New England Country Store Crawl

While the supermarket has dominated modern life, rural country stores still play a role as a place for small communities to gather and support one another through the purchase and sale of local products and services. They serve as a gathering place for small meals, last minute items and the latest gossip. We visited 6 spots in Southern Vermont and New Hampshire covering a spectrum of what might be considered a country store.

Arriving at the Harrisville General Store we were hungry and ready for breakfast. The smell of freshly brewed coffee, bacon and sausage filled the air with smiling locals and an array of prepared foods including baked goods and cold salads. A table freed up just as we placed our order, so we grabbed hot beverages and sat in the mismatched chairs at a warm table. There was a homey feeling and sense of belonging.

If you are not paying attention the Sullivan Country Store will fly by and be another one of those places you make a mental note to visit... some day. Unlike many of the other spots we visited it sits on a high-speed stretch of road tucked into the trees with nothing else around but nature and your thoughts.

It is small but well provisioned. We had a good chat with the store keeper, grabbed some snacks and selected a local buttertnut squash for dinner later that week. For those with a rural commute that pass by it is an excellent opportunity to grab breakfast. They also deliver to locals, presenting an easy option for dinner.

The Gilsum Village Store was recently restored and reopened offering essentials to the local community and saving them the better part of an hour round trip to the nearest supermarket. The space feels historic, but it is deeply practical given the price of fuel and variety of provisions.

If you are traveling through be sure to stop for a bite to eat, some items to supplement your weekly menu and small gifts to share with others. We picked up a couple of books about country stores and timber frame building along with some cold beer, apples and hot coffees.

Pulling into The Vermont Country Store in Rockingham, Vermont you are hit with a different vibe - one geared towards tourism. The Vermont Country Store is a highly curated interpretation of what a local functioning country store should be. It is primarily a gift shop at its core with a massive catalog and online shop. Nearly everything is shelf-stable and has likely been dusted dozens of times since it was stocked. It is substantially larger than the other places we visited approaching a department store layout.

Traditional country stores purchased in bulk and sold by weight, count or volume. There were not multiple brands of an item, and customers got what was available. From this perspective, the massive contract manufacturing, repackaging and store-branding operation used by The Vermont Country Store has an oddly authentic angle, but feels staged - like a performance. You could not sustain your family in a healthy way on what is sold there. That said, it is a fun place to stop for souvenirs or gifts.

AI describes Grafton, Vermont as a postcard-perfect historic town with a community celebrated for its meticulously restored 19th-century architecture, underground power lines to preserve its authentic colonial aesthetic, and rich heritage. The Grafton Village Store feels like more of a relaxed restaurant based on the customer demand. The prepared foods are made from good quality ingredients and very satisfying. They have a varierty of fresh produce, dry goods and dairy products.

Grafton Village Cheese is prominant on the menu. The local bread is buttered and deeply toasted with prices that permit piles of protein. There are a good selection of local beers in a bucket of ice at the counter, along with glass-bottled sodas and seltzer.

Lawrences Country Store has a smaller foot print with a dense collection of shelf-stable goods. The interior is dark, save for a glowing open refrigeration unit filled to the brim with rebranded North Country Smokehouse products.

North Country Smokehouse bacon, kielbasa and sausages are common, but the thick-cut smoked chops and hams are a bit more difficult to find. If you do not want to drive all the way to their factory store in Claremont just stop at Lawrences. The proprietors work the registers and have an independent market with fresh produce around the corner.

While not strictly a country store, Cheshire Garden is a tiny farm stand that focuses on preserves and pies. Patti grows all of the produce she uses on premise, including the incredible berries that are concentrated into the most intense fruit products we have ever tasted. While we use a similar method to make our own strawberry and raspberry preserves now, we still buy her Damson Plum and Pepper preseves whenever she has them available. The quality of ingredients and volume required to produce the end result command a higher price per volume than chemical-laden, weak, pectin-thickened mass market options.

The triple-berry pies are amazing. Cold, and striaght from the mini-fridge they are top-tier. You do not have to worry about old stock since locals buy them out almost as fast as she bakes, cools and stocks them. They taste like butter and summer.

Country stores are like gems scattered throughout rural New England. They usually have a selection of high-quality, regional products made available to locals and those willing to take a drive. Most people are not going to do all of their shopping at a country store, but they serve as an anchor for rural main street. They support the local community in a practical way and provide a sense of identity that Dollar Generals and Dunkin Donuts can not. Go take a ride!