Last winter, a burst pipe caused specialty grocery store Little Grocer to temporarily close down. Local couple and business partners Harry Benson and Sara Sharpe have now reopened, with fresh ideas and new partnerships.
Andes drew the couple away from Brooklyn in 2024. Settled in Andes, the couple opened the vintage furniture store Estro on Main Street. However, the inconvenience of having to drive to another town for that key ingredient of a recipe soon became apparent.
Andes had rural charm, but it was missing a place where you could get high-quality, speciality products. The couple decided to step up for their new home. Estro soon had a younger sibling in the form of Little Grocer in August of 2025.
“There’s never really been a great place [in town] to get speciality groceries,” says Benson, “We know our product selection is not an everyday purchase, but they’re something special to add excitement to your weekend.”
Little Grocer sells imported products, such as Vegemite, London Borough of Jam, and Masseria Mirogallo Antipasti Spreads. Benson, from the UK, and Sharpe, from Australia, are excited about bringing their disparate homes together.
They balance between imported goods and local produce sourced from businesses in Andes, such as bagels from Grizzly Bagels in Roscoe, bread from Leavened in Gilboa, and pastries from Potters Table in Catskill. “I think it’s important as a business to have a distinctive model to succeed,” says Sharpe, “so we’re just taking a different lens. Having fun, high-quality products means there’s going to be a mix of things that are local and that come from afar.”
Their reopening on Memorial Day weekend embraced changes while trying to maintain what made Little Grocer special. Previously located in a small storefront in Andes Garage, a 6,000-square-foot building from the 1920s, the store is now located within the building, inside Estro. The store is larger, at 2,500-square-feet, and can offer a greater product selection. A partnership with Rae’s, the Margaretville restaurant with a rotating menu, provides customers with sandwiches, such as soppressata, jam and cheese, and coronation chicken, on the weekends.
“We’ve set up a cafe where you can grab espresso and sandwiches, all integrated into Estro,” says Benson, “Now there’s a big space where people can wander around both stores, making it more social.”
The consolidation additionally allowed the couple to diversify their product line. “We select and import furniture from Europe for Estro,” says Sharpe. “The product selection of Little Grocer is now more in line with that. You can have Italian wafers with your Italian furniture.”
Another addition to the store is the partnership with Rae’s. Benson and Sharpe are good friends with the owners of Rae’s, James Bailey and Alexandra Rosenberg. “We’ve been going to the restaurant pretty much since they opened,” says Benson. They were the natural first choice when Little Grocer was looking for a partner for prepared food. “It’s been exciting to have them put the ribbon around everything,” says Sharpe.
Little Grocer is also working with a baker from Brooklyn to make pastries, cakes, and other sweet treats for the store. “We’ve got a deli down the road, but you can’t find a baguette sandwich. You can’t find a delicious layered rhubarb chocolate cake,” says Sharpe. “So, it’s things like that that create fun and joy in visiting us.”
They have more plans they are hoping to put into motion for Little Grocer 2.0. They are hoping to partner with more local businesses and host pop-ups experiences in the storefront, encouraging local vendors to sell their goods there once a month. They also hope to have sit-down dinners in their bigger space.
“We definitely have the room to expand and do more stuff than before,” Benson says. “It feels like this is just the beginning of something exciting for Little Grocer.”
