Bath General Store remains open

Published 8:03 pm Monday, August 12, 2013

BATH — Though destined for closure on Aug. 1, the Bath General Store has not yet closed its doors.

According to Trisha Moore, who owns the store along with her husband Scott Brown, Bath residents turning out in force for the store’s first final day on July 31 led to another chance for the Bath landmark on Carteret Street.

“We were having a farewell dinner that Wednesday, and I have never seen so many people in our store,” Moore said. “We had our dinner, but we had to do it in shifts.”

So many people showed up that the General Store staff offered to open the following day to help sell the remaining stock. At 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 1, a potential buyer walked in, Moore said.

While the store is down to “bare bones” as far as merchandise is concerned, Moore said it’s still operating while negotiations are going on, solely because the store would not comply with Bath’s town zoning restrictions. Because of the store’s age, it’s grandfathered in with the newer restrictions, she said.

“We don’t have enough land for parking at the General Store,” Moore explained, adding that the store’s appearance would also not comply with Bath’s zoning regulations.

The store’s original owner was Roy Brooks, who opened it in Bayview in 1952. It was expanded and moved to its current location in 1972.

Moore made it clear that the sale of the store is not a done deal.

“Once we close it, shut the doors and walk out, it won’t be able to come back to code,” Moore said. “There’s not a lot in there, but we told the guy we’d give him three weeks.”