See also the The store
From the garnet colored jars of thick, dark, local berry jams to a large selection of Vermont cheeses, Charlie provides a large assortment of Vermont-made artisan products. Early to grasp the localvore movement, he carries Vermont-made beers, cheeses, chocolates, cookies, crackers, meats, paté foie gras, sauces, syrup, and wines, to name a few. For non-food items, he carries brass thermometers, candles, soaps, socks, and wooden puzzles, to name a few more.
He also carries the usual grocery products, like marshmallow
fluff, peanut butter, sugar, and canned soups, which are staples.
One surprise is a wide
selection of cigars, from tiny light cigarillo to large cigars resembling dark chocolate. He has
a busy internet and phone order business selling Vermont products and gift baskets.
He is the sole distributor of some local products, such as the large, buttery, raisinfilled
cookies from the Apple Butter Inn.
The front window holds fliers that detail the connections of life in town.One enterprising young man is making, selling, and delivering solid wood picnic tables to order, $190 each.
Lance, a long time sales clerk, describes the atmosphere as comfortable. He knows the customers and their likes and dislikes. When Minnie Carson, ninety-four, of Little Rock, Ark., called recently and ordered twice the amount of cheddar she’s been buying for seventeen years, both Charlie and Lance investigated. “She’s going to live to be 120-years-old eating an apple and Grafton extra sharp cheddar cheese for lunch every day,” Charlie said. He made sure she got what she needed.
This personal touch is what makes shopping at the country store so unusual for shoppers. Like many country store owners in the past, Charlie used to live above the store. Now he lives up the road with his wife, Liza, and walks to work each morning like clockwork, the dogs trotting along beside him.
This is when townspeople know it is time to get their newspapers, check their mail, and pick up whatever else they need: coffee or news about their neighbors.
He is also the current chair of the Vermont Association of Independent Country Store Owners (VAICS), a coalition of country store owners who banded together to fight attrition. “When a town loses a store,” Charlie said, “it loses the nerve center, and once it is gone, it is very difficult to bring back. People move on, find other places to get their coffees and papers.”
At a recent VAICS meeting, one owner showed others how to throw pizza dough. It is a “one-for-all, and all-for-one” attitude that uses strength in numbers. Gary Hatch, who runs the Newfane Market said, “We’re here to foster community spirit; There is a willingness of stores to invite us newbies in to teach us something that will help,” he added. More..