Summer 2008
Downtowns: Human Scale
In tight-knit Richmond, people power creates alternative to nearby big-box center
By Susan Elizabeth Reid
Photographed by Daria Bishop
Less than eight miles from the Interstate exit to Williston and all the big-box shopping a person could want, Richmond stands sturdy against the onslaught of the giants. How this spirited community has maintained, and indeed strengthened, its village center despite the competition is a testament to a close network of local businesses and the loyal customers who go out of their way to support them.
Cindy Feloney, owner of John's Shoe Shop North, says she can still picture the tailored gentleman who stepped into her store years ago, a network TV reporter seeking an interview about how she planned to keep her small clothing and shoe shop alive with the arrival of Wal-Mart in Williston. Now marking her 18th year in business, Feloney continues to provide custom boot fitting and repair, carrying on the tradition of her grandfather and the store's namesake, John Plesniarski, a shoemaker in Burlington in the early 1900s.
Among the merchants of Richmond, the general business model is based on providing unique, local, quality products, along with personal service. Feloney, for instance, keeps index cards on all her regular customers so she can track their footwear history through the years. Ben Bush and Raechel Barone at On the Rise Bakery meet their patrons' needs morning to night with "made from scratch baked goods at sunrise, and local, live music four nights a week. Christina Ladensack, a florist and artist who owns The Crimson Poppy Flower Shoppe, plants and distributes 50 whiskey barrels full of flowers throughout the downtown in early summer — and waters and tends the blooms in every barrel, every morning through the season.
For a bedroom community of just over 4,000 people, Richmond has a surprising number and variety of businesses, almost all of them locally owned. Although it is home to the iconic, 16-sided Round Church, one of the most photographed historic sites in the state, Richmond is a working town, not a postcard. "When you think about all the things you would like in a really strong, vibrant village, Richmond has them, says Paul Bruhn, executive director of Preservation Trust of Vermont.
There is a grocery store, hair salons, the shoe shop, florist shop, gift shop, toy shop, bike shop, thrift shop, ski shop, green grocer, an eclectic movie rental store and longtime companies like Richmond Home Supply and Harrington's ham. Dining options are also plentiful — a family-friendly grill, the bakery café, a pizza place, a caterer and three upscale restaurants. Except for a bank and a quick stop, there's not a franchise sign in sight. The Vermont Council on Rural Development recently called the town "a classic Vermont village, with a vibrant downtown surrounded by rural and agricultural lands.
Preserving the town's character has not happened by chance, says Richmond resident Ann Cousins. Considerable thought and planning continue to go into it.
Craig Colburn, owner of Richmond Beverage, "saw the writing on the wall for his family's convenience store as Williston started to develop and Cumberland Farms moved into the main intersection of Richmond. "For us to survive, we had to change what we do, Colburn says. That meant a shift from the milk, bread, chips and beer of a typical convenience store to a specialty wine and beer store that now draws people from a 25-mile radius. Bread and chips are still on the shelves, but people are more likely to stop by for Colburn's broad wine selection and knowledgeable advice.
Reputation is everything for small, local businesses. Word travels that Gene Bell at Village Bicycle Repair sells handmade Marinoni bicycles, but he'll also fix your kid's garage sale castoff; or that at Bridge Street Hair, the local state representative, Denise Begins Barnard, will not only cut your hair, she'll fill you in on the news from Montpelier.
There are, as Vermont Green Grocer owner Kris Miceli says, hidden gems in Richmond that residents are proud to have in their hometown. One of them is Miceli's store itself, a brightly painted organic and local food store tucked behind the Round Church Corner plaza. Nearby, Luke Mindell operates Film Buzz, a video store stocked with art house films and other treats for discerning movie fans. And just outside of town, down Cochran Road a mile, is the low-key Cochran's ski area where hundreds of local children are taught to ski by 1972 Olympic gold medalist Barbara Ann Cochran and other members of the extraordinary Cochran ski family.
There is something about Richmond that holds onto people and brings them back. Ben Bush felt the pull to return after college and several years living in New York where he worked as a set designer on Broadway shows. Bush and his wife Raechel Barone wanted to raise their family in Richmond and Bush missed places like The Daily Bread, the homey bakery and meeting spot where he had worked for years alongside owner Betsy Bott. In time, Bott closed the bakery and moved to Maine — a loss that was acutely felt by Bush and many others in town — so Bush and Barone decided to fill the gap with their own bakery, On the Rise. They started in a cramped space on Bridge Street where they stayed for about three years. A year ago, they moved into the energy-efficient, airy building built by Bush next to Volunteers Green, where many of the local vendors that Bush and Barone support sell their wares in summer at the popular Richmond Farmers Market.
For Bush and Barone, doing business in Richmond means contributing to the community, both through the local produce and goods they use in their business and the friendly venue they provide for area artists and musicians. "We're dedicated to supporting as much local creativity and production as possible, Bush says. "A lot of people are doing that, and it's exciting to be part of it. It's not a niche, it's a whole new way to approach food and business.
