Groton’s Good Neighbor Grocery celebrates its first anniversary

It has been a full year since Laura Hahn opened The Good Neighbor Grocery (TGNG), 209 Peru Rd., offering fresh, locally sourced groceries, a café, a coffee and espresso bar with drive-thru and more.

Just prior to that opening, Hahn said, “Most of all, I want [TGNG] to be a community hub. I want people to be able to come and enjoy a cup of coffee with friends and have access to fresh food.” That full story may be found in the Feb. 24 edition of this column, and Hahn’s dreams have certainly come true since then.

Hahn’s best friend for almost 20 years, Renée Storiale, is the business manager for TGNG. Each woman has unique skill sets that complement the other’s, and they have proved to be a great combination for the many additional offerings TGNG has brought to fruition.

Storiale grew up in Connecticut. She earned a bachelor’s degree in arts education and two master’s degrees in museum studies and arts leadership administration from Syracuse University. After she and Hahn met in Syracuse and became fast friends, they worked together in several different jobs.

“From the beginning, we saw in each other that we were both hard workers and good people,” Storiale said. “For eight years before Laura opened The Good Neighbor, I was the director of studio programs at the YMCA in Syracuse and Laura was doing catering. It was fall 2023 that we began talking about concepts about what could be done in a building this size, and came up with a lot of ideas, including that Laura had always had to rent a kitchen for her catering, and now she would be able to do it right from here.”

Hahn said she knew immediately that she wanted Storiale to be her business manager, and Storiale was delighted to take on the role. The two spoke fondly of their opening weekend in March 2024 and how busy they were.

From then on, Hahn’s creativity with food and Storiale’s artistic background have yielded some creative offerings for the community.

“We started with hanging basket and botanical clay dish classes last spring, and then we started having farmers market days on third Wednesdays from June through October,” Storiale said. “We had 10 to 12 vendors, and this year we’d like to have at least 15. Anyone interested can email me at renee@thegoodneighborgrocery.com.”

“Our first market day was June 26,” Hahn said, “and that was also the first time we offered pizza. The community really turned out, and that was the first time I could see this all working out and that it could really be everything I was hoping it could be.”

Fall of 2024 was TGNG’s first full and robust class schedule, with Hahn running cooking classes such as “Kids in the Kitchen Pizza Party”; charcuterie board; and ravioli, gnocchi and pierogi making and Storiale running art classes such as clay, print and card making, drawing and family art workshops with a focus on parents and children working together to make a memory.

“I remember one class where I used local produce as a still life subject for a class, and the farmers who brought the produce took the class!” Storiale said.

They continued through spring with even more fun classes, trail mixer hikes and more — and now they are looking forward to repeating some classes and adding others, such as marbleized eggs, herb planters and clay bird feeders. They will also offer private pizza parties and greenhouse dinners. Register for all programs at thegoodneighborgrocery.com/order, in store or on the Local by Toast app.

In addition to Hahn and Storiale, the store has grown to include a baker and three other staff members. Everyone knows how to do everything, but each also has their own special niche.

“The drive-through window has been a big hit, and we just recently launched online ordering,” Hahn said. “Right now, it’s for breakfast only, but lunch will be added in mid-April.”

The newest hours for TGNG are 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The store is closed on Mondays. TGNG can be reached via thegoodneighborgrocery@gmail.com or by calling or texting 607-221-1175. There are also Facebook and Instagram pages under thegoodneighborgrocery.

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Groton Community Cupboard seeks testimonies

Have you experienced financial, medical or other hardships and reached out to the Groton Community Cupboard for assistance? The organization would like to hear from you. They are in the process of applying for grants, and anonymous testimonies are very helpful in receiving funds to meet the needs of our community. How did the community cupboard help you out? If you are interested in writing something up, please send to grotoncommunitycupboard@gmail.com.

Craft club

Beginning Sunday, April 13, Groton Recreation will offer a craft club for interested adults who would like to gather, share and create craft projects in a social atmosphere. Bring a project you would like to work on! The club will provide a social space in the Village Community Room, 308 Main St., from 1 to 2:30 p.m. every second Sunday of the month.

Community brick garden

With spring weather just around the corner, it might be a good time to purchase bricks for the community brick garden outside the village of Groton office building. A 4-x-8-inch brick with up to three lines of text may be purchased for $100. Think graduation gift, memorial for a loved one or maybe even a unique wedding gift!

Proceeds from the sale of the bricks go directly to the Groton Fire Department. The First National Bank of Groton has offered a matching donation for the first $5,000 raised. Contact the village office at 607-898-3966 for more information.