On July 30, 2009, thanks to the efforts of local volunteers, the Freedom Village Store (FVS) reopened its doors. The landmark building, situated above the town's scenic waterfall, has found a renewed life as the sound of people socializing over coffee, tea, cocoa or sodas along with sandwiches, soups, salads (provided by Windy Fields) and freshly baked goods can be heard throughout Freedom Village Center.
FVS offers a variety of unique gifts ranging from consignment items, antiques, blueberry jam from Foss Mountain, FVS aprons, patriotic Freedom hats, tee shirts, sweatshirts, jewelry by Freedom resident Bonnie Burroughs, to paintings by local artists Peg Scully, Laura Thomson, Terri Brooks, Dan Paulding and photographs by Rick Davidson. The sales from their items go to support our overhead and to help us promote social events and services to the community.
The century old building has a history as the heart of Freedom Village life and has gone through a number of owners. Many long-time residents fondly remember Betty and George Nichols, operators of the grocery store in the '50s and' 60s, who sold the best cuts of meat from their butcher shop.
The latest owners are the Keith’s, Pam and Barry, who bought the building after several years of it being empty. They have upgraded many of the building’s features without destroying the charm and appeal of the store. Offices are now on the second and third floors, and for about 5 years there was a retail business with unique gifts on the first floor, before it became vacant again.
Yearning for a place to hang out and connect with each other, many Freedom residents got together with the landlords and developed a plan of re-opening a store that would be run by volunteers. The store re-opened on the first day of Old Home Week in 2009.
The Freedom Village Store has a board of directors who oversee the operations with the help of a part-time manager for the day-to-day activities of the store, which is now able to be open daily due to the support of the residents.
Please come and visit the best little place in Freedom, and if the weather permits, enjoy a cup of coffee on our back deck looking over the falls of Cold Brook. You will always be welcomed with a smile or a handshake! It’s where friends, neighbors and visitors come to meet, mingle and shop.