Greetings, friends of the Village Store! Here's the latest on our project to bring our beloved store back as the Village Store & Café.
Thetford Development Review Board Issues Permit
The Village Store & Café cleared an important hurdle last week when the Thetford Development Review Board greenlit the project.
At its August 11 meeting, the DRB issued a "conditional use permit" for the Store & Café. That means the project now has the design approval it needs from local regulators to move forward.
The design the DRB approved will be familiar to readers of this newsletter. It calls for an expanded Store & Café with a store section in the front and a 24-seat café in the back, where neighbors can come together for fresh meals and a cold drink. The café will have a porch on the south with a view of the Frost building. It will be set back further from the road than the current store, and there will be parking in front, with improved landscaping to set the property apart from Route 113.
Thetford Center Community Trust is still working to get other approvals from the state for its septic and water infrastructure. But the project is on track from a regulatory perspective. Now all we need is more funds!
Fundraising Update
Even through the dog days of summer, momentum continues to build toward our fundraising goal to kick off construction in 2027. As we near $700,000 in donations and pledges, you have helped maintain our $100,000-per-month fundraising pace. Amazing!!
This momentum is critically important as we compete for two major grant awards in the coming months. These grants consider the financial support behind the Village Store project from individual donors.
If you love the idea of reviving a gathering place and food hub in the center of Thetford, and you can contribute, don't wait another day:
The Thetford Center Community Trust accepts contributions through our website, gifts from Donor-Advised Funds, and direct donations to our Mascoma Bank account and to our Fidelity brokerage account (for gifts of appreciated securities). Let us know if we can assist you as you consider a gift.
Thank you!!
Labor Day Parade
We hope to see you in Post Mills for the September 7th Labor Day Parade. What a great community tradition! We're working on a float with other folks in Thetford Center — and have the paint on our knuckles to prove it. Crossmolina Farm's Margaret Loftus — future captain of the Thetford Village Store & Café — is rumored to be joining us to distribute fresh veggies along the parade route! And we'll be on hand at the airport post-parade to chat about the Village Store project. See you there!
More soon. Thank you for supporting the revival of the
Village Store & Café.
— The Thetford Center Community Trust Board (Tim, Deecie, Sarah, Dom)