This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
The recent rebirth — although it’s more like a re-re-rebirth — of the Canterbury Cafe and Country Store is welcome news in town, but it’s also a reminder of the obstacles facing general stores in today’s economy.
“I was shocked at how hard it is to get deliveries,” said Manny Sanchez, who has leased the store with his wife, Kayla. The couple is finding, as did the previous owners, that consolidation in the food distribution industry means fewer companies are willing to make regular shipments to small stores.
The pair has reworked the store, which reopened in June after its last owners retired amid challenges preserving a small business.
Now, the Sanchezes are still ramping up, as a few empty shelves make clear to customers. They’re also deciding what to do in the unusual upstairs room alongside the kitchen.
As has become a common pattern in general stores, the new owners are emphasizing prepared foods over groceries. They have moved tables and chairs from upstairs to the front area, near the next-door post office window, to make it more inviting for people to sit and eat. They’ll also be offering some foods, such as empanadas, that weren’t around in traditional New England general stores.
“We didn’t reopen the same store. We are brand-new,” said Kayla Sanchez.
One thing is staying the same: Emily Bragdon will be working behind the counter as she did for David and Jane Balshaw, who owned the store for several years. She said she’s delighted to see this staple of Canterbury life come back to life.
“It’s better for the town,” she said.
The hustle and bustle in the store during the summer Music on the Green concerts is evidence of that, she said.
The Sanchezes are both former federal employees who moved to the state a few years back, seeking a change. They looked into buying a food truck or buying other stores before they became aware that the Canterbury store had closed in January. Future plans for the business include catering.
There is some question about how restaurant-like they can be under current zoning and the building’s long history as a store. To this end, they have applied for a zoning variance from the town.
In the meantime, they’re navigating food delivery to stock their shelves and meeting the customers who wander through their doors.
“They want big orders and regular orders. I can make a big order this week, but I don’t need another one the following week,” said Manny about buying supplies.
They praise providers who are more flexible, such as Boar’s Head.
“They are allowing us to do no minimum. [If] I need an order of cheese, all I have to do is let them know, and they’ll take care of it,” said Kayla Sanchez.
24 owners since 1767
There have been stores of various kinds in this building all the way back to 1767. According to local records, the Sanchezes are the 24th set of people to own it during that time.
The turnover comes despite community help to keep it going. The building is owned by the Canterbury Community Market, a limited liability corporation created two decades ago that sells shares to people. It was formed to preserve the building holding the store, post office and an apartment.
Several other towns in New Hampshire have created versions of what’s called Community Supported Enterprise, or CSE, in which the town supports or downright owns the local general store because it won’t stay in business otherwise.
There’s a catch, however. An analysis by the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance said such CSE programs work best in “slightly isolated towns, where the general store serves a radius of 10+ miles.”
That’s no longer the case in Canterbury since Market Basket opened at Merchants Way next to Exit 17 off of I-93, not too far from the town’s center. That largely ended any hope that the Canterbury Store could build a business selling grocery staples.
But the Sanchezes think they can make it work.
“This is a great town. I think people are excited for this,” said Kayla. “We want to help build a community, bring people together.”