14 | July/August 2018
T
B U S I N E S S
LECLAIR'S GENERAL STORE
A Modern
-
Day Mercantile
BY KELLY TWEDELL | PHOTOGRAPHY BY MATTHEW WONDERLY
ere are no mule-drawn wagons parked in front of
Leclair's General Store on Fort Bragg Road in Haymount.
No furs are being traded inside. And the goods that are
being sold tend toward antiques, wine, coffee, one-of-a-kind
housewares, gourmet treats, unique paper goods and other
specialty arts items, not calico cloth, grocery staples and
patent medicines.
Leclair's is a modern take on the old-time general store,
but with the same comfortable vibe that makes it a place
where people like to gather.
And it's ringing up success.
On a recent morning, a high-energy buzz waed
through the store as a steady stream of customers came
in to order coffee, grab something to eat or make another
purchase. Some sat at the tables scattered throughout the
store, chatting or setting up laptops to work or check the
internet. Many sipped coffee from the heavyweight black-
and-cream ceramic mugs that they have purchased, tagged
with their names and then leave at the store for easy and
environmentally friendly reuse.
It's what owner Patrick Leclair had in mind when he
started envisioning the store.
"My goal was to create a space and environment to
organically attract customers who are intellectual, nostalgic,
creative; then you create a community, not a commercial-
like customer list," he said.
Since its opening last year, the store has become
increasingly popular both as a gathering place and a source
