Owners Adam and Lyn Horowitz relax on the bench in front of the thermal-paned windows lining the front of the newly renovated General Store. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Adam Horowitz stands in the middle of a gleaming wood floor, while butter-colored beadboard walls reflect the light streaming through six-foot-high windows. With a wave of his hand, he conjures a world of treats, necessities, and local comestibles. The General Store, which Horowitz owns with his wife Lyn Hammershaimb Horowitz, is on the comeback trail. The grand opening may come as soon as April.

Plans for a 2007 opening were scotched by quirks in the building’s lot lines, which prevented the building inspector from issuing the permits needed to bring the store up to code. (Slices of the store fell on town land.) With approval from last October’s Special Town Meeting, the problems were dispatched. Soon, said builder J.P. Stamm, who is renovating the building with Kim Anderson, improvements to the front and side entrances can begin.

The Horowitzes bought the store in April 2007 from Joyce Garrick of Slough Road, who had owned it since 1978 with her husband Will. The Garricks operated the first floor as a pharmacy and general store, and the second floor as a camera shop. Will Garrick, a pharmacist and camera buff, died in 1999. Joyce closed the pharmacy in 2001 and the store in 2006.

“I hope the town supports what they do,” said Garrick, referring to the new owners.

The General Store will house a new central counter from which hot beverages, candy, milk, cheese, and other food products will be sold. (Courtesy drawing)  CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

On opening day, the store will offer all that is allowed by state health and building regulations, given the store’s septic capacity. A granite-top island in the center of the store will hold custom-brewed coffee drinks, hot chocolate, tea, and pastries—some baked locally, Horowitz hopes. Space formerly occupied by the pharmacy will feature a small kitchen window from which hot dogs and popcorn will be served. Jars of candy and trail mix will occupy a nearby wall, where gravity-fed containers will let kids choose treats such as jelly-bellies, M&M’s, gummies, and trail mix. Pre-packaged bags of the goodies will also be for sale.

“We think of this as our kids’ corner,” said Horowitz, pointing to the hot dog counter and candy wall, “but we’re not a convenience store model.”

Completing the picture, for now at least, are cold bottled beverages and other refrigerated and frozen goods, breads, dairy products, dry goods, magazines, and locally produced items such as honey and jam. The Horowitzes are searching for more Harvard-based goods, though health regulations now prevent the sale of fresh fruit and vegetables. They are especially keen to find a suitable source for eggs, baked goods, and preserves. Their website www.harvardgeneralstore.com appeals for suggestions from townsfolk.

Finding the right food has been an adventure, the couple says. The quest for a perfect hot dog was narrowed to two independent suppliers, but only after extensive taste-testing by the Horowitzes’ son and his friends. The search for milk sent the owners to various dairies; last week, they visited the 100-year-old Shaw dairy in Dracut, which has recently introduced organic milk. Glass bottles are the ideal, says Adam Horowitz, but logistics and quality will decide the matter.

Plans for deli sandwiches, scooped ice cream, and a place to sit—including a deck on the present loading dock—must wait for a town center sewer district.

“If the town approves a district, we will pay our way,” said Horowitz.

In the absence of a sewer, even advanced septic systems are insufficient to support service of sandwiches, limited seating, or second-floor activity. Horowitz says he has investigated advanced septic technology, but it falls short. Asked about his investment to date, Horowitz declined to name a figure.

“It’s a bottomless pit, but we knew it [would be]” he said. “We invest with good will.”

The General Store, as reflected in a puddle from this week’s drenching rain, is slated to re-open this spring. (Photo by Sue Fitterman)

At press time, Selectman Tim Clark could not guarantee that his board could sort out a sewer proposal in time for Town Meeting. Clark said he is committed to solving the septic problems that have plagued town center buildings, including private homes, for decades.

In the meantime, Adam and Lyn Horowitz hold to their vision, showing visitors a second-floor gallery that seems out of SoHo. Their hopes for the space lean toward a boutique featuring antiques, decorative objects, art, and books. With a degree in art history and experience in icon restoration in Moscow and Athens, Lyn Horowitz has a discerning eye, well-suited, her husband says, to populating the sun-drenched venue with a unique inventory.

For her part, Lyn Horowitz says that after living in various cities in Europe, South Africa, and the United States, she’s inclined to stay awhile in Harvard. Her attachment started with her great aunt Eleanor Cottle, who hosted summertime visits for Lyn’s family at the Cottle home at the corner of Woodchuck Hill and Slough roads. Later, Lyn’s mother, Evelyn Hammershaimb, also lived in Harvard. Not surprisingly, one of Lyn’s favorite family photos shows Mrs. Cottle, in about 1910, in front of the General Store.