General Store - Forging a Future

Around Town Forging a Future by Going Back in Time

An interview with Mary Beth Hughes of The General Store

By Michael Detrick

Isat down with Mary Beth Hughes on the front porch of The General Store for my March column of Michael on the Map on Tallulah Falls, and the two of us quickly hit it off and developed an instant friendship. Fast forward a few months and I paid my friend another rocking chair visit to get the scoop on what’s going on with her now. MD: So, I know I’ve seen you since March, but let’s talk about what’s new and exciting at The General Store these days. MBH: Well, so much! July is our two-year anniversary, and I couldn’t be happier about where we are two years later because I’ll be honest… At the beginning of 2021, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I didn’t know if we were going to be able to make it. But there is just so much going on in Tallulah Falls right now. Tallulah 1882 is in full-swing, and Tallulah Adventures is getting ready to launch with Wander as their retail partner. And then, the ultimate of course was being able to buy this building in May of 2022. MD: I have of course been to the tearoom (1882) and am closely following the emergence of Tallulah Adventures. Both are awesome additions to the area. I did not know you bought the building. That’s major! MBH: Yes, it really is! Now that I own this building, I feel much more settled. I still have a lot of the great inventory and merchandise that we were known for at Tallulah Point Overlook those 26 years, but this new vision for what I want to do and what I can do has realty come into focus. And with the whole neighborhood really waking up and my customers are coming in and they’re looking for this and that, it’s so much fun to pay attention to what people are asking for and then making that happen. So, I am just having a blast playing general store! MD: And you are much more pleasant than Mrs. Oleson from Little House on the Prairie! So, you’re really changing the trajectory. MBH: Haha! And yes, we are. I had a guy come in recently looking for electrical tape and duct tape. I didn’t have them then, but I do now! But the best part is my sons and daughters-in-law are partnering with me in this endeavor and it’s truly becoming a family-owned business. My son Nate came and put in all this new shelving for our growing grocery area, with even more to come. MD: Tell me about some of your locally sourced products. MBH: We have local produce from my son, and from Chef Inger Smith. We are also carrying Inger’s chicken salad, pimento cheese, and pesto. All delicious. We have Banner Butter (small batch cultured butter made here in Georgia). Local Ho House Eggs from Lakemont. And of course, Maria Loveless’ SkyeBurger veggie burgers, also from Lakemont. MD: That’s a great lineup up local goods; a great representation of foods made by the folks who make up our community. MBH: It’s just all so circular; and just all comes back together. We’ve stuck together throughout the years. My connections with the people here that I do business with go back for so long. It’s what happens when you live in a community for 32 years, and when you’re involved both as a resident and as a business owner. MD: I haven’t been here for nearly as long but the tightknit nature of it is definitely something I’m excited about.

MBH: And it’s just going to get better!