Brookton’s Market still the ‘heart’ of Brooktondale

 

At the corner of Valley and Brooktondale roads in the sleepy hamlet of Brooktondale, a building has stood for nearly 200 years. Across the street, Six Mile Creek flows on its way to downtown Ithaca.

In that building is a convenience store that has been known by multiple names. From Mulk’s to the TNT Market, the building at 491 Brooktondale Road has generations of history.

Since 2007, that famous piece of real estate in Brooktondale has been occupied by Brookton’s Market. At that time, the goal was to update the space and create a convenience store that had more seating and different products than the previous TNT Market had.

Now, Brookton’s Market is a shared community space that doubles as a convenience store. It features a deli, coffee, 24 beers on tap, local artists’ works on the wall for sale, merchandise, live music, trivia nights and food that is locally grown.

Beyond the products Brookton’s Market offers, it has come to mean more to a small, tight-knit community. 

“It is the heart of the community,” Brookton’s Market majority owner Marie Cope said.

At the heart of the heart is manager Carol Ambrose, according to Cope. Ambrose has worked at Brookton’s Market since 2016 and took over as manager in 2019.

“The heart of the market is Carol; she keeps it going,” Cope said. “She has so much love for the community. We wouldn’t have made it through COVID without Carol. She’s amazing.”

Ambrose, who grew up in North Carolina, moved to upstate New York in 1971 and has found a home in Brooktondale.

When Cope took over ownership of the business in 2016, Ambrose was selling blueberries from her farm at the market. She saw an advertisement for part-time work, applied and soon realized that a place as special as Brookton’s Market wasn’t a place she could invest only part of her energy in.

“I got so involved in everybody’s lives because that’s what I do, I got attached,” Ambrose said, laughing. “Even if I have a day off, I’m still here. It’s a place I love, and I want to see it succeed and see people happy here.”

Ambrose recently turned 73 years old, and she doesn’t see retirement as an option. The store employs six or seven people, depending on the season, but she also sees all of the recurring customers as her family.

“I feel like everybody here is my family,” she said. “I feel like I’m your mother, or your grandmother, your aunt or whatever. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

When Cope moved to Brooktondale from Ann Arbor, Michigan, she also felt that sense of community at Brookton’s Market. 

Her husband, Josh Cope, grew up in Brooktondale, and when the couple moved back to his hometown Marie had one requirement: she had to be able to walk to a coffee shop. That coffee shop ended up being Brookton’s Market.

In 2016 Josh, who is involved in local real estate, bought the building and Marie took over the business. In addition to the store, the building also has apartments above the store.

Marie is a research support specialist for Cornell University. Her background is in public health and social work.

She saw an opportunity to help improve access to quality food in Brooktondale and Caroline. Caroline does not have a chain grocery store in the town.

“My passion is food access, so I want the market here so people can have access to food and they don’t have to get on the bus or drive to Ithaca. They can get stuff locally here, in Brooktondale,” she said. “Even if it’s not profitable, like during COVID, we’re always going to keep it going, because it’s the heart of the community.”

Eggs and milk at the store come from local farms. As much as they can, Brookton’s Market staff tries to provide all local and upstate New York products.

“Sometimes people complain about not having all the milk you see in the grocery stores, but we want to be local,” Marie said. “Our priorities are local farms and local businesses owners, and we do have other options, but it’s not our priority.” 

Brookton’s Market received $10,000 from the County Legislature’s Community Recovery Grant fund for improvements at the end of last year.

Marie has a co-owner, Caleb Scott. Scott is a founder of Copper Horse Coffee, which is sold at Brookton’s Market. He also owns Scott Land and Yard Services in Slaterville Springs.

Marie said that because both owners have income from full-time jobs, they are able to invest what Brookton’s Market makes back into the business, making sure improvements can be made and employees receive appropriate raises.

When Marie took over the business in 2016, the store put out a community survey asking residents what they wanted Brookton’s Market to provide.

“I used to work at a coffee shop, so I really wanted an espresso machine. We lived three doors down from the market at the time, and I thought that might be a need,” she said. “We did a survey about what people wanted, and beer was the number one choice by far.”

In 2017 Brookton’s Market put in taps and added a small bar. The beers featured are from Ithaca Beer, Grist Iron, Garrett’s, Three Heads, Utica Brewing and Lucky Hare. All of the beers on tap are made in New York.

The business flourished once the beer taps were open, but tragedy struck the store in 2019.

Manager Robbie Bickford died in January 2019 at 33 years old. His death shook the community and the Brookton’s Market family. The family rebounded in the best way it thought possible: by starting a fund at the store to raise money to help local children afford the dues of the Caroline Elementary School Ski Club.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic started to affect the store’s bottom line. It opened when allowed and followed guidelines, but the financial impact was felt.

Even as restrictions were lifted, Ambrose noticed two years ago that local people would come into the store and not be able to afford basic grocery items because of the financial pressure the pandemic had created. 

She saw an opportunity for the store that is regarded as the heart of the community to help that community by creating the Pay it Forward fund.

Customers and community members can donate to the fund to help people who are struggling pay for basic grocery items. What started as $50-$100 has turned into $1,000.

The fund can’t be used to buy beer, only food items. 

The kindness and generosity of the community is what keeps Ambrose coming back. She has met many people in her life, but she said the people at Brookton’s Market have a special place in her heart.

“My feeling is when you try to make someone feel good or you try to help them a little bit,” she said. “Eventually it’ll come around.”