Getting Fresh in Berwick

BERWICK – The Berwick Coffee House and General Store, located on Route 9 in Berwick is now under new ownership. Former owner, Peter Pastor, sold the business to new owners, John Holder and Charlene Turgeon, in July.

Holder and his fiancé, Turgeon, decided to purchase the business after Holder responded to a craigslist ad for a store manager with the possibility of ownership.  Holder was immediately attracted to the idea of managing the Coffee House and General Store.

After speaking with Pastor, Holder became convinced that buying the business was something he and his fiancé needed to pursue. Initially, Turgeon was leery of the idea. However, when she learned that the store was owned by Peter Pastor, she was sold.

“I knew Peter from the days when he owned The Bread & Butter General Store in York,” said Turgeon. “Once I knew it was Peter’s store, I immediately felt comfortable with the idea because I knew everything he did was successful.”

Turgeon brings over 15 years of customer service to the business. Paired with Holder’s 20 years of restaurant service and management, the couple felt they couldn’t go wrong.

The store will soon become known as The Berwick General Store & Deli. Holder and Turgeon felt that they wanted to change the name to bring more focus onto the deli side of the business.

“We didn’t feel that coffee house was a good description of the store,” said Holder. “We also felt changing the name would make it noticeable that the store is under new ownership.”

However, the name of the business is not the only thing that is changing about the store. According to Holder, the store started focusing on bringing a fresher quality to the deli food. They started by baking their own muffins in the store daily, having doughnuts delivered each day from Brookline Bakery, and using fresh beef instead of frozen. They have also taken a healthier approach to food preparation by cooking pizza without oil.

Turgeon said the store has a history of bringing in more revenue from the general store items than from the deli. The couple aims to change that by putting more focus on the deli service.

“We feel that there is real value in being able to have a conversation with the person making your meal verses buying a pre-packaged sandwich that was dropped off by a truck,” said Turgeon. 

Although, Holder and Turgeon are taking a "fresh" approach to some aspects of the general store, they also recognize the importance of keeping the popular items like, New England coffee, Oakhurst milk and AJ's Rush that keep customers coming back. 

“We’re still trying to carry what the locals are used to,” said Holder. “We just want to bring a fresher, healthier, quality to it.”

John Holder and his fiance, Charlene Turgeon