For the second time in a year, the Cracker Barrel, the iconic general store on Main Street in Hopkinton, built in 1790, is up for sale.
Shaun Geary, who bought the store on Jan. 24 of last year, said this week that his other business ventures, most notably his role as a landlord, had disrupted the focus needed to make the store as attractive as possible. He also cited rising inventory costs, although he added that “revenue is way up.”
“Multi-family rentals are my primary business,” Geary said. “I do this by myself and it takes tons of time, and I figured I would give it a year and then I realized it’s better suited for someone who knows the place and can deliver on the things I wasn’t able to do.”
Geary bought the store for $329,000 and is asking for $559,000 after he gave the building a serious makeover.
Geary told the Monitor last year that he wanted to modernize some of the working parts inside, while also aiming to restore the ambiance created from centuries past.
“I’ve always had a love for older buildings,” Geary said last winter, “and I want the store to invoke the old general store feel.”
He did that, closing the store on April 1 for weeks of renovations. The new floor was the biggest change customers have noticed over the past 12 months.
Elsewhere, Geary moved the cash register further inside the store, leaving an open space in front of four large windows, providing a perfect view of Main Street and giving patrons a taste of small-town life in New Hampshire.
He also used the attic boards and “incorporated them back into the store,” building the cash register area and coffee bar out of an historic piece of wood more than 200 years old.
Geary said he met certain goals, like transforming the store into a central meeting place for residents to catch up on town news and perhaps spread a little gossip, adding to the intimate feeling that Hopkinton is famous for.
The knitting club met at the Cracker Barrel from time to time, but the business never quite unfolded into the informal public meeting place that Geary had hoped to create. Still, a warmth existed that could never be found in a store affiliated with a chain.
“It’s fun seeing people in town,” Geary said. “That’s what I was hoping to achieve.”
As a selling point, Geary said the second floor has not been touched and would be ideal to rent as two apartments. He spread the word to local business owners earlier this week that he was selling and said some interest had been shown.
Geary is a former Florida police officer and a Massachusetts native. He moved to Gilmanton six years ago before settling in Hopkinton three years ago. He entered the real estate business, purchasing properties around the region west of Concord and renting them out.
That career takes up most of his time, forcing him to sell. Geary said he’ll screen potential buyers carefully.
“I live in town, so I can not just sell it to some weird person,” Geary said. “They’ll run me out of town.”