H.N. Williams poised for further expansion

Andrew McKeever Photo

H.N. Williams General Store, one of Dorset’s oldest continually operated businesses, will be adding a 3,200 sq. foot expansion that will add a gas station and more parking.

Andrew McKeever

GNAT News Project

DORSET — One of the town’s longest running businesses is poised to expand its operations further, having received its local permit to construct a 3,200 square foot post-and-beam barn that will attach to its current  building.

H.N. Williams General Store will also be adding three gasoline pumps and an electric car charging station as part of the expansion. The Dorset Zoning Board of Adjustment approved the permit during its meeting on October 16.

A couple of other permits are still needed for wastewater and underground tank storage, among others, but obtaining the local permit from the ZBA was the biggest potential hurdle to be overcome, said Billy Brownlee, an owner of the store.

He hopes to start construction of the store expansion next spring, he said.

The permit application was granted by the ZBA as a pre-existing, nonconforming use.

The gas station component is hoped to be an additional way to generate foot traffic inside the soon-to-be-expanded retail store and existing deli restaurant, Brownlee said.

Online competition has changed the nature of current retail businesses, and traditional bricks-and-mortar operations need to find new ways of attracting customers, he said.

“Now we’re competing against manufacturers who sell direct to their customers,” he said. “Bricks-and-mortar (businesses) have significant challenges.This is a foot-traffic driver.”