General Store manager Adam Horowitz says it’s an offer he can’t refuse that will take him away from the General Store in the next week, and it was the serendipitous availability of Doug Coots and Amy Bernhardt that made it possible for him to accept that offer.

Starting next week, Horowitz will divide his time between New York and Harvard for three weeks, before setting a course for London to head up the client coverage group for the Europe-Middle East-Africa region for his former employer, Bank of America.

As Horowitz steps out, Coots and Bernhardt will take over management of the store, aided initially by store owner Lyn Horowitz, who says she will ultimately step back and let the pair “be as creative as they want” off the platform she and her husband have built.

In an interview this week, Adam told the Press, “This is a very good move for the General Store. Doug and Amy are better at doing this work than I am. The General gets a whole new injection of energy, creativity, and retail experience.”

Coots and Bernhardt, seven-year residents of Harvard who live on the Common, bring to the table experience that Adam and Lyn consider a perfect fit for the General Store. Bernhardt, who will handle most of the day-to-day store management, has a background in marketing, and also experience in retail and food service. In addition, she has an artistic flair, which she expresses in the hand-bound books she makes, some of which she offered for sale at the General during last fall’s holiday gift fair.

Coots, whose career in architecture spans more than 23 years, owns an architectural practice and is LEED certified, which qualifies him as an architect specializing in sustainable “green” building and development practices. He is a member of the Municipal Buildings Task force, and also serves on the Historical Commission with Lyn. Coots told the Press this week that his role in the transition to the General will be more “behind the scenes”—looking out for ways to repair and improve the building and acting as a support to Bernhardt. He says he expects to be focusing much of his attention this year on his role on the Municipal Buildings Task Force, designing potential renovations to Town Hall.

Coots and Bernhardt are no strangers to the General Store. The Horowitzes hired Coots to work on design concepts for the store before it opened and on designs for their home. (It was Coots’ designs that were depicted on an early version of the store’s website.) Bernhardt says she and Coots are in the store “a lot.” She told the Press this week, “We’ve consulted with Adam and Lyn on changes in the store, and even products for the store.”

For Bernhardt, taking on the management role at the store is like a dream come true. Up until February, she said, she was making “a mammoth commute” into Boston and kept trying to think of ways she could work closer to home. She says she often joked with Adam, “You should hire me!” Her response when the offer came three weeks ago was, “This is fabulous!” She added, “I was honored, but it felt right.”

Coots said that as exciting as the opportunity is, it is bittersweet with the departure of Adam. “That’s a huge loss,” he said.

Bernhardt added, “We’re very much in love with the store. We don’t have charming accents, but we’ll try to fill the big shoes.”

Obviously energized by the prospect of taking on the General, Bernhardt said, “We want to build on what’s there. We do have ideas.” The first thing they want to do, she said, is to “understand who shops here, what kind of shoppers they are. [The store] has become a hub of the Harvard community, but ultimately we’d like to draw people from far away and have it become a destination.” She went on to describe a vision that includes the possibility of creating gift baskets and delivering foods for parties, such as cheeses, breads, and ultimately wines and beers. And, she said, they want to find ways to do more recycling.

Coots said he has no concerns about the financial sustainability of the store. “All projections seem solid,” he said, “very optimistic. They [Adam and Lyn] were wise and forward-thinking in setting up the store.”

Coots and Bernhardt expressed an understanding of the Horowitzes’ management style that has imbued the General Store with a real personality. “They’re open to letting the store take its rightful place in the community,” said Coots. “It has become a meeting place. Every day small groups of people gather in a corner by the window, or sit in the art gallery to talk.”

Bernhardt added, “They allow the personalities of the staff to have a lot of space. They look for the strengths of staff members. They [the staff] make it a special place.”

The couple says they hope the community is receptive to new faces. “We’re not here to replace Adam and Lyn,” Coots said. “We’re going to be ourselves.”

Adam says he and Lyn have no worries about turning the reins over to the couple. “To us they represent the Harvard community—they have our vision for what the store is. It’s not just a business entity—it’s part of a caring community.”

The change is also bittersweet for Adam. As excited as he is about his new job opportunity and the new energy he sees coming into the General Store, he says, “I’m sad about leaving what we’re doing here, sad about leaving the staff, and very sad about being away from Lyn.”

Adam said he and Lyn have given themselves three months to decide if this is absolutely the right move, before making any further decisions about their future. He expects to make frequent trips back to Harvard, which won’t be an issue for him. “It’s faster to London than to California,” he said. Meanwhile, Lyn will stay behind with Jake, the canine face familiar to those who frequent the store.

As for Coots and Bernhardt, Coots said, “We know we have a learning curve ahead of us. The staff is eager to help and get us up to speed.”