Cossayuna Is Revitalized With Opening Of General Store; Hardware Store Planned

For a while, they were frequent guests at The Sagamore. They became attached to the area and decided to get a local place of their own. An expected land purchase in Bolton fell through. When the real estate agent on that deal called again, Palma said she was less than eager to speak with him.

They found out about the availability of 80 acres on a small lake in Cossayuna in Washington County. They went ahead with the purchase and had a big log house built just off the lake, in a remote location where the hamlet consisted of a post office, a general store in poor repair, a firehouse, a red barn and a couple of other buildings.

One day the owner of the general store simply walked out of the store and never came back. The store sat, with containers of expired food inside, for several months. One day the postmaster, Lori Woodell, informed Paula that the hamlet’s buildings (including the one housing the post office) were for sale.

Joe and Palma bought the 100-year-old buildings that compose Cossayuna’s downtown. With help from Dana, Tanner, and Dayton Cross of Tri-Cross Construction in Argyle, they gutted the 1,800-square-foot store, retained the traditional-looking exterior, and began to reclaim the other buildings from disrepair.

As renovations got under way, they began to explore the details of how one opens and operates a general store, they sought advice from the owners of Dorset Union Store in Vermont and received assistance.

Palma said Lakeside General Store is based on Dorset Union’s template, with pricing and merchandise suited for the mixed farming and tourist community that is Cossayuna. There are cans of familiar red and white label Campbell soups, along with bottles of $25 olive oil. Welcoming chairs on the porch invite customers to sit and sip coffee while enjoying baked goods that Joe makes from scratch.

Sandwiches are also available for to-go consumption. The store strives to be as local as possible. Dairy products are from Battenkill Creamery. Eggs are from Faraway Hill Farm, just up the road. Palma hopes that the store will soon be carrying meat products from both Locust Grove Farm in Argyle and Oscar’s Smokehouse in Warrensburg, along with products of The Argyle Cheese Farmer.

Palma said she looks forward to inviting local farmers to hold farmers markets on the store’s deck over the summer.

The store also carries live bait for people fishing on the lake.

The store sells some upscale brands of soaps and lotions, but prices them to entice local buyers. Stonewall Kitchen jams and jellies, Kilwin’s chocolates and toys are among the items that have found their way into gift baskets that Palma assembles at the store. There are Cossayuna Lake wall plaques, T-shirts, sweatshirts and shopping bags as well. Joe’s books are also for sale at the store.

Cossayuna is located next door to the dry town of Argyle. Adjacent to Lakeside General Store is another Troiano enterprise, Lakeside Liquor Store. The spin-off business, the only liquor store on Cossayuna Lake, opened about a month ago and can serve people who would rather not make the trip into Greenwich.

The Troianos take delight in conversations with customers on topics from farmers’ concerns to different conversations with customers on destination shopping and lunch trips from Albany. They’ve also enjoyed resurrecting Cossayuna’s center, and hearing locals tell them, “we’ve taken our lake back.”

Next, the Troianos want to open a hardware store a barn they own.

Winter hours at Lakeside are Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Wednesday and Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Saturdays 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. They are closed Mondays and Tuesdays to the couple to continue their writing and photography careers). The store’s phone number is 531-4234. They can be found on Facebook.

Photo Courtesy Lakeside General Store