REVIEW

The Dorset Union Store was started in 1816 as a member-owned cooperative. Then-owner Perry Peltier changed the name to Peltier’s in 1955. When the current owners purchased the store in 2007, the name reverted back to its original Dorset Union Store. We like the ring of it. We also like how the store has achieved a perfect balance between old and new.

Serve yourself from the soup kettles. One of them is likely to contain their award-winning macaroni and cheese.

Vermont country stores that remain steadfastly in the past draw few customers. You can be sure that over the first couple of hundred years, the stores did their best to provide the goods and services that the townsfolk wanted, and continually updated their offerings. It makes no sense to remain wedded to a long-gone past if you want to, say, make some money and stay in business. Unless you’d rather operate a museum.

The macaroni and cheese is famous. By the time we got there it was more cheese than macaroni — we thought it was cheese soup with macaroni — which reduced our enjoyment of it not a whit. The cheese sauce is rich yet mellow, with all of the flavor of local cheddar.

On the other hand, at what point is a country store no longer a country store? We love both F.H. Gillingham & Sons in Woodstock and Vermont Country Store in Weston but, lets face it: those are no longer small country stores. Dorset’s store has threaded the needle, keeping up with the times while losing none of the appeal, the soul, of a true country store. The result? Customers! Lots of them! Owners of struggling stores around the state would be wise to spend some time here and see how it’s done.

We found some homemade deviled eggs with a nice mustard kick in the refrigerator case.

Need a newspaper, some aspirin, a box of crackers or some batteries? You can find them here. But the owners are wise enough to also offer a top-quality deli, a nook for wines, beers, and local cheeses, plenty of locally produced artisan goods, and complete family dinners to go like shepherd’s pie, lasagna, and lamb curry. People come here because it fills a need, for both locals and tourists. And, yes, the floors still creak and there’s still a bell over the door.

Huge squares of crusty, coarse-textured chili cheddar cornbread were set up next to the soup kettle (at just a buck-and-a-quarter a square). Perfect with a bowl of soup or the mac and cheese.

If you’re visiting Vermont and want to experience a true Vermont town grocery, come here for lunch, get a couple of sandwiches from the deli, ladle up some homemade soup, and grab a couple of the excellent cookies at the register. There’s no seating inside but there is the whole state of Vermont outside – you’ll have no trouble finding a place to set yourself down for a picnic lunch.

Have a sandwich made for you at the deli counter. This one features roast beef, cole slaw,and Russian dressing on multi-grain bread.

The cookies in the jars at the cash register are unusual in one respect – they’re huge. These Russian tea cakes look normal but they are about three times the size of a regular cookie. Don’t let the girth lead you to believe that they are just belly-fillers. These, and a pecan shortbread we tried, are fantastic!

LAF TRAK: 

FOOD: 

BEST THING TO EAT: Cookies

The Dorset Union Store sits across the street from The Dorset Inn, on the picture-perfect town green.

We sat in front of the Dorset Union Store on a bright and chilly winter’s afternoon enjoying our lunch with a view.