made me feel like they were lucky to be talking to me,” Coyne recalls.

For the first time, selling the business didn’t feel like walking away from a legacy—it felt like a way to protect it.

A Partnership That Enabled the Next Chapter

In March 2024, Coyne sold Midwest Restoration to Alpine Investors and joined Alpine’s home restoration platform company, Guardian Restoration Partners.

With additional resources and infrastructure behind it, Midwest accelerated growth post-acquisition, while staying true to its people-first roots.

Since partnering with Alpine, Midwest Restoration has:

• Promoted six team members internally
• Expanded employee benefits across healthcare, retirement, and wellness
• Opened new locations, with additional expansion underway
• Created clearer career pathways for employees at every level

Team members felt the impact immediately. With added support and resources, Midwest could start jobs faster, invest in better tools, and create opportunities that previously felt out of reach, benefiting both employees and customers alike.

For Coyne, one of the most meaningful outcomes has been watching employees who started in entry-level roles grow into leadership positions—proof that the culture he built wasn’t just preserved, but strengthened.

Preserving What Matters—And Paying It Forward

Today, Coyne continues to lead Midwest Restoration locally, with his name still on the building and his values embedded in how the company operates. At the same time, his role has expanded beyond one business.

Through Guardian, Coyne now supports other founder-led companies by sharing best practices, mentoring leaders, and helping ensure that growth doesn’t come at the expense of people.

Coyne is candid about what the process requires from founders. Letting go isn’t easy—but neither is carrying everything alone. For him, choosing a different path wasn’t about stepping back from responsibility; it was about protecting what he’d built and the people who depended on it.

“If you’ve built something strong enough to be acquired,” he says, “you did something right. The goal is finding a partner who understands that and honors it.”

For Coyne Borree, that meant choosing a future where Midwest Restoration could continue doing what it had always done best: showing up for people when it matters most.

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Portfolio Leader Statements: Certain statements about Alpine made by portfolio company executives herein are intended to illustrate Alpine’s business relationship with such persons, including with respect to Alpine’s facilities as a business partner, rather than Alpine’s capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with their participation, although they generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or investors in Alpine-sponsored vehicles. Such compensation and investments subject participants to potential conflicts of interest in making the statements herein.