WEST CANAAN — Stu and Cathy Bean said they “just wanted a little mom-and-pop store” where people in the neighborhood could drop in, pick up things they need and enjoy a warm serving from the grill of “sausage, biscuits and gravy, meet friends, share stories and tell lies.”
Instead, what they got has turned into frustration and nearly drained their savings, the couple from Orange said.
Stu Bean, former owner of the Enfield Garage, and his wife, Cathy, last October acquired the Pleasant Valley Store on Route 4 in Canaan, located across the road from the Listen thrift store. The low-slung barn-red store has been part of the community since 1915 and for the prior 33 years had been owned by Steve Ibey, although most recently had been leased to another couple.
The closing of the Pleasant Valley Store was a double whammy for the Mascoma Valley. In December, the Grafton Country Store, which was acquired at auction in 2014 by the operator of the general store in Salisbury, N.H., also closed, leaving the stretch on Route 4 between Canaan and Danbury, N.H., devoid of pit stops and convenience stores for travelers and residents.
“I wanted to keep one store locally owned by local people,” said Cathy Bean, who ran the Petro Mart convenience store in Enfield for nearly 20 years and also worked at Papa Z’s in Canaan, which was acquired in 2017 by the Jake’s Market & Deli chain. “We’ve been in the area all our life and live in the community. … A lot of people know and like us.”
The Beans said they have sunk nearly $250,000 into buying and fixing up the Pleasant Valley Store and stocking it with supplies and fuel for the gas pumps. They were ready to open it last week when they were denied a food license by the state because they couldn’t produce evidence that the septic system was in compliance with the seating capacity of the store’s deli and cafe.
Four days’ combing through archives to locate the required documentation filed by previous owners yielded no results, Cathy Bean said, and the Beans were additionally frustrated by “the runaround” they received from people at the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
But, even though Stu Bean said they presented documentation that a new, 1,250-gallon septic tank had been installed in 2017, the state nonetheless is demanding evidence of the “septic design” for the property.
“There’s no design on record. The original septic system was built 60 to 70 years ago,” Stu Bean said.
“Without (proof) of the septic system, we can’t get a license to open the deli,” Cathy Bean added.
Stu Bean said they spent $110,000 to buy the property and pay back taxes, invested another $125,000 in renovations, spent $34,000 to stock the shelves and just took delivery of $26,000 worth of gasoline for the pumps (which also required $10,000 in repairs).
He even traveled to Maine to purchase 1970s-era seating booths from a pizzeria and has installed in the cafe area a 1968 jukebox that plays songs from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, he said. Other decorating touches include old lamps and checkered curtains made by a friend for the windows.
“The store is full of product we can’t sell,” he said.
Stu Bean said the only solution now is to install a new septic system, which will run anywhere between $15,000 and $40,000. He already has a contractor on site doing preliminary work.
But the new septic system project means a delay of another 10 days or longer before the state signs off on inspection and certification and they will be able open the Pleasant Valley Store.
“I’m going to do what the bureaucrats want,” said a steamed Stu Bean.
John Lippman can be reached at jlippman@vnews.com.
