The Trask Block (photo courtesy of Rochester Historical Society) 
A walk through time…
The building the Cafe & Country Store now occupy was built in the mid 1800s. John Hemenway Trask and Artemas Cushman owned and operated this site known at the time as The Trask Block. Trask’s Store was noted for the wide variety of stock, from yard goods to clothing, from hardware to groceries and much more.
Other enterprises in the building through the years include a room for carding wool, a drug store, ice cream parlor, granary, bank, Town Library, dentist office, beauty parlor, pool room, barber shop, funeral parlor, apartments, video shop and The Cafe.
After the Great Depression this landmark began building it’s reputation as a great gathering place for Rochester residents and visitors.
Around 1930 Veron Lyon opened Lyon’s Pharmacy in the space that now holds the Country Store. 30 years later, Veron Lyon invested in a soda fountain from Liquid Carbonic Company for about three thousand dollars. Soon the pharmacy became known as Lyon’s Drugstore and hosted many locals and visitors, including Robert Frost, who would stop by the soda fountain to cool off on hot days.
During the 1970’s, Esther Hunt continued the soda fountain tradition while owning and operating the space under the name Hunt’s Variety Store. The building that is now our cafe kitchen and dinning area was renovated around 1983 by a pair of locals who went on to run the Cafe for three years.
The Cafe was owned and operated by Domas family for nearly 30 years. The Domas’ are responsible for the delicious menu items we still serve today, the extensive Country Store products and for keeping the history alive on Route 100.
While visiting the the Cafe & Country Store today, you can witness the history of our building while making new memories of your own.