Re-organization

Because we have already asked much of the space in our little store, the products on the shelves have gotten pretty comfortable having unlikely neighbors. They protested for a while, but then I think they realized they had more in common than they originally thought, given the proper context. Take, for instance, our fishing worms, which are now nestled cozily next to the wine tools and the picnic baskets. Worms and wine seem like an odd juxtaposition at first. But add to that mix a pole and a spot...

Local economy as investment

Greetings Friends, I was lucky enough to have a couple of conversations with folks in the store this week that brought questions for me about the nature of a healthy economic system. We, the store’s staff, have been delightedly surprised by the number of folks who are willing to participate with us as we build the store into a robust center for our village here in Saxy. For instance, just today I got to have a carrot cake discussion with some of our store friends (we’re working on the...

farm tourin’ and jammin’

Greetings Friends, As you know, the glory of this season motivates many a gardener to cancel other plans for the chance to spend precious hours working with the soil, anticipating its nutritive returns. In fact, one friend of ours stopped in the store yesterday–long after she might have otherwise arrived at work–beaming over having taken two days’ vacation to have time to spend caring for her fledgling plants. Many folks who have made a vocation of their relationship to the growing...

Fridays and Saturdays in Saxapahaw

Greetings Friends, As you know already, this is a wonderful time of year to be in Saxapahaw. I mentioned The Haw River Canoe and Kayak Company last week; Joe and Lawrence have planned some very nice trips and events to allow folks to experience the river during this resplendent time. And May 2nd marks the first Saturdays in Saxapahaw Farmers’ Market and Music event. Heather LaGarde is working just now to finish the bands list for posting on the Rivermill Village website. We are looking forward...

synergy

We have been fortunate over the last few months to experience a steady increase in the number of folks who visit Saxapahaw General Store. On one recent busy weekend afternoon, noting the energy in the store, a customer said to Jeff, “You guys aren’t participating in this recession, are you?” At the time, I think Jeff laughed and made a witty reply to the gentleman. But we have thought a great deal about the idea of a recession–a state of decline, temporary or permanent–as...

Date Night in Saxy

Last week I was busy baking cupcakes when Arwen, one of the staff at Saxapahaw General Store, approached me with a message from a customer. “A guy came in the store the other day to ask if we take reservations,” she said. I giggled at the thought, but she went on. A customer was planning to host an out of town date for her birthday and wanted to offer a special dinner experience for her. He chose us. Touched by the thought of being entrusted with such a gesture, Arwen and I cooked up...

We’re immortalized!

Mini Village of SaxapahawJeff’s stepfather, John Murphy, is a builder of model trains and the villages that surround them. After visiting Saxapahaw and offering a great deal of help acting as host during a busy weekend (among other projects), he has returned to Michigan and added a new business to his train world. He said of the spot, “It looks like it is getting off to a great start. The locals are already flocking in for gas, groceries, produce and gourmet food – even before there...

Now and then

It has been a fantastic winter here at the store. Our dinner business is on the increase, lunch and breakfast are maxing us out. We have just hired two more folks and look forward to hiring a third. The funny thing is winter is the slowest time of the year for a store like ours. Guess what? Spring has sprung. Last weekend saw the first day of spring and was one of the best we have ever had. No new articles written about us (though we are expecting a visit from a well known magazine to be named later)....

Local Goat

In all of my years in this business I have never seen a food phenomena like this one. The goat meat hamburger at a gas station! When Jason from Carolina goat farms stopped by a few months ago, I knew I wanted to get goat on the menu. Goat is now officially on the culinary front burner in our country. However, functionally because of price and size of the cuts it wasn’t practical to offer it daily from our style of menu. We will work chops and stuff into our specials dinner menu. So, I thought,...

Solemnity

We had quite a startling weekend here at the store. After the Durham, Chapel Hill and multi-county Herald Sun Article broke on thursday we were seeing folks come from all directions. So when Marcia and Henry showed from Fearrington Village I was not at all surprised. It was Saturday, a nasty wet and cold beginning to a nasty wet and cold weekend. Marcia, a big city foodie with a philanthropic soul, has been an ardent supporter since Dan Fairris and I opened the short-lived Fowlers in Fearrington....