General stores are a distinct breed of Americana. Like record shops, ice cream parlors and apothecaries, they’re rickety relics of yesteryear that serve as time capsules for simpler times and provide museum-like nooks of nostalgia. Although many general stores have been lost to time, replaced by modern convenience stores and digital conglomerates, a precious few remain, existing in a new space than they once did.
Nowadays, they’re not quite the community necessities they once were, but rather preserved havens of quaint kitsch. Sure, you can still buy sundries and staples, but most folks visit general stores, many of which have been around for generations, for a glimpse into the past. From an eccentric tourist stop in the White Mountains to a cabin-like fixture in the Final Frontier, this is your essential guide to America’s most unique general stores that still stand the test of time.
Rabbit Hash General Store, Kentucky
Rabbit Hash is the type of zany oddball community you typically only see on Netflix, like a real-life Schitt’s Creek, only zanier (they have a literal dog for a mayor, one of a long line of canine officials). But this tiny riverside hamlet, comprised of a mere smattering of businesses and residents, is very real, and it’s all anchored by a historic general store that looks utterly untouched since its inception 1831. That’s a testament to its resilience, since it has routinely survived floods and fires over the past 200 years, including a recent blaze in 2016 that almost destroyed it. The store is the main draw in the tiny town along the Ohio River in northern Kentucky, where road-trippers stop to stock up on quirky merch and vittles, which run the gamut from mugs and hats to snacks, coffee, beer, stuffed animals, hot sauce and much more.
Zeb’s General Store, New Hampshire
As a gateway town to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a mecca for leaf-peepers and wintertime skiers alike, North Conway is always teeming with tourists. But no place bustles like Zeb’s General Store, a massive shop that is so popular there’s routinely a line to get in, with staffers at the door letting guests in one party at a time, like old-timey bouncers. The hoopla is well worth the wait, though, since Zeb’s is a two-story behemoth of a shop, loaded with New England kitsch, all manner of maple munchies, a fudge counter that spans the length of the store and altogether more than 5,000 products to peruse. An animatronic Zeb is perched at the foot of the stairs, surrounded by hot sauces and preserves, while the second floor is loaded with games, ghost stories, apparel and kitchenwares.
Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios, Oklahoma
Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios is easy to spot. Just look for the giant space cowboy standing outside. Inspired by the kind of roadside whimsy that typified Road 66, Buck Atom is a 21-foot tall figure looming over his namesake shop in Tulsa, where owner Mary Beth Babcock stocks a full-blown homage to the Mother Road that weaves its way through Oklahoma, past blue whales and round barns. The store itself, reminiscent of a vintage Route 66 service station, is a singular destination for Oklahoman ephemera, featuring one-of-a-kind items like blue whale ornaments, Buck Atom’s swag, Route 66-inspired art, a whole collection of Bigfoot souvenirs, and vintage apparel and housewares galore.
Cazadero General Store, California
Most people don’t shop at general stores for quality wine, but most general stores aren’t nestled in California wine country. Cazadero General Store, a rustic shack of a shop along a creek in the redwood forest of coastal Sonoma County, is a place that defies expectation. It may look like standard general store fodder from the outside, but this place raises the bar with a library of high-quality local wines, plus craft beer, great pastries, sandwiches and hamburgers that folks line up for. The Caz Store, as its endearingly dubbed, is also particularly well stocked with artisanal groceries, like grass-fed beef and sockeye salmon. But don’t worry, you can still get your classic cereals, candy bars and sodas too.
Wall Drug, South Dakota
It feels almost sacrilegious to call Wall Drug a general store. Located just outside of Badlands National Park in western South Dakota, this sprawling complex of eccentricities is more like a roadside theme park, complete with an arcade, animatronic dinosaurs, saloons and a massive cafeteria that’s particularly esteemed for its frosted cake doughnuts. At its core, though, Wall Drug has always been a pharmacy-style general store, ever since its humble inception in 1931. In addition to the O.G. Apothecary Shop and Pharmacy Museum, where you can still get your prescriptions filled, visitors have multiple stores to peruse, stocked with everything from cowboy boots and pottery to Black Hills gold, Native American jewelry, taffy and T-shirts.
