Gas and groceries in Newcomb

NEWCOMB | Jimmy Schaeffer was passing through Newcomb when the gas lamp on his dashboard lit up, indicating he was low on fuel. Mile after mile went by with nary a pump in sight. Growing concerned, he asked where the nearest filling station was, and got the bad news that it was another 15 miles to the next convenience store. "I think I coasted down the hill into Long Lake," he said. No more. Newcomb will not only have its own gas pump, it will have a grocery, camp store and diner, in a location just east of the Central School on Rt. 28N. Owners Schaeffer and Troy Ford, who migrating up from the cities, said they were looking forward to filling a need in Newcomb. "We came up here and never went home," Ford said. "We liked the area, but we were too young to retire, so we needed something to do." Ford owned a 10,000-square-foot antique center in Newburgh, and Schaeffer was an IT project manager in New York City. They bought land in Crown Point for their horses, and began hunting around for a business to run, and saw a For Sale sign on a sorry looking campground store that had been abandoned five years prior. "It was better than some of the businesses they looked at," said Ford's mother Jen, without a lot of conviction. Outfitted in their motorhome, Jen and her husband Gary were, about this time, supposed to be sitting under a palm tree somewhere, but they agreed to come north and help run the 34-site campground that came with the property. "We drove by and saw the sign — we didn't want some hundred-person restaurant, we wanted something cozy," Schaeffer said. "We stopped in Town Hall and (Supervisor Robin DeLoria) told us the history of the place, and we fell in love with it." DeLoria said the town was also able to help with a $100,000 grant in revitalization money that the state provided to help towns economically in the wake of the Finch Pruyne land purchase that closed thousands of acres to potential development. DeLoria said the renovation has been done the right way, with energy-efficient insulation and windows, accessible bathrooms and a generator that will keep things operational if the power goes out. Town Board Member Paul LaCourse said the town's last gas and grocery were lost when the camp store closed more than five years ago. Just having the basics back in town is a big deal for local residents. "People are always asking, when is the cafe going to open?" he said. Officially opening Jan. 20, the Newcomb Cafe and Campground will be open for breakfast and lunch, with Ford in charge of the kitchen. "He's a good cook, I can vouch for that," Schaeffer said. Ford said many of his recipes, including those for desserts and buttermilk pancakes, hail from Pennsylvania Dutch country, and were handed down from his grandmother, who penned the ingredients on cards, including the person's name from whom they derived. Along with the dining room, the renovations included an outside deck for warm weather. Ford said the campground includes two luxury cottages and will be open for transient and seasonal campers. The camp store will include basic groceries and, in time, Adirondack-made products. Ford and Schaeffer said the response from the community has been heartwarming, with people stopping by to wish them luck. Starting with the first order of buttermilk pancakes, they hope to return the favor. ■

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Gas and groceries in Newcomb

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