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Love For The Iconic Corner Store

I like old things — things that have stood the test of time, surviving because of their charm, or because they are still needed.

The authenticity of a place is important to me. And say what you want, but we are surrounded by authenticity in Chautauqua County. Whether you’re driving by acres of grapes, or up and down old country roads, or stopping by farm stands that have been there forever, or watching the summer sunset at a park by the lake … this is about as real as it gets in the world. And as someone who has been fortunate to see a lot of pockets of the world, I feel like I’m in a good position to cast my vote.

After ordering a pizza at Ashville General Store the other day, and climbing up the old steps to its door, and feeling right at home inside with its great old bones, I got to thinking about the old stores that I love here and how they’re still here. That’s something you don’t find in the world very often.

Take Calais, Vt. The general store recently closed and the town is trying to save it. It had served the community for more than a 100 years — once their beating heart — a gathering place for the community and travelers passing through. Its closing left a gaping hole in the town.

The Bemus Point Market is one of my favorite places because it’s still just the way I remember it as a kid. It’s timeless. I’ve sat in front of that place a few hundred times in my life licking an ice cream cone from the bench. Everything you could ever need is on the old shelves there at 12 Main St. Thank you for keeping the window where you serve ice cream open. Thanks for still hiring high school students to ring up your customers and for having pasteries and pies and newspapers. Don’t don’t ever change a thing. You don’t need to.

Every good lake has a good lake store. Hogan’s Hut is that place by the lake where you can find good worms and good coffee. They’ve got all the fishing news, and an angler can’t go wrong stopping in for some bait, some conversation, a sub sandwhich for the boat and a cold one. The store has actual adoring fans, not to mention great pictures of big, recently hooked fish on its Facebook page. The store is a great community resource.

And the store in Celoron is still open but it’s up for sale. It’s the kind of business that anchors the community. People write on its Facebook page about how nice it is to stop in for a cup of coffee with the owner always ready behind the counter with a big hello. A couple of years ago he added an ice cream stand next door, adding charm to the village. I hope whoever buys it retains its old corner store vibrance.

My earliest memories of Peterson Farms were all about picking out ears of corn, but as I’ve gotten older, I’m happy about the Swedish fish, the korv, and all of the interesting things they carry.

It’s still the same place I remember it to be 50 years ago, when we walked up to the same counter with those little containers of peaches and tomatoes. It’s just a special place in my memories and in the community. And trust me when I say people all over the world wish they had a real farm stand like that in their neighborhood. Farm stands keep us local, they remind us our communities can still feed their own people, and they celebrate abundance. I stop by them in the summer as often as I can, just as a way to say thanks for being a farm stand.

I’ll let you in on a little secret but don’t tell anyone else: we drive a long way on summer Saturdays to buy steaks at the Lighthose Point Grocery in Mayville. And that store is about as authentic as corner stores go. We put our groceries on the same belt we did decades ago, walk up and down the same aisles looking for dish detergent and paper plates. I love that place, and not just because I like a good steak.

I’m leaving out many great local stores but I’m running out of room. I just want to say thank you to all those places that have kept their doors open all these years, still with the same ambiance, great service and charm.

It’s so nice we don’t have to say, “Remember that old corner store down the road where we bought bubble gum when we were kids?”

Our favorite corner stores are still here. And we love them.

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