By Katy Savage
After closing down in November 2022, the Belmont General Store in Mount Holly is reopening this summer with new owners.
Alissa Tilly, 28, bought the store, which dates back to the 1840s, two weeks ago.
“We want to start small and then start adding on,” she said.
Tilly grew up in Connecticut but she and her family are no strangers to the area.
Tilly’s brother, Dan Tilly, 33, has become a well-established entrepreneur. He left his job in the banking industry in London at the start of the pandemic and launched Mount Holly Beer in 2020. He now lives across the street from the Belmont General Store and sells his beer in more than 140 locations in Vermont and 65 locations in Connecticut.
This summer, Dan plans to open Mount Holly Cider in a small building near his sister’s general store. “I’m super excited about it, it’s kind of a bummer (the store’s) been closed,” Dan said.
Dan is collaborating with different orchards in Vermont and will start selling two ciders — a dry cider and a rose cider — this fall. The cider will be cooled and aged at least six months.
“It really elevates the apple part of the cider,” Dan said, explaining most commercial cider is aged two weeks.
Until then, he’s hosting a beer garden and summer party at Off the Rails in Ludlow over Memorial Day weekend, where he’s launching a new beer — SUPERTUBOS — a 4.7% hazy IPA, inspired by a surf trip to Portugal. The family is also announcing the reopening of the Belmont General Store that weekend.
“My kids are very enthusiastic about Belmont and want it to keep it like it is and be part of making it better also,” Tilly’s father David Tilly said.
The Tilly family started coming to Vermont on weekends about 30 years ago, when David built a cabin in Belmont. They had no electricity, so they pumped water from a well and used candles.
The Finnish family said Belmont reminds them of Finland.
“It’s an authentic village,” David said. “It doesn’t have truck traffic driving through it.”
The store has become a family project. David, a builder, is working on renovations. The historic building was once a carriage house, post office and wagon wheel repair shop.
“We’re going to make the barn look like a barn again,” David said. “I’m going to try to help make the building pretty again.”
David is making the building solar paneled and he’s working with Efficiency Vermont to update fixtures and appliances.
Tilly is moving from Connecticut into one of the two upstairs apartments at the store and plans to open Memorial Day weekend with breakfast and essential items before expanding throughout the summer.
“She wanted to invest in Belmont,” David said. “She didn’t want it to fall into disrepair. She wanted it to be a highlight.”
Alissa wants to cater to locals and visitors while bringing back some of her favorite childhood memories of the store, like maple creemees. She’ll also sell local products, including coffee from Little Seed Coffee Roasters of Middlebury and Grandma Miller’s Pies and Pastries in Londonderry.
Meanwhile, her fiancé, Michael Chronert, a triathlon competitor, wants to bring a biking venue to Belmont.
“Vermont’s such a special place to go cycling because the shoulders are really big,” Tilly said.
The store will cater to cyclists looking for a place to stop.
“You’re always trying to find a cute place for a sandwich or something along our route,” Tilly said.
Tilly is trying her hand at beekeeping to sell her own honey at the store. The store will also have an artists’ loft featuring community artists, including Tilly’s younger sister, Annica Tilly.
Tilly is currently soliciting feedback from the community through a suggestion box.
“I want to get a sense of what everyone appreciated about the store and what everyone wants,” she said. “It’s just the cutest town ever.”
