Katama General Store reopened for business slightly after noon on Thursday, welcoming a rush of eager shoppers searching for the perfect picnic food or just stopping by to check out the results of an eight-month remodel.
Jackie Korell, who owns the store with her husband Doug, said there was a large crowd congregating outside the store before their doors opened. The sight made her emotional.
“I burst into tears,” she said. “Little kids were waiting for the store to open like it was a Kiss concert. Well, they don’t know who Kiss is.”
The Korells have been operating the store for 15 years, and bought the property in 2012. The old building originally housed a laundromat, and then became Vineyard Farm and Feed. In November of 2016, the old 1958 building was demolished to be replaced with a two story, 3,000-square-foot barn-style building and a reconfigured parking lot.
In a nod to the little red building it used to be, the wide swinging doors of the new Katama General Store are painted a vivid red. The space has been opened up and a wrap-around porch and crushed-shell seating area have been added to the front.
The builder was Gino Mazzaferro. The architect was Moira Fitzgerald.
“When we took over 15 years ago, this used to be the last stop on the way to the beach. But we also wanted it to be a place for people to meet each other...we wanted it to be for the community, that’s why we built these big porches,” said Mrs. Korell. But they still affectionately think of the store as a “little beach bodega.”
Inside the shop offers customary prepared foods, this year with a new chef, Meave McAuliffe. Shelves are also stocked with pantry items and dry goods as well as a new addition, fresh produce.
A garden planted out back has been incredibly productive, Mrs. Korell said.
“All of our salads today were made with our own greens,” she said. As customers selected bags of chips, housemade dips and prepackaged sandwiches and salads, they stopped to congratulate Mrs. Korell on the opening and tell her how much the store meant to them.
Sunny Stewart, whose Utah-based family visits the Vineyard every summer, said they had been peeking through the store windows every time they rode past on their bikes.
“We’re so happy they’re open,” she said. “This has always been our stop on the way to the beach.”
A man told his family that he would wait in line while they picked out the goods.
“Are you still doing scones in the morning?” a woman asked. (They are.) Another woman asked if the store was filling orders yet. (They are.)
Mrs. Korell said some products have yet to arrive and the shelves are not fully stocked yet. But they decided to open anyway.
“We didn’t want to wait,” she said. On Wednesday there was a pop-up baked goods and coffee sale on the new porch.
With the building outfitted with air conditioning and heat, the store has been able to stock produce and extend their season. They plan to stay open until Christmas in Edgartown.
Standing on the porch, Mrs. Korell looked through the open red doors into the bustling store.
“Standing back and looking back at this, it’s perfect,” she said.
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