At the top of a winding road in rural Vermont sits Pierce's Store, a white-paneled department store with a wide front porch and steep pitched roof. By most measures this place should have closed long ago.
But on a recent cold November morning, stepping through Pierce's front door to the sound of a bell and the warm aroma of fresh baked goods feels like a hug.
These spaces are more than just picturesque settings for Hallmark Christmas movies. On the outskirts of Vermont, the general store serves as a lifeline for residents, delivering mail, local wealth and goods. But with the advent of Amazon and chain stores, the tide turned against them.
Why did we write this
They are reminiscent of Hallmark movies and simpler times. But in rural areas, general stores are a lifeline to the community, providing access to food and serving as a social hub. In Vermont, cities are struggling to survive.
There are about 70 independent stores left in the state, said Dennis Bathory-Kitz, a Vermont historian and author of “Vermont Country Stores: A History and Guide.” This is down from about 125 in 2001. Still, a small but significant number of cities are tackling the challenge of keeping their doors open through a nonprofit model through fundraising, volunteering, and hosting community dinners and music jams.
“When someone preserves something in their community for their neighbors, it brings them joy and hope. I hear that all the time,” says Ben Doyle, president of the Vermont Conservation Foundation in Montpelier, the state capital.
At Pierce's Restaurant, Lee Wilson finishes his breakfast sandwich at a small table in the back room. He's been coming here for 48 years and now volunteers to man the counters. Mark Youngstrom is there too, wrapped in an Icelandic wool sweater. He has been coming for 46 years. Martha Sirjane, the assistant manager, is also there, carefully moving between shelves of daily necessities and specialty items, chatting with customers, ringing up orders and, in some cases, introducing neighbors for the first time.
The store's last owner, Marjorie Pierce, wanted to preserve that warm feeling for her small town of 1,100 people. Shrewsbury's general store first opened the year the Civil War ended, not just as a place to buy flour or sugar, but also as a gathering place where neighbors played checkers next to a pot-bellied stove, caught up on the latest news and escaped the isolation of rural life. When she died in 2001, she left the family store to the Vermont Conservation Foundation, a nonprofit that provides support and funding to towns seeking to save buildings that define a sense of place. She gave specific instructions to ensure that Pierce's store remains a working store and not a museum of a bygone era.
It was an ambitious request. And it took 16 years and the commitment of a couple dozen residents to be fully realized. But today the Shrewsbury Co-op at Pearce's Store owns and operates the property with the help of volunteers and a few paid employees.
Kendra Nordine Beato/The Christian Science Monitor
“The atmosphere of the place and Marjorie's desire for the store to continue to serve the community in every way possible is very important,” says Mr. Youngstrom, a board member. He adds that in the years since they opened in 2009, they have developed new ways to attract people, such as chili cook-offs, movie nights, a blueberry festival and a children's art exhibit in a converted garage in the backyard. Their efforts have also become an inspiration to other cities looking to protect their stores.
“The Last Great Egalitarian Space”
Even before the pandemic and rising energy and food costs put pressure on Vermont's department stores, their numbers were dwindling as longtime owners looked to retire. Aging buildings, long hours and tight profit margins have forced many to seek new ownership, causing some to close their doors after decades of serving their communities.
“We're seeing independent stores closing because the economy isn't working for rural communities,” Mr Doyle says. The Vermont Conservation Foundation has helped about 10 towns create nonprofit organizations to operate department stores. “[They] “This is the last great egalitarian space in our country,” he says. “These are places where people, regardless of class, regardless of political point of view, can meet each other by chance, which is really important for building public trust.”
Kendra Nordine Beato/The Christian Science Monitor
Shortly after Robert DuGrenier and his wife Kathy decided to move to Vermont from New York in 1997 to pursue their dream of farming, the West Townsend Country Store closed.
“It was a ghost town. There was nothing to slow down about,” said Mr. DuGrenier, a world-renowned glassblower who was once asked to figure out how to restore the flames on the Statue of Liberty. The property changed hands several times: first as a catering center, then as a ski shop. However, when the last owner decided to sell it in 2010, the city realized it was about to lose its post office. Working with the Vermont Conservation Foundation, they found an angel investor who said that if the city created a nonprofit, they would buy the building and lease it back for $5 a month.
