July 20, 2004

Vermont country stores struggle to outlast minimarts

PERU, Vt. -- What is it that makes a Vermont country store just that, and not something else?

For David Pinder, the owner of the Bromley Market in Peru, it's the table and two chairs in the middle of the floor where customers can drink coffee and hold forth on any topic as he works the register nearby.

"Can you hang out and talk at the 7-11?" he asked as he sold coffee and snacks to customers on a recent sunny weekday. "No, because you'll get charged with loitering."

The distinction is a big one for Pinder and other store owners who don't want to see their traditional businesses overtaken by convenience stores.

As part of a group called the Vermont Alliance of Independent Country Stores, or VAICS, they're raising money to promote local stores.

"We're an endangered species, I'd have to say," said John Rehlen, the owner of the Castleton store and a member of VAICS. "And I think one of our biggest threats comes from these chain minimarts."

Rehlen and other country store proponents can list several communities that have seen longtime stores go out of business: Shrewsbury, Woodbury, Tunbridge, Stockbridge, Wallingford, Fairfield, Arlington, Middletown Springs, Pittsford, Danville and Ferrisburgh. The stores either closed altogether or reopened as something else, such as a gift shop or a pizza place. One is now a car dealership.

Pinder's store is in many ways typical of the institutions VAICs is trying to save. Although not located in a majestic old building with tall ceilings and creaking wooden floors _ it started out as a roadside shack in the 1930s _ the store does serve up the mix of snacks, drinks, sandwiches, coffee and conversation found in country stores all over the state. It also features a wine section, various barbecue supplies, gas pumps, and a talkative proprietor who knows a lot about his town and about Vermont politics.

Beyond the social contact they provide, country stores are important in other ways to communities. In many towns, they're a gathering place and a key source of local information.

"People would call us if the fire alarm went off, or an ambulance went down the road, to see what was happening," said Jack Perry, who ran a store in Wallingford until last year. "It was basically a place to get information."

That's how Pinder sees his store. That's why he has the table and chairs.

"It produces no income, but it gives people a place to feel comfortable," he said.

Pinder, too, thinks country stores are endangered _ because of simple economics.

"An independent store doesn't have the purchasing power a chain would have," he said.

VAICS estimates Vermont has about 100 country stores. About 50 belong to VAICS. The group defines a country store as one that's been around for at least 50 years, and that stocks staples such as bread, newspapers, and milk. Those stores are often family owned, and the person at the cash register usually owns the store, lives nearby, and knows the customers, said Jayne Nold-Laurendeau, who chairs VAICS and sold her Northfield store this year after almost two decades.

That makes a big difference, she said.

Large corporations "want the most productivity per second they can get," she said. "The (independent store) owner also wants productivity, but the owner usually will make time to visit with people."

Not all the stores that have closed recently succumbed to competition; some closed because of an owner's illness or death. Others can't make it because customers want to buy gas at the same time they stop for bread or milk, and many old stores don't have room out front for gas pumps or to put a canopy overhead, said Rehlen.

But all the news isn't bad for the old stores or the communities they're in. Some stores that closed do eventually reopen.

And some of the new stores are independently owned, and serve well as places for neighbors to meet. Even if they're owned by a chain, they can become part of the community, said Jim Harrison, the president of the Vermont Grocers Association, a trade group for chain stores, supermarkets and country stores.

"A lot of it depends on the individual store manager," Harrison said. "People like to shop where they feel comfortable."

Pinder thinks people choose an old country store when they can.

"People do support the little guys. People like the fact the owner is on the premises," he said.

To help stores like Pinder's, VAICS is working on several projects. One is a line of Vermont-made specialty foods just for VAICS members.

"We want our name out there so people will remember, `This was bought in a Vermont store, and it's a Vermont product,'" said Nold-Laurendeau. "It's branding."

VAICS is a low-budget operation, and Nole-Laurendeau is applying for grants to pay for its promotional efforts. Members just can't pay enough to the alliance in fees, she said.

"We have a lot of stores in very fragile condition," she said.

The alliance is also trying to help country stores promote themselves.

"One can try to find a niche in terms of offering some special services, the dry cleaning, the excellent wine department," Rehlen said. "Those are things that will bring people in."

And Nold-Laurendeau is creating brochures that list local items of interest near each store in the alliance, such as covered bridges and historic sites.

"We're an unofficial tourist destination for a lot of people," she said.

Pinder, a veteran of the restaurant business, said the independence and social contact of owning a store made it worth the long hours that go with it.

"It is tough going up against the Mobils and the Jiffy Marts and 7-11s and things like that," Pinder said. "But it's good to be the underdog, to be the independent, to run your business as you see fit. It's good not being part of corporate America."

©Associated Press 2004

 

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