Jarvis and Marcia Coffin never really thought about owning the Hancock Market. They were busy enough running the Hancock Inn across the street.
But when longtime Hancock natives Nancy and Ed Adams decided to put the market up for sale two years ago, something told the Coffins to go for it. They liked how the market had that classic small-town New England store feel, as it had since it first opened in 1879. And they didn’t want someone from out of town coming in and changing that. From a business perspective, they had every incentive to see that the market remained as it had been.
“Everyone who stays at the Hancock Inn comes into the market at some point,” Jarvis said. “And the only thing that’s as iconic as a New England country inn is a New England country store. It’s a town that takes a lot of pride in these institutions.”
So the Coffins went for it, buying the business and carrying on the tradition that began back when C.W. Farmer built the store on land owned by Sarah Mears of Peterborough in 1878 – the year before the market officially opened – according to information found in “The Second Hundred Years of Hancock, New Hampshire.”
“It’s been a terrific experience,” Jarvis said. “But it’s a juggling act because both [the market and the inn] are really 24/7 businesses.”
The Coffins knew there would be challenges, especially considering the fact that most of the products the store stocks can be found just about anywhere. So it was about finding a niche to keep people coming back.
“The secret to a country store like this is providing the community with something special, something they can’t get anywhere else,” Jarvis said.
For the Coffins, it starts with the personal service, like having newspapers ready and on the counter for their regulars who come in every morning, and extends to their high quality selection of meats and seafood. The butcher counter began with Mike and Lesley Cass, who owned the store for 20 years beginning in 1978, and has been a real focus since the Coffins took over in February 2017.
“They had a thriving butcher business and people would drive throughout the region for their quality meats,” Jarvis said.
As careful grocery shoppers themselves, the Coffins would go to multiple stores to fill a certain need on their list.
“We have a good base of customers that do the same,” Marcia said. “And we feel like we can fill the meat aspect.”
While they’ve only been in town for eight years, they have a good feel for the community. From what they heard, after the Casses sold it, the store went through some tough times. The Adamses did a lot to bring the business back and the Coffins are doing their part to keep it going in the right direction.
With numerous larger grocery stores within a short drive, the Coffins know that people aren’t using the market to cross everything off their list. But they want to make sure it is the place the people of Hancock can count on to find any of those forgotten or specialty items.
They’ve added a lot of organic and all-natural products over the last few years, many times in addition to the store brands that people were most familiar with.
“We want it to remain a grocery store, so we’ve attempted to fill it with good grocery products,” Jarvis said. “And it’s giving people an option, and we think there’s an interest in having multiple choices. We believe that’s an important part of the community we serve.”
The most difficult part is deciding what to carry and finding the space for it. After all, it’s a small store and shelf and cooler space is at a premium.
But Jarvis said they’ve done well with the changes they’ve made, including the addition of Green Mountain Salsa, Bar Harbor soups and expanding the spice selection. They just can’t keep enough of Manning Hill Farm milk out of Winchester on hand, and same goes for the local eggs.
“That’s an important role of the country store. Helping local people access local farms and local products,” Jarvis said.
They used to make sandwiches to order, but have since taken the premade route. People can still get their favorite deli meats and cheeses sliced to bring home. Like a lot of country markets, the Coffins have also made an effort to carry a variety of craft beer. They also decided to use the benefits of having a full restaurant kitchen across the street at their disposal to create a line of packaged meals and baked goods made at the Hancock Inn.
The Hancock Market dates back to the Farmer family and the late 19th century. Not only was it the main store in town, but it also served as the post office on numerous occasions, most notably when the owner had been elected postmaster.
In 1896, William Fogg purchased the business from the Farmers, and for about 30 years ran the market. During the time Fogg owned the store, it had the first telephone service in Hancock and was the first town building with electric lighting. He also added the first walk-in refrigerator.
“Back when my grandfather owned it, people would come to a little general store for everything they needed,” said Bob Fogg, William Fogg’s grandson. “You could probably buy shoes here, shirts and pants. People didn’t travel far, so they needed to have it here.”
Fogg has lived in Hancock for 50 years and spent summers coming to town. His grandfather sold the market before he was born, but he remembers coming in for penny candy and the soda fountain. These days, he’s in the store “all the time” and is known to get the staples, like bread, milk and meat there.
“Every once in a while, someone would say, ‘You should buy the store,’” Fogg said.
When Daniel Devens took over in 1926, he still followed the general store model with a little bit of everything, but later decided to focus more on the food provisions side of the business. Arthur Tremblay is credited with getting permission from the town to sell beer.
Bud Adams used to work at the store in the late 1940s, early 1950s. Back then, the store had cooking utensils, farming equipment, wash tubs and hardware supplies. Adams has been going to the Hancock Market since 1936 and is in there just about every day.
“There’s not a crowd,” Adams said. “It’s convenience and has anything you might need.”
There’s a lot of history when it comes to the store, but through it all, the Hancock Market has remained in the same location and been focused on providing that small town experience for the people of Hancock and the surrounding communities for 140 years – a main reason why the customers keep coming back.