This story by Marion Umpleby was first published in Valley News on Feb. 3
SOUTH STRAFFORD — Ever since husband-and-wife owners Melvin and Sue Coburn announced their plans to retire in 2022, the fate of Coburns’ General Store has hung in the balance. In addition to selling groceries (and a modest assortment of Noah Kahan T-shirts), Coburns’ also houses a small laundromat, bank and branch of the Postal Service, all resources that would dissolve should the store close.
However, residents who depended on the store — located in the center of the village off Route 132 — for groceries or a casual chat with neighbors need no longer fear.
The Strafford Community Trust, a nonprofit comprising Strafford and Upper Valley residents, has recently reached its $1.8 million fundraising goal, allowing it to purchase the store and keep the doors open, the trust said in an email to supporters on Jan. 31. More than 125 families from Strafford and neighboring communities contributed to the cause, said the trust’s email.
The money raised will help cover the purchase of the building, support a proprietor to manage the store, and finance minor renovations including structural work and repairs to cracks in the foundation, but “nothing that would impact the running of the store,” said Trudi Brock, the trust’s president, in a phone interview.
The search for a proprietor for Coburns’ is ongoing, although the trust is close to finalizing an agreement with a leading candidate who, according to the recent email, “has extensive experience running a small grocery business and is as excited as we are to move forward.”
Sue Coburn said she is glad that the property can remain a general store in service to the community. “That was what we wanted from the beginning,” she said in a phone interview from behind the counter at the store.
The fundraising project has been in the works for several years. When no offers came in after the Coburns put the property on the market in 2022, the trust formed with the goal of purchasing the building and the business. On Oct. 16, the trust finalized an option-agreement with the Coburns.
A community-backed model has been a viable method for keeping rural stores like Coburns’ open. General stores in the Vermont towns of Barnard, Putney, Craftsbury and Albany have adopted the model, the Valley News reported in October.
Brock is pleased to add Strafford to the list. “I hope it’s a positive message for other towns,” Brock said. While there’s still a lot more to be done, Sue Coburn predicts the change in ownership will take place in June. Until then, she plans to keep running the store with business as usual.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Trust reaches goal to purchase Coburns’ store in Strafford.