From The Chatham Courier

Residents happy that coffee's brewing at Old Chatham Country Store once again
By Taitia Shelow

OLD CHATHAM - As of Monday morning, March 1, John Staber was out of a job, which suited him just fine.

Most mornings for about the past year, Staber brewed coffee and picked up the daily newspapers for a group of neighborhood residents. This "coffee klatch" took up residence in Jackson's Old Chatham House restaurant after their beloved country store across the street closed.

But this week, after months of extensive inside renovation, the Old Chatham Country Store reopened under new owners Brian Albert and Peter Trump. And Old Chatham residents breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"I'm very happy to give up my morning job. Nobody is going to be happier than I am," Staber said in the days before the reopening. Watching the delivery trucks deposit their wares was like "music to my eyes," Staber said.

What he missed most was the camaraderie of seeing neighbors every day, and the convenience of picking up a newspaper or something to eat without driving 15 miles.

Staber is just one of the many residents happy to see the country store back. A zoning dispute with the store's previous owners led to the owners' decision to shutter the place in November 2002, and it's been closed ever since. Most recently, a resolutions to concerns about alcohol consumption on the property was reached. Now the new owners and residents are eager to forget the past and move on into the future.

"We missed the store. Without the store, it's just a wide spot in the road," Judy Staber, John's wife, said someone commented to her. "I think they're going to do a great job and people will support them."

Tom and Nancy Clark of the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company provided a homemade welcome banner the new owners hung above the front door. Business was off to a good start the first day. Albert said people started coming in shortly after the doors opened at 6 a.m. A large breakfast crowd purchased meals to go, and take out lunches and dinners were popular all day, too.

Albert and Trump both come from a culinary background. Both are graduates of the Culinary Institute of America. Trumps has owned restaurants and cafés in California and Yardley, PA, catered to Hollywood movies and video shoots, and most recently worked in his sister's corporate dining business in New Jersey. Albert worked at several restaurants and as a private chef, most recently in New Jersey.

Both were looking for a quieter lifestyle and checked out different places, including the Old Chatham Country Store. Albert's parents live in Chatham.

After purchasing the store, the two practically gutted the inside with the help of family members. They put in new insulation, plumbing, electric and kitchen appliances. They re-did the café floors and removed the large staircase in the center. Original cabinetry and counters in the store were refinished, and the dark red was painted a sunny yellow and white. All the walls, in fact, were painted yellow to brighten the place, Albert said.

The big bakery and deli cases remain, and wrought iron radiators no longer in use were moved into the café area. "We tried to keep as much of the original as possible," Albert said.

The bathroom is now handicapped accessible, and new French doors open onto the rear parking area. Floor to ceiling shelving built by Tom Bell of Canaan hold jars and boxes of jams, jellies, sauces, oils and pastas from Stonewall Kitchen in Maine. More shelves hold an assortment of health and beauty aids for those last-minute needs. And several coolers hold Gumaer Farms milk products, a variety of drinks, Old Chatham Sheedherding Co. products, and food to go. There's also Berkshire ice cream and Dean's Beans coffee. The coffee beans can be purchased for home use, or whipped into an espresso, cappuccino or latte in the store.

Albert and Trump expect their ready-made meals will become a big draw, as residents expressed a desire for such fare. Each day, the Old Chatham Country Store will offer soups and meal specials for lunch and dinner, which can be eaten in the store or taken home in microwaveable containers. Other offerings will include rotisserie chickens and ravioli with different fillings, like wild mushrooms or seafood. For sandwich lovers, the country store sells a full line of Boar's Head products.

"We tried to do a blend of things. We (also) tried to keep (products) as localized as we could," Albert said.

After the months of renovations, both owners were glad to get back into the kitchen. Albert said, "I'm very excited. We're both eager to get back to what we enjoy doing."

The Old Chatham Country Store, located at the intersection of County Road 13 and Albany Turnpike in Old Chatham, is open 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., seven days a week. Phone is (518) 794-OCCS (6227).

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The Old Chatham Country Store has also been featured in:

September 1, 2004 The Boston Globe Travel Section
Five for Finding by Jane Roy Brown
"At the junction with Route 13, the Old Chatham Country Store and Cafe presents an affluent slice of country life. Provisions in the store run to the luxury end of the retail spectrum, perfect for an elegant country picnic. The cafe serves casual breakfast and lunch in a dining room with oiled-wood tabletops and big windows. Dinners also can be boxed up to go. "

September 6, 2004 New York Magazine Travel Section
Tour of Beauty: A summer-weekend roadtrip for the arts-inclined
by Tara Mandy & Lisa Selin Davis