When he’s not holding things down on the rhythm for Phish, beloved drummer Jon Fishman maintains a pretty low-key and wholesome life. His family lives on a sustainable farm, and now, they’re getting ready to open up a store where they currently reside, in Lincolnville, ME.
According to a report in the Penobscot Bay Pilot, Fishman and his wife Briar Lyons purchased the Lincolnville General Store in 2011, but wound up selling it to another family to focus on making their farm profitable. When the other family renovated the store, the Fishman family put in an offer and wound up buying back the property. Now it’s theirs once more.
Working with a consultant Ladleah Dunn, the Fishmans have been hard at work on their new General Store, and plan to open it in March of 2017. Dunn talks about the vision of the store, saying, “The long and the short of the General Store is that it’s going to be a true general store. You can come in and get tampons or toilet paper or dish soap or a kicking lasagna to take home and heat up.”
The focus is on organic and store-made products, including prepared foods and condiments. Since the Fishmans have five children, they can understand the importance of an all-in-one store, and the Lincolnville General Store aims to be just that. The property will also feature an outdoor porch area, WiFi, and a brick oven pizza stop for residents to come and chat. They’ll also work with local businesses to ensure that they aren’t stepping on anyone’s toes, and are planning to break into groceries and delivery services for the elderly and handicapped townspeople.
“Most markets don’t just sell their own stuff,” said Briar. “It takes the community to stock the shelves and we will be working with not only local farmers, but local bakers, local artisans and craftspeople.” This sounds like an incredible business, and we wish the Fishman family nothing but success on this new venture!