After 17 years of owning the Village Grocery, Troy Kingsbury is putting the Waitsfield Village touchstone on the market so he can spend more time with his wife and family.
“It happened very quickly for me. After Brad Belknap passed away, it gave me pause and I started wondering how much money people need in life and how much we should be working. I’m 53. My wife, Cheryl, has been pushing me to relinquish the reins,” Kingsbury said.
“Cheryl wants more of my time to be a really good husband and father and those things can get sidetracked when you’re trying to run a small business,” he added.
“The Warren Store and the Village Grocery were the original community stores in The Valley. I have a list of the previous owners of the VG, going back to when it opened in 1840. The first owner was Melvin Long, then Hank Kenyon, Gerry Tucker, Artie Bennett, then Gerry Tucker again, then Arthur Miller, Bob Quinn, David Frank, and me,” Kingsbury recalled.
Kingsbury purchased the store in 2006 on a handshake deal with David Frank. They talked in February and Kingsbury got the keys in May.
He said he’s loved his time at the store in the center of the community and said he never intended to work in a convenience store. His parents owned Kingsbury’s Market on Route 100 in Warren throughout his childhood and after working there when he was younger, he said he’d never do it again. His parents sold the store in 1999. That store is now a Jiffy Mart.
He also said running a small community store was difficult because of the hours, and staffing.
“I’d love to find the right buyer for this store. It’s an amazing thing to be right here, our customers are awesome, and I’ve loved being able to interact with everyone,” he added.
As for what he hopes for the next owner? He hopes it is someone who wants to run a community business, with emphasis on community.
“I feel really good about having been able to be the local guy, to host Lobster Day, to host Wheels for Warmth, to have the state game weigh-in here, to be fully engaged with the community and for people coming here for all kinds of community projects, to be a Giving Gas Station and everything else,” he said.
As for what’s next? He’s got a lot of loose ends to tie up and then wants to focus on his children, Jake and McKayla, who were 5 and 9 years old, respectively, when he bought the store.
“Originally, we thought that McKayla would be able to live in the apartment upstairs and at the store and Jake would run it. But he’s almost 22 and has no interest in running the store. One of our goals now will be to help them succeed as adults, navigating the adult services they need,” he said.
Otherwise, “I’ll be doing what Cheryl tells me to do,” he joked.
He’s excited to further reduce his commute, he said. His first commute to his parent’s store, 5 miles. Then it was from Old County Road in Waitsfield to the former Small Dog Electronics Store which was 2.1 miles and his commute from Old County Road to the VG was a mile.
Kingsbury announced his plans to sell the business on his regular weekly spot on WDEV on August 2.
