In the outer reaches of the Catskills, where proper grocery stores are few and far between, a well-provisioned general store can be a mealtime lifeline. In recent years, a crop of contemporary general stores—stocked with all the basics from dried pasta to jam to eggs, as well as fancier sundries—has been filling a much-needed culinary in-between space for rural communities. The latest in these is First Bloom, a new market opened last month by cookbook author Alison Roman in the Delaware County hamlet of Bloomville.
“There isn’t much in the way of grocery stores or places to buy ingredients between Delhi and Stanford, which is a solid 30-minute stretch of highway. So I thought that for the people who live in the area, if they don’t want to go all the way to one of the bigger towns, this could be a really cool solution,” says Roman, who purchased the building at the intersection of Route 10 and River Street, which previously housed the beloved farm-to-table pizzeria Table on Ten, three years ago.
Together with interior design firm Home Studios and store manager Dylan Hartung, Roman has transformed the ground floor of the building into a cheery little market with red walls, open shelving, and vintage decor and an approach to sourcing that reflects the practical culinary ethos threaded throughout her own recipes.
“One thing we started off knowing was that we wanted a high and a low for each item we carried,” says Hartung, who previously helped manage the market side of Kitty’s in Hudson. Domino sugar, De Cecco pasta, and Cento canned tomatoes share equal billing with Spanish sardines with tomato, lemon, and chili; local produce from the 607 CSA; and locally roasted coffee from Rock Royal Farm in Walton, which is available by the pound as well as offered both hot and iced in-store.
There are currently three brands of dried beans—from Weaver Family Farm in Cairo, Buttermilk Bean in Ithaca, and cult-favorite Napa County supplier Rancho Gordo—as well as canned options for anyone who isn’t into soaking beans overnight and simmering them for half a day. Bottles of Taiwanese soy sauce, Spanish sherry vinegar, and Carnaroli rice are sure to give enthusiast home cooks a little thrill. “It’s trying to meet people where they’re at and creating the lowest barrier to entry for anyone who wants to cook,” says Roman. “But we also want to give people a reason to come in if they’re one step ahead and have all the beans in the world.”
Carried over from Hartung’s time at Kitty’s natural wine shop Grapefruit are hand-drawn labels that provide notes and inspiration for how to use some of the store’s items. There are labels that explain how to coax the heirloom beans to their fullest potential, and one exclaiming “It’s Soup Season!” sits next to jars of Better than Bouillon. “A lot of people don’t realize the full potential of it,” says Hartung.
Later this fall, First Bloom is planning to add beer and cider, as well as a chest freezer stocked with locally sourced meat. On the distant horizon are pop-up culinary events. “We want to eventually move into having little community nights later in the fall and winter, to give people space to sit and chat and have a cup of coffee or a glass of something and share stories,” says Hartung. “There is so much potential here.”
First Bloom is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9am to 5pm.
