Time has weathered the light-blue facade that greets drivers rolling into Canterbury.
For around six years, the Cobble Pond Farms Convenience Store wedged into the inner bend of the Exit 18 off-ramp from I-93 North has been vacant. Now, the family that owns the New York-based chain is reviving the location, which is expected to reopen its gas pumps as early as July.
“The location is pretty prime,” said Lillian Simons, a third-generation stakeholder in the company, owned by her mother, Lauren Simons, and two aunts. “We’ll have the best of both worlds: We’ll be able to cater to local residents, but we’ll also be able to cater to people who are just traveling through the state and we can catch them off the highway.”
The family, whose company is called GRJH, owns 25 convenience stores in the northeast. The store in Canterbury will be its only current New Hampshire location once it reopens.
When the last tenants vacated the property, an inspector noted the need for improvements to the septic system and some of the mechanical infrastructure. Upgrades began underground and lasted several years as the company awaited approvals from the town and from the state Department of Environmental Services.
While the previous store operators had leased the location from GRJH, the company now intends to operate the store itself, according to Lauren Simons. She said her family has prioritized renovating in accordance with the community’s wishes.
“There’s a need for more of a general store rather than a convenience store, so we’re combining both of those concepts at this point,” she said.
Signs of construction at the site, forgotten no more, have roused an outgrowth of interest and support from residents.
Contractors with the Merrimack-based Marquis Contracting Group salvaged the bones of the building, which Lillian Simons said has experienced normal wear-and-tear throughout years of disuse. However, the site’s makeover will be a “complete renovation,” she said.
The store will serve hot foods, deli items and other convenience-store fare, as well as extended groceries and preprepared chicken. Because of demand on Facebook, Lillian Simons said the family expects to be able to offer ethanol-free gas, sought after for powering some specialty engines, like those of classic cars, at its pumps.
A new canopy, marked with orange and blue Gulf branding, already mushrooms over the single-story building. Progress on the location has moved apace.
What will happen inside, behind the counters at the convenience store once it opens, is just as important.
“We’re renovating the store to revive the property and the building, but we also want customers relationships. Being the size that we are, we’re going to try and channel — knowing customers by name, knowing their orders, seeing their faces everyday,” she said.
Cobble Pond Farms Convenience Store is located at 125 West Road in Canterbury.