The phrase "buy local has real meaning in Richmond, and, combined with a commitment to preserve the downtown and surrounding rural landscape, it is the foundation of this bustling community.
"Whatever we can do local, we do local, says Marvin Carpenter, owner of the Bridge Street Café. From the thick bread and maple syrup served at Sunday breakfast to the "barter and trade he enjoys with other merchants, Carpenter says he supports his fellow businesses and the favor is returned.
That kind of partnership is evident throughout Richmond. Kris Miceli at the Vermont Green Grocer and Karyl Kent of New Leaf Catering share retail space, but they also share food, recipes and companionship. At Laura Lacaillade's Stargazer Gifts and Toys, shoppers are as likely to meet Nancy Dutil, the owner of the Virtually Vintage antique shop next door, as they are to meet Lacaillade. Dutil, a retired teacher, and Lacaillade, a mother of young children, share an open door between their shops that allows them to cover for each other whenever necessary. They also commune on a deeper level, having both grown up in Richmond and living a mutual dream of owning a business on Bridge Street.
Lacaillade remembers the days when her grandfather Sumner "Fuller Andrews was co-owner of the Richmond Cash Market, now the site of the Bridge Street Café. She would slip into the store after kindergarten and Fuller would spoil her with goodies and let her play with the child's size shopping cart. "Somewhere deep down, I've always wanted to have a store on this street, she says.
Dutil, a teacher for 40 years, opened her business soon after retiring because she "didn't want to just sit. Her shop is around the corner from Zachary's pizza place, the former Gulf service station that her father Robert Lucia ran from 1928 to 1975.
"I've never lived anywhere else, Dutil says happily as she presides over a lunchtime gathering of friends who sit in a circle of chairs in the middle of her shop. "I never wanted to live anywhere else. This is home.
Except for the tangle of vehicles wedged into parking spots along Bridge Street, the heart of Richmond looks much as it did a century ago when the block was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1908.
At the Bridge Street Café, Carpenter displays old photographs of those earlier days and recalls his own growing up in a town where "your arm would get tired, waving at everybody you knew. But he embraces the changes that new people and businesses have brought to Richmond, and that includes Toscano, the bistro directly across the street.
Toscano owners Lucie and Jon Fath have raised the bar on dining in Richmond as have their friends and fellow New England Culinary Institute alumni at neighboring Sonoma Station, and The Kitchen Table near Interstate Exit 11. With Richmond's restaurant choices there is clear competition, but the restaurateurs tend to focus on the benefits of critical mass: The town is becoming a dining destination.
Carpenter and Fath see each other more as friends than competitors. The same goes for Colburn at Richmond Beverage and Mike Comeau, who owns the Richmond Corner Market. "Yes, we're in competition with each other to some extent, but we also complement each other, Colburn says. "People like Mike's selection of meat, bread, cheese and salad, and then they come over here for their wine or beer.
Anchored at the main intersection, the Richmond Corner Market opened three years ago to the delight of residents who no longer had to travel to Williston for their groceries. Comeau, who began in the grocery business as a high school student in Burlington about 20 years ago, bought the shuttered store with its crumbling foundation and turned it into a bright, well-stocked market with a fresh meat counter that has gained a following, largely because of the man behind the counter — local legend Pat Quinn, an 83-year-old butcher who ran the Jonesville Market for almost 40 years.
Business has increased every year, Comeau says, and his only complaint is that his customers struggle to find a place to park. If there is one general grievance about Richmond, it is the lack of parking in the core, a negative the town hopes to address with a streetscape project. It's been so frustrating for years that some residents have given up hoping for change. But a unanimous selectboard decision this year to save and refurbish another long-time aggravation, the one-lane Bridge Street Bridge, suggests that agreement and improvements are possible.
Every town has challenges. Richmond grapples with its infrastructure problems — parking, the bridge, traffic congestion, and aging water and sewer pipes. There is also frustration over the poor condition of some downtown buildings, and the future of an abandoned creamery behind Bridge Street.
Looking forward, upgrading the 80-year-old truss bridge is a positive opportunity to weave together businesses on both sides of the Winooski River, bringing into the fold the shops and services near the Round Church.
Lisa Littwin and Marta Richardson, sisters who opened the Chubby Robin gift shop a year ago at Round Church Corner, already feel a strong bond with the shopkeepers on Bridge Street. They grew up in Richmond, and their parents Neil and Phyllis Sherman have been part of the business fraternity for years, first with an insurance agency and now with Isaacs Antiques.
The sisters encourage their customers to shop around in Richmond. They set out their fellow storekeepers' business cards at the checkout counter and refuse to stock certain items that might overlap with other businesses. "We don't have toys, just a few little treats for the kids, Littwin says. "We're trying not to interfere with Laura's toy store.
Littwin, recently widowed, came back to Richmond after 30 years living in Massachusetts, and she says she is proud of the home she returned to and the business community she joined.
"We all support each other, Littwin says. "Richmond shows the best side of Vermont, where people help each other.