Excerpt of article written by Ali Hochreiter for the "Family Ties" series: multi generational family-owned businesses in Greenwich.
At first glance, not much has changed in the last 200 years. But the quaint general store located miles out of the way on Round Hill Road in the hands of co-owners John and Robin Vanacore since January 2003, is slowly undergoing a series of changes that simultaneously bring it into the 21st century while taking it back to its roots.
Possibly the oldest business and almost certainly the oldest, continuously run store in Greenwich, the Round Hill Store is overflowing with history. Built in 1801, before the Louisiana Purchase and two years after the death of President George Washington, the Backcountry store has been owned by three different families. Since the early 1900s when Robin's great grandfather, William Strain bought it, it has been the Strain family business and BackCountry landmark.
Robin's grandparents, Francis and Connie Strain, ran the business for many years, adding the automobile service station in the 1940s. Robin's parents, William and Jackie Strain, now own the property and live in the home behind the store. William still operates the service station, which specializes in antique cars.
"I've always loved and wanted to own the store," said Robin. When it became available, she and her husband jumped at the opportunity.
Robin and John Vanacore are trying to piece together a true history of the store from family legend and fact - in their limited spare time. The store, open from 6:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. on Saturday, occupies many of their waking hours. The couple lives in North Haven but stay in Greenwich during the week.
Though owners in name they also work as managers, clerks, custodians and any other job that needs doing. John is putting his skills as a master carpenter to use, rehabilitating the 200- year-old building. In the next few months, among other projects, he plans to replace the linoleum floor with a more old-fashioned and historically appropriate flooring..
"We're trying to keep it as old-fashioned as it was and should be...We're going to spruce it up but not make it into a supermarket," John said. The installation of the floor is just one change among many to return the store to its former glory, with a few new additions. The mot striking differences in the last few years have been the installation of a full deli in the rear of the store and a coffee bar with a store-blend, which has increased lunch business. "We have the working guy, the landscaper or carpenter that come in. That is a huge part of the business, as well as trying to find things that appeal to the local community," John said. They also stock goods like greeting cards, wrapping paper, taking suggestions from customers. "The people in the area are great...you're catering to a couple different kinds of people but it's amazing how they all mix here. It's a slice of society here." In addition to Back-Country residents, many customers are landscapers, construction workers from nearby properties. Some are Spanish-speaking, so the Vanacores stock Spanishlanguage newspapers and try to cater to their preferences in food. "You wouldn't think it of Greenwich. There's a lot of diversity," added Robin. Though they admit that they cannot sell everything, Robin and John hope to draw people with their wide selection of necessary items ranging from pantry staples to detergent. "We try to have almost everything," said Robin. And if they don't sell it, you can probably borrow it. John explained, "We try to be good neighbors. If we don't have what you need or need it for a couple of hours, we can loan it to you...We have a funny thing going with paper plates," John said. "We don't really sell them but we have our own bulk plates," said Robin. "People come in and ask if we sell them. We say no, but we can give you some. We give them 10 and they bring us back 20. We have a growing stack of paper plates." It's good to be part of the community," said Robin. "That's the way it's always been." The self-proclaimed dreamer of the pair, John also wants the Round Hill Store to become a "destination." "I want people to say, 'We're going up to the Round Hill Store.' It's part store, part museum, part community center. It's pretty unusual," he said. "If we're going to work this many hours, we're going to have fun. We're trying to do leading-edge things in an old place. We're going to keep the charm." In keeping with the local flavor of the business, the store is reportedly the only place in town where customers can find Foxon Park beverages - all natural, Connecticut-made sodas that recently gained fame by being featured on the Food Network. "It has to be fitting," said Robin. "It's a local business. If it were available to them 80 years ago, they would have had it. We're trying to find things that are local and interesting that people in the area would want." The Vanacore's plan to continue their search for the store's history and period artifacts. John said they would probably host a grand re-opening at some point in the future. "We're going to eventually put out a newsletter. We just try to do goofy things to get people interested and have a lighthearted attitude," he said. He and Robin agreed that the best part of the job was being part of the community. "The people here are incredibly interesting. You never know who you're going to meet." The long hours are worth it, they said. "It's a labor of love."