Staffed mostly by volunteers, the West River Community Project now operates a donation-funded cafe, a thrift store, an incubator kitchen and, of course, a post office. Mr. DuGrenier is the postmaster. He also cooks wood-fired pizza on Friday nights, cooking a pie every 90 seconds, and is president of the nonprofit's board. Music jams take place several times a week, and there is a community dinner on Tuesdays. During the summer there is a farmers market in the backyard.
“A lot of other communities around here saw what we were doing and said, ‘We need to follow your model. How did you do it? How did you survive?” Mr. DuGrenier says. “We really made a difference.”
Community gets involved
In South Strafford, Vermont, the family-owned Coburns General Store has served as a grocery shopping center, laundromat, gas station, post office and bank since 1977. This is also where the shy local boy bought his candy. Then Noah Kahan grew up and began writing and singing about life in rural Vermont. But when Melvin Coburn and his wife Sue were ready to retire after nearly 48 years, a single serious buyer wanted to turn it into a convenience store. The community rallied and, with support from the Vermont Conservation Fund, launched the Strafford Community Foundation in 2022, raising $1.8 million. They spent $1.2 million buying the Coburns store in June 2025 and the remainder will be used for improvements under new manager Adam Smith, who leases the store from the trust.
Kendra Nordine Beato/The Christian Science Monitor
There may be a new name above the door: “Strafford General Store,” but the notice board outside still advertises contra dancing, dog walking, house cleaning, food pantries and a new women's empowerment group. Inside, along with shelves of produce and a growing selection of Vermont-made goods, are old-fashioned hurricane lamps, cedar shavings, Easter egg sets gathering dust, an assortment of fish hooks and Noah Kahan T-shirts.
Dina Race, a Strafford local who has worked at the store for 26 years, has a hard time identifying the best sellers. “But 127 Noah Kahan hoodies sold out in two to three weeks,” she notes, adding that people show up every day hoping to catch a glimpse of the Grammy-nominated folk-pop singer.
Mr. Smith, who has only been on the job for four months, has extensive experience as a former manager of a food co-op in a nearby town. His daily tasks include solving an ever-growing list of problems: updating water coolers, reworking the registration system and setting up a new account to receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards. He hired an assistant manager and reduced his work week to 80 hours, while remaining closely involved with the trust. He also tries to make changes to inventory slowly.
“The nice thing about smaller stores is that every customer really matters and you form a connection with them,” Mr. Smith says, noting that one customer turned around and left when his favorite creamer was out of stock. Most employees remained during the transition period. “The more you support these small independent shops, the more they can thrive and their employees will thrive,” he says.
“Much more than a grocery store”
In Shrewsbury, Harry DiPrinzio and Elena Glid moved from California a year ago to run Pierce's as a team. They use their experience in bread baking and the restaurant business to expand their offerings of baked goods and prepared foods. Locals say the store is the best they've ever had. But it's still a struggle.
Kendra Nordine Beato/The Christian Science Monitor
“Our goal as managers is to make this business model as sustainable as possible. And that's really hard to do,” Ms. Gleed says. “The cost of products is rising, the cost that we… [pay] our distributors, this figure is growing.”
Mr DiPrinzio adds that it has been a challenge to attract some of the larger suppliers to supply to Shrewsbury, although they have relationships with 30 to 40 individual suppliers. The recent growth of food hubs has made it easier for them to purchase more Vermont products, which is a priority for them. Infrastructure and food policy issues aside, managers are quick to recognize the value of the intangible assets a department store offers.
“The Pierce Heart has been kept alive since 2009 thanks to volunteer community members,” Ms Gleed said. “I'm sure there are other examples in other cities. But this is more than just a grocery store. And I think without the city's support, it wouldn't have lasted as long as it has.”
For Mr. Wilson, volunteering is one way to give him the sense of home he felt in the Pierces when he was new to small-town life nearly five decades ago. “That’s one of the joys of working behind the counter,” he says. “I meet new people and say, 'Well, welcome to Shrewsbury.'
