A Modern General Store: Charlie John's Store - Speculator, NY

Today's post takes us to the Adirondack Park to a large general store in Speculator, NY.

The Charlie John's Store was originally founded in 1939 at this location at the Four Corners. The building you see here was built behind the original one in 1986. The supermarket portion is under the Big M label, while the hardware section is under the True Value label. This section is also an addition.

Cart Tax: Unlike other Big M stores, this store has carts that are not Technibilts and are older than 2006. The first two carts were United Steel & Wire units, from 1985 and 1990 respectively. The third cart is a random Unarco of unknown vintage.  The carts are stores in three places: one next to the hardware entrance, one next to the supermarket entrance, and in the vestibule.

Vestibule with extra carts and bottle return bins. The entry to the grocery section is to the right.

Front end

Looking over toward the registers

The condiments and soda aisle also houses dairy.

Major departments in the supermarket use Old Western-style signage.

Meat department

This aisle houses bread, chips, and frozen foods.

The produce area is the transition between the supermarket and the next area of the store.

The hardware section is newer than the rest of the store, added on in 2020.

Looking back into the main store

An interesting part of the store is the "Center Aisle" which houses general merchandise, which include housewares, clothing, and books.

Two more Old Western-style signs in the meat and frozen food areas.

But wait, there's more!

2022 UPDATE: All tile in the original part of the store has been replaced with woodgrain linoleum flooring.

Learn more about this store at https://charliejohns.com/.

 

This page has been amended on 7/2/2022.