PUTNEY — After withstanding its turbulent recent history - two devastating fires, the death of its most recent proprietor, financial stressors, and subsequent closings - the doors to the Putney General Store are opening once again, with the help of the Putney Historical Society.
Lyssa Papazian, current co-manager of the Putney General Store, explained some of the history behind the society's involvement.
“Having that store close was such a blow to the town,” she said.
“Right from the beginning, for over 200 years, [the Putney General Store] was the general store in the town... [It] was always owner-occupied, for the most part. ... It had been a traditional small, owner-occupied general store.”
Many obstacles
She explained that after a 2008 electrical fire, the owner at the time sought ways to rebuild the store with insurance.
Papazian, a historic preservation consultant who is familiar with getting grants and tax credits, offered to help him.
She also did some fundraising, the Preservation Trust of Vermont also attempted to help, “and after months of trying to figure out what was possible, there really wasn't anything available for a private owner other than more debt and taking out business loans.”
And those business loans would inevitably extend the amount of debt.
She explained that the Preservation Trust's executive director, Paul Bruhn, suggested, “what if a nonprofit owned it?”
Papazian explained that the Putney Historical Society was deemed the most fitting and convenient nonprofit in town to take it all on.
“In the fall of 2008 we had an annual meeting - it was packed - and we asked the town and our membership, 'What do you think?' and everyone was very supportive so we went ahead and bought it.”
The Historical Society, initially, wasn't intending to keep it, she explained.
“We were just going to make sure we had the money raised to stabilize it and make sure it was rebuilt as the historic building it was. And we did do that, and decided to stick with it, and by the time we were ready to finish off the interior and raise the last bit of money, the building had a new roof and new structure.”
And not long after that, she added with a laugh, “the arsonist. And we started again.”
The Historical Society has kept ownership since then, even after the new building was built and the new tenant and business owner was found.
“We were always the landlord,” she said. Papazian has managed the property for the Society since 2011, “so I've been tangentially familiar with the business, but I haven't been hands-on until now.”
All hands on deck
“It's a mixture of employees,” Papazian said. “We don't have a full staff yet. We have three employees that are returning. They have been working with us for the last 3.5 months as volunteers, working their butts off, out of the goodness of their hearts because they care about this place.”
Another board member for the society was willing to be put on-call in emergencies to take shifts. Betsy MacIsaac has been co-managing with Papazian.
Employees and volunteers are still coming up with activities for the May 6 re-opening.
“We've had local musicians volunteer to come play when we open, and we may ... have some samples of some of our foods. There will be some discounts and promotions.”
The store will no longer have a pharmacy, “because Jim Heal who passed away was the pharmacist and at the moment there isn't a pharmacy interested in buying it.”
The store will be operating mainly on the ground floor.
“The upstairs is still a work in progress,” Papazian said. Additionally, the espresso bar is no longer there. The store is focusing on making top-notch drip coffee for everyone to enjoy.
“We want to make sure that this becomes and stays a healthy business,” she said about her hopes for the future of the store.
Papazian explained that, as landlords of the building, the historical society is committed to undertaking this job for the year to bring the business back to health, to ascertain what the building and business needs, and to learn what the community expects of it.
“We're trying to make sure the town still has its store, at its heart,” she said.
With planning, building, ordering, counting, lifting, loading, and many other logistical operations, the Putney Historical Society is ultimately working to support the community's long-held reverence for the store.
“I know the community has really missed the store as it's been closed, and if we have the kind of traffic that it had had [in the past], we hope it will be successful.”