Store Bought

“Ooh, that’s nice.”

Pat Brown, Shopper at The Community Store in Saranac Lake

 Photo by Mwanner                                   Downtown Saranac Lake, New York      

It was a sad day in Saranac Lake, New York (population 4,769) when the Ames department store closed in 2002. It meant residents had to drive 50 miles to buy basic items like bed linens and bath rugs, outerwear and underwear. Desperate to fill the need, townspeople considered a proposal by Wal-Mart to put in a superstore, but the 120,000-square-foot mega-mart didn’t fit the personality of the small town. So instead, the townspeople bought a store of their own.

Residents raised money by selling shares at $100 a pop, and because they didn’t want one, controlling shareholder, they capped investments at $10,000 per person. It took longer this way, but eventually they raised $500,000. With the money, they bought an old restaurant and went to renovating it. Their hard work paid off. In late October, The Community Store in Saranac Lake opened its doors. It offers clothing, housewares, and craft supplies, but it doesn’t sell shoes. There’s already a shoe store in town and the idea behind The Community Store is to complement, not compete.

Some say the store can’t make it—the economy’s just too tough. Supporters concede the pessimists might be right, but they aren’t giving up any time soon. It took five years of fundraising and hundreds of volunteer hours to open The Community Store, and they’re not going to let it close overnight.

Read more → Amy Cortese, A town creates its own department store, New York Times, Nov. 11, 2011.