ORANGE — Trail Head Outfitters & General Store will enter 2022 as the same family business, albeit with a member of a different family.
Paul and Brenda Anderson are retiring from retail and handing over ownership of the 1 South Main St. business to Stephanie Cook starting Jan. 1. Cook’s mother, Terry Bouchard, has owned Corner Cafe, in the back of Trail Head, since July 2019.
“Everybody’s favorite items and stuff will still be here. They don’t have to worry about anything leaving,” Cook said about the store. “It’s such a staple in the town of Orange.”
The Andersons, who live in Athol, first opened Trail Head in the Sunoco station they once owned at the corner of East Main and Bacon streets in Orange before moving it to the Aubuchon Plaza and then to South Main Street in 2007. The part-outfitter, part-general store specializes in hiking and outdoor sporting equipment as well as food products and candy. It also carries merchandise pertaining to “Castle Rock,” the Stephen King-inspired Hulu series partially filmed in Orange for two seasons. The Andersons say they have had a great run, but it is the right time to close this chapter of their lives.
“I like the store. I love the people who come in here. I like the work,” said Paul Anderson, “but I’m also 70 years old. I’d like to have a little free time. … I’ve worked every day since I was 13. I’ve never been without a job.”
He said he will work with Stephanie in the store throughout January to help ease the transition.
Brenda Anderson, who on Nov. 1 retired from the Orange Police Department after 35 years as its administrative assistant, said it is exciting but difficult to walk away from the business.
“It’s bittersweet. I think we put more of ourselves into here than I did at the Police Station for 35 years. We always felt like we were not only having a business, but we were helping the town to grow and survive and bring in tourists,” said Brenda, 60. “You know, when ‘Castle Rock’ was here, we felt sort of like an ambassador. Helping the town has been just as important as helping ourselves.”
The Andersons plan to travel with their dog in a camper once the weather warms up in the spring.
Cook, 31, said she jumped at the opportunity to take over Trail Head. Scrafty, her business at 437 Main St. in Athol, hosts group do-it-yourself parties and consists of a sign shop. She plans to close that location on Dec. 26 and move its operations to Trail Head.
“I love this store. I love this town. My mother’s back there, so we’re going to get to collab together,” she said. “And they’re refinishing the basement, so I’ll be able to continue what I’m still doing as well as keep this going in the community.”
Cook, who lives in Athol, said she would like to add children’s gear to the store’s inventory.
“It’s pretty much going to stay the same. I’ll be adding some of my own touches,” she noted.
Cook bakes at the cafe at least once a week and said she will continue to do so. In fact, her maple brownie cakes with candied bacon made the cafe the “People’s Choice” grand-prize winner of General Mills Foodservice’s sixth annual Neighborhood to Nation Recipe Contest earlier this year. The cafe won $5,000 for being one of the 20 winners and an additional $5,000 for a charity of Bouchard’s choice (the North Quabbin Food-A-Thon).
Bouchard, 60, said the Andersons have been wonderful mentors to her daughter.
“They’ve been working hand in hand with her, showing her all the ropes, the vendors, everything — everything she would need to know. It’s been great,” she said. “I mean, what a blessing.”
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.