BUSINESS: New owners Kaylee and Rod Wilkins don’t plan on making major changes at Hancock Market

Inside Hancock Market.

Inside Hancock Market. STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN

Jay Hitt is staying on at the meat counter at Hancock Market.

Jay Hitt is staying on at the meat counter at Hancock Market. STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN

Rod and Kaylee Wilkins and friends at the Hancock Market.

Rod and Kaylee Wilkins and friends at the Hancock Market. STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN

Rod and Kaylee Wilkins in front of the Hancock Market.

Rod and Kaylee Wilkins in front of the Hancock Market. STAFF PHOTO BY DAVID ALLEN

By DAVID ALLEN

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Published: 10-14-2024 12:01 PM

A change is afoot at Hancock Market, but this is not immediately evident by looking at the storefront on Main Street.

Kaylee and Rod Wilkins, the new owners of the store, are intent on preserving all that has made the establishment an institution in the town while bringing their own touches to the establishment.

“We knew we wanted to be in a small town,” Kaylee Wilkins said on a bench outside the store.

The couple and their 12year-old son relocated from Wyoming earlier this year when Rod Wilkins, an Air Force recruiter, was transferred to the service’s recruiting office in Bedford. 

“When we looked here for a house, local people were just so welcoming,” Kaylee said. “We walked into the market, loved it, and learned in May that it was for sale.” 

Kaylee’s retail experience includes owning a flower shop in Cheyenne, and her bookkeeping experience for a nonprofit should also be useful in this new venture. A water bowl for passing dogs reflects her background at an animal shelter, as well.

“We’re not going to change much about the store,” Kaylee said. “We’d like to open the floor plan up a bit.”

Changes that are planned for the store include a penny candy counter and a floral shop.

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“Huckleberry candy – a Rocky Mountain thing – and chokecherry, which comes from our Midwestern roots, are also in our plans to offer,” Kaylee said.

The business began as a general store in 1879. The lighting from filament bulbs and variety of goods on the aisle shelves help to perpetuate this vibe. Corn stalks frame the steps outside, and a table near the sidewalk is surrounded by gourds and pumpkins from the Tenney Farm in Antrim.

“My plan is to craft a new table for out here in the shape of the state,” Rod said. “I want to have it out here by spring.”

Rod’s Air Force duties will still allow him to be part of the operation on weekends.

 “If anyone wants to drop by to talk Red Sox or Bruins, I’m here,” he said 

One offering the Wilkinses will not tinker with is their meats, as the market is known for the quality of its meat.

“People come here specifically for the meat," Kaylee said. “We don’t want to change that.”

Pineland beef is a particular favorite at the back of the market, she said. It is provided by farmers who use no antibiotics or growth hormones in their animals. Jay Hitt was behind the meat counter with the previous owners and was invited to stay on by the Wilkinses.

Kaylee is very conscious of the commitment required for this undertaking. In addition to being at the store for 50 to 60 hours a week, there are usually 10 to 15 hours of other tasks related to the business that are tackled at home, she said.

Previous owner Rebecca MacNeely echoed Kaylee’s sense of the effort involved in the operation.

“It’s a very, very full-time commitment. Twenty-four seven,” she said.

Discussing her years running the market, MacNeely expressed satisfaction at increasing sales and making it “a truly country grocery.”

“I’m delighted to find a couple with such energy and vision,” she said of the Wilkinses. “We couldn’t be happier.”

The Wilkinses are here for the long term, Kaylee said.

“We’re first-generation business owners, and would like to pass this onto our kids. Our son is super excited about this,” she said.