At the top of a winding road in rural Vermont sits Pierce’s Store, a white-clapboard general store with a wide front porch and a steeply pitched roof. By most measures, this place should have closed long ago.

But on a recent chilly November morning, a step through Pierce’s front door, beneath the jingle of a bell, and into the warm scent of freshly baked goods, feels like a hug.

These spaces are more than just the picturesque backdrops of Hallmark Christmas movies. Along the backroads of Vermont, a general store serves as a lifeline to residents, circulating mail, local wealth, and goods. But with the rise of Amazon and chain stores, the deck is stacked against them.

Why We Wrote This

They evoke Hallmark movies and simpler times. But in rural locations, general stores are a lifeline to

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