Spencer’s Country Store up for sale on Route 18 in Yates

Photos by Ginny Kropf: Bruce Spencer, owner of the Country Store at 10204 County Line Rd., and his sister Barbara Lamont stand behind the counter of the store, which he has recently decided to sell.

LYNDONVILLE – A historic country store is about to undergo a change in its more than 135-year existence.

Bruce Spencer, owner of The Country Store at 10204 Roosevelt Highway, has decided to put the business up for sale.

“It’s always best to leave when everything is intact,” Spencer said.

Bruce Spencer looks at a notebook full of articles and pictures about the historic Country Store, which was built in the 1890s.

He bought the store in 2016. One of its previous owners were his late aunt and uncle LaVerne and Marilyn Lartz of Lyndonville, but it had sat empty for three years when Spencer decided to buy it.

The store’s history dates back to the 1890s when it originally sat across the street and was part of the parsonage. When the railroad came in 1875, the post office relocated to Millers and the store was built.

W.H. Garland bought the store in the 1880s from Mrs. Carrigall. In 1885 it was sold to Hiram Vaughn and Garland then bought land across the street to build Herman’s Grocery, which was completed in 1886.

The store was owned by Marshall Todkill in 1901-02, and newspaper accounts say he “occupied the house, ran the store and sold shoes, laces, nails, general merchandise and groceries.” There was a blacksmith shop at the back and a barn for apples and molasses in barrels.

Ray and Ona Downey owned the store from 1920 to 1944,  when William and Bertha Herman bought it and ran it with their daughter Hazel until November 1966. Next owners were the Lartzes, who owned it from November 1966 until March 1985.

Two more owners were Eddie White in 2003 and Tim Payne in 2005 until 2013, when it closed and remained empty until Spencer and his brother Brian purchased it.

Shortly after, the pandemic hit but Spencer persevered with help from a friend Ed Fura and his Aunt Marilyn, who came in nearly every day to help. He has successfully run it (with some snags along the way) until now, when he decided to sell to concentrate on helping several relatives with health issues.

“I never wanted to sell, but I want to be able to help my relatives,” he said.

One of the store’s most popular features is their Friday night fish fries, Spencer said. The store has a bakery and deli counter, where they sell subs, pizza and wings. Gas pumps are installed in case the next owner wants to sell gas.

Currently, Spencer’s sister Barbara Lamont helps in the store every day. Business booms in the summer when cottagers move in at the lake.

The Country Store is the “go-to” place for cottagers at the lake during the summer months. Owner Bruce Spencer is hoping to sell it soon to pursue retirement.