Grocery store to open next week in Brasher Falls

BRASHER FALLS — Pallets of cans are stacked in the corner of the former Bolster's grocery store, waiting to be packed onto shelves.

In about a week, Brasher Falls will have its own grocery store, its first since Bolster's IGA closed in 2004. Brothers Kirk and Todd D. LaVigne bought the old store at a bankruptcy auction in January and have been working on improvements ever since.

"The ceiling was falling in. It had old shelves and carpeting," Todd LaVigne said. "It was a mess. The only thing we haven't changed is the refrigeration."

When the two first bought the building, they were hoping merely to have to install a new ceiling and a tile floor to replace the moldy old carpet. But once that was done, they decided to keep going with the improvements. In the end, they replaced all of the shelving, installed peg boards on the brick pillars along one of the walls and obtained two new checkout counters. The building and its improvements cost about $200,000, Todd LaVigne said.

"We want it to make a good first impression on the people here," he said.

So far, people seem to be receptive to the idea of the LaVigne brothers coming in and opening a grocery, Todd LaVigne said.

"People have been stepping in from off the street to see what's going on," he said. "It makes you feel good. We've got a lot invested and you don't know how things are going to go until it opens."

The store will open June 2. In the meantime, people are busy unloading truckloads of food — it will take deliveries in three 53-foot trailers to fill the store — and awaiting the arrival of new shopping carts. The brothers often work from about 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to get the shelves stocked and everything prepared for opening. The store also will create jobs for eight or nine people, who have yet to be hired, Mr. LaVigne said.

When it opens, the Tri-Town IGA Express will be more than just basic groceries. It has a bakery counter, though baked goods will not be made on the premises, a deli and a small international food section. The brothers also built a customer service desk, which will sell lottery tickets and Western Union money orders. For quiet nights in, residents will even be able to come in and rent a movie from about 200 titles the store will stock.

"The variety in here is incredible," Todd LaVigne said. "I think the town's going to be really excited. There should be nothing they can't find here."