Jon Fishman and Wife Briar Opening General Store in Maine
Phish drummer Jon Fishman and his wife Briar Fishman will soon be the proprietors of a newly opened general store in their adopted hometown of Lincolnville, ME.
As the Penobscot Bay Pilot reports (via Live For Live Music), the Fishmans used to own the Lincolnville Center General Store in 2011, but sold it and have now re-acquired it from the owners, with plans to open up the newly refurbished store in March 2017. The couple also owns Elderflower Farm, where they produce and sell fruit, dairy products and more.
Moving back and forth between Lincolnsville and Burlington, VT, with their five children for years, the Fishmans finally decided to settle down in Maine. “We had never really established home, I think,” says Briar. “And then between that period of moving around and when we bought the store, the vision for what it was going to be came together at the same time as the Lincolnville Library coming together and the Farmer’s Market. And all that stuff really imprinted on us more than what we had known… that community really can be something, the village really can be something that raises your family. This is that village for us.”
Now, Briar and friend and consultant Ladleah Dunn are working to renovate the general store and make it their own. “The long and the short of the General Store is that it’s going to be a true general store,” says Dunn. “You can come in and get tampons or toilet paper or dish soap or a kicking lasagna to take home and heat up.”
The store will work with local growers and businesses for its wares, which will consist of a wide range of organic foods and products made in the store itself.
“Most markets don’t just sell their own stuff,” says Briar. “It takes the community to stock the shelves and we will be working with not only local farmers, but local bakers, local artisans and craftspeople.”