J.J. Hapgood has always been a place with many purposes. Through its 150 years, the store has been a post office, a market, a hardware store and a place to connect with neighbors and friends.

Owners Juliette and Tim Britton have worked to renew the store’s central role in the community by creating a welcoming and multifunctional space where locals and tourists can eat, shop, meet, learn and come together.

J.J. Hapgood feels like community, not a business. I love that Juliette and Tim are there almost every day, and they make you feel well taken care of. It is what you want when you go into a small, local store in Vermont.
Steve Stettler. Producing Artistic Director, Weston Playhouse

The story of J.J. Hapgood General Store & Eatery begins in 1806, when Josiah Jackson Hapgood—the original J.J. Hapgood—built a small house in Peru, Vermont and opened the Peru General Store. Hapgood’s wife managed the store while he built a hugely successful logging business. Hapgood’s son took over the business and, over the course of the next century, the store changed hands many times.

Juliette and Tim Britton purchased the building and began construction in 2013. The store—and a local cow—was famously featured in the 1987 film Baby Boom, staring Diane Keaton and Sam Shepard.

Juliette and Tim Britton opened the rebuilt J.J. Hapgood General Store & Eatery just in time for the busy 2013-2014 ski season.

Read more about the rebuilding and restoration process on our Restoration page.