Edenville General Store looks to expand entertainment offerings

Edenville General Store is looking to increase live music and other entertainment offerings with the addition of a new mobile outdoor stage.

The approximately 20-foot-by-9-foot platform will allow the General Store to expand its calendar. Unlike a permanent structure, the stage can be moved around the property, giving owner Deb Walter flexibility as she rotates entertainment offerings. The addition supports her long-term vision of making the General Store an even stronger destination for live music, community gatherings, and special events.

Simplifying food operations

At the same time, Walter plans to simplify food operations. Instead of maintaining a traditional hot-food menu that requires extensive staffing, she intends to focus on specialties that can be prepared efficiently while maintaining quality. Smoked brisket, pastrami, chicken, and other specialty meats will remain a central part of the offering. Customers will be able to purchase these items as prepared take-home foods, allowing the store to capitalize on Walter’s culinary expertise and training in Marietta, Ga., the heart of southern BBQ cuisine. It was there that she learned how to prep, inject, and smoke brisket, beef, pork and chicken over real wood fire.

For events such as car shows, concerts, and community gatherings, Walter plans to offer affordable buffet-style meals designed to accommodate a variety of dietary preferences, including vegetarian and gluten-sensitive guests. The approach allows the store to continue serving food at events while operating more efficiently.

“I’m reinventing myself right now,” Walter said, describing the transition.

A community store

For years, the Edenville General Store has grown far beyond the traditional concept of a country store. Under Walter’s leadership, it has become a seven-day-a-week community hub that combines a restaurant, retail market, entertainment venue, gathering space, and destination for specialty items such as disc golf equipment.

Walter’s vision remains firmly rooted in serving the community, but recent staffing obstacles have prompted her to rethink how the business operates. One of the many challenges that small business owners face, however, is maintaining a reliable workforce, whose members are balancing school, family activities, and other commitments. So Walter is using them as an opportunity to pivot. Her goal is to create a business model that is focused on continuing to deliver high-quality food, entertainment, and unique customer experiences.

The retail side of the business will also remain important, with freshly brewed coffee and tea, homemade ice cream, baked goods, fresh produce and convenience items.

“Customers may not realize how small businesses look out for each other in the same community,” she revealed. “When a local retail deli lost access to a slicing machine, we provided one to him. And local orchards regularly rely upon our smoked BBQ menu to be able to offer it to their visitors.”