Lebanon
A designated landmark, the nearly 100-year-old market and sandwich shop had closed a couple of months earlier when the previous owner called it quits after 18 months, one of a number of operators over the years who struggled to get the neighborhood favorite on firm financial footing.
Scott Marsh immediately called his brother, Buddy Marsh.
“Did you see?” Scott recalls asking his brother from the car. “The Little Store is for sale!”
“Call and if the price is right, let’s talk with them,” Buddy Marsh replied.
The price was right.
A few months later, the Marsh brothers had closed on their purchase of The Little Store from Marceny and Hal Bourne after securing backing from Mascoma Savings Bank and the Grafton Regional Development Corp., which assists small businesses.
On Monday of last week, their first day of business, the Marsh brothers — now joined by their cousin Kirby Monteith — served 150 customers who made a beeline for The Little Store to order take-out lunches and dinners.
“We’re busier than we thought we’d be,” said Scott Marsh, during a breather in the lunch rush last week. “We wanted to get 100 people in the door. And that was without any marketing.”
By at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, as word spread on social media — thanks to alerts posted by Mascoma — there were 12 customers lined up inside The Little Store to order lunch sandwiches, while four more stood outside in 90-degree-plus heat. Three others walked up, saw the wait, and turned away.
Behind the counter, the Marsh brothers furiously wrapped freshly barbecued pulled pork, roast beef and pastrami sandwiches while Monteith balanced trays of seasoned chicken and turkey breast between the galley-size kitchen and a wood-fired smoker in the lot out front.
Familiar faces flashed thumbs-up and greeted the Marshes and Monteith by name, others said this was already their second or third trip back to The Little Store in four days, voicing approval of the “Marsh Bros. roast beef” on a roll but now wanting to try the pastrami on rye.
“Everybody’s talking about you guys!” exclaimed Ann Marchewka as she came in to check out the new owners.
Marchewka, a health care consultant who lives on School Street and had stopped in to research the menu for a order from residents of Birch Pine Village around the corner, called The Little Store “a wonderful place. For these guys to come in and renovate it is wonderful for the neighborhood. It’s one of those things: If you’re patient, the right people come along.”
The customers “are people on their breaks, out walking their dogs, or who saw the news on Facebook,” Scott Marsh said. “The excitement is astonishing.”
The Little Store has a long history, but in recent years a series of owners have tried their hands at making it a friendly neighborhood pit stop. Some worked, others didn’t.
The Bournes, neighborhood residents, bought the store in 2011 and successfully operated it for four years while their children were in middle school.
They sold the store to Ami Moore in 2015, who renamed it Nosh at The Little Store and ran it with Todd Gammel until they closed last fall and the property reverted back to the Bournes.
Prior to the Bournes, The Little Store was owned by Ann and Keith Hess, who owned it for less than a year after buying it from Jim Spinelli, who owned it at intervals beginning in 1991. A market and deli has operated out of the 900-square-foot building, designated as a local landmark, since the 1920s.
Hal Bourne, an English teacher at Hanover High School — Marceny Bourne is a counselor at Lebanon High School — said they were impressed right off the bat with the Marsh brothers’ enthusiasm and preparation to run the business.
“They were among the first that came to us,” Bourne said. “Their vision, energy and knowledge for the business instilled our confidence. … If you walk around the neighborhood, people are excited to see this happening. The store is a real community resource.”
Tucked between two houses, with a round outdoor clock mounted on the roof, The Little Store has long been the place where nearby residents go to grab a gallon of milk, a six-pack of beer or a quick something to eat.
Indeed, the ability to turn back time, even a little, appears to be something the store’s neighborhood would welcome.
“People told us, ‘Make it like Spinelli’s was … bring back the steak tips,’ ” Buddy Marsh said. He pointed to the bowl of cut sirloin cubes in the meat case. “So we brought back steak tips.”
“We’re listening to what customers want,” he said. “It’s a work in progress.”
Both Marsh brothers have a background in food service. Buddy Marsh is the former general manager of the Weathervane Restaurant in West Lebanon, where Scott Marsh headed the kitchen staff. They each got into the business as kids growing up in Windsor — their parents and grandmother owned The Kettle Restaurant in Ascutney. Buddy Marsh went on to work on pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in West Lebanon and Scott Marsh later worked as a cook at Mount Ascutney Hospital.
Monteith, their cousin, wearing a blue T-shirt that said “King of the Grill” on the front, worked in construction, at Sturm, Ruger, and at the Hanover Co-op meat department while teaching himself the art of barbeque on the side.
“I just like good food, to cook and burn things with wood. It doesn’t get much more caveman than that,” Monteith said. He had been up late the night before curing the corn beef in brine for opening week. “I researched 10 recipes and read 30 blogs,” he said.
The Marshes are reluctant to discuss financial details, but Buddy Marsh said they acquired the store and business for less than $130,000, of which $20,000 came out of “our own pocket.” On top of that, there were expenses for new refrigerated meat and beverage cases, two deep-frying boilers, a steam table and a pre-owned Hobart meat slicer.
Buddy Marsh tore out the old counters and rebuilt a new front counter and coffee station in unvarnished pine. He nailed paneling to over the ceiling that gives the space a “country look.” New, warm-glow overhead lighting was installed.
Operating a lunch counter requires coordinated tasks, and the brothers and their cousin have informally divided up labor.
Buddy Marsh takes the middle position behind the counter as chief sandwich maker. Monteith, on the left, oversees meat and food preparation and backs up sandwich making. Scott Marsh positions himself on the right and staffs the register, oversees ordering supplies and backs up on sandwiches.
“My dream was to run a business with my family and now that dream is coming true,” Scott Marsh said.
Buddy Marsh, who said he will continue to work as a manager at Novo Nordisk while he pitches in at The Little Store, said they have set some ground rules for how they prepare and serve sandwiches.
For example, sandwiches will be made on order and not pre-made. Deli meats will be sliced on the machine on order and not beforehand, so they don’t dry out while waiting to be made into sandwiches.
“Customers like to see the food prepared in front of them,” he said.
Buddy Marsh noted they are still taking feedback from neighborhood residents about what they would like to see The Little Store sell, whether it’s a particular sandwich, snack or handy product.
But given the space, there’s only so many things they have can carry, he emphasized.
“One guy told me, ‘There’s a lady up the street who wants kitty litter,’ ” Marsh noted. “I said, ‘Well, that’s kind of cool,’ ” before a pause and adding, “ ‘If we have room for it.’ ”
John Lippman can be reached at jlippman@vnews.com.