The Zany History of Wall Drug Store, the Ultimate Roadside Attraction
How a South Dakota drug store evolved into a quirky mecca of jackalopes, dinosaurs and doughnuts
Wilson Store, Maryland
Not much has changed since Rufus Wilson opened his namesake general store in Clear Spring, Maryland, a bucolic community near the Pennsylvania border. Built in 1847, the perfectly preserved storefront still sells the types of things you’d expect from a bygone era. Next door, an adjoining post office is bedecked with black-and-white photos. Wilson Store is a snacker’s paradise, stocked with cheese, homemade chips, sodas in glass bottles, smoked meats and a kaleidoscope of vintage candy in every flavor and color.
Nagley’s General Store, Alaska
Opened in 1921, Nagley’s General Store is like a spry young tyke compared to most general stores on this list, but it’s still the longest continually operated store in the region and a timeworn gem in the Alaskan town of Talkeetna. Horace Nagley originally set up shop as a way to supply miners and trappers in the Upper Susitna region, as one does, and while the store has relocated a few times, its status as a community cornerstone hasn’t flinched. After passing under a pair of moose antlers above the front door, guests are treated to a cornucopia of groceries, snacks and merch. Locally roasted coffee and ice cream are popular, as is the adjoining liquor section, but the main attraction are the shop cats who have lived here for decades.
Hope General Store, Maine
In the small, optimistic-sounding town of Hope, located about halfway up the rugged Maine coast, the namesake general store still feels as vital as the day it opened in 1832. Not only does it look completely unfazed by the evolving world around it, the small-town shop is still the go-to hub for residents to stock up on essentials, made-to-order sandwiches and wine (from a surprisingly great selection), which will come in handy when bracing for that next snowpocalypse. It’s also a makeshift farmers market, featuring a steady supply of locally sourced produce, from blueberries to bok choy. The store also has an obsession with holidays, so expect full-blown decor and merchandise for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, etc.
End of the Commons General Store, Ohio
A general store in Ohio’s Amish country? It just feels right. Among the oldest shops in the state, the End of the Commons General Store in Mesopotamia Township is a massive, loft-like complex that’s been “serving the needs of the people since 1840.” Those needs, chiefly, include authentic Amish fry pies, hand pies that are fried and doused in vanilla glaze. Beyond those delicacies, the store also contains a thousand other food products, many of them cavity-inducing, along with kitchenwares, groceries and historical items about the region. For an actual meal, stop by the on-site Commons Kitchen for wholesome and hearty comforts like pulled pork, sloppy joes, smoked turkey subs and hamburgers.
Yoho General Store, Indiana
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Just ask the Yoho General Store, a business that rose from the ashes of a devastating fire in 1933, opened anew and has remained a community keystone in the Indiana town of Solsberry ever since. The store doubles as a popular local restaurant, and while visitors can shop the shelves for basic essentials and snacks, most come here for the home cooking. Open all day, the Yoho serves heaping portions of country-fried steak, biscuits and gravy, bologna sandwiches, breaded tenderloin and ham salad. Throughout the year, the store plays host to events like Halloween costume contests, Valentine’s dinners and Santa meet-and-greets.
Old Riverton Store, Kansas
Located in southeast Kansas, on the sliver of Route 66 that passes between Missouri and Oklahoma, the Old Riverton Store is such a road trip icon that it is featured in the credits of Pixar’s Cars. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it’s a preserved-in-time relic that has the same look and feel that it did 75 years ago — and is still bedecked with groceries, deli sandwiches, Route 66 souvenirs, and all sorts of locally made arts and crafts. Order a coffee or a chopped ham sandwich, sit on the deck, bask in the vintage ambience and reminisce about a simpler era of Americana.
More Like This
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
