Concrete progress in return of Millthorpe’s iconic corner store

Locals in one of our beautiful historic villages will soon be able to again buy a tin of baked beans and a case of soft drink while catching up on village news, following return of its general shop.

Millthorpe’s iconic “corner store” is returning to its retail roots, just as soon as contractors have enough dry weather to start work again!

Members of a well-known Orange supermarket family are currently overseeing major renovation of the site which shut early this year, with the reopened “mini-mart” to be called, “Ashcrofts on Pym”.

“It will be more your old-school general store, we’ve got rid of the commercial kitchen, which was all leased,” Adam Ashcroft said.

Preliminary assessment of the site, however — a trading store for more than a century — found major structural work that needed addressing.

“We looked at it, and all the flooring was uneven; add-ons and tacked-on boards overlaying the old floorboards,” he explained.

“We could have gone for a band-aid solution, but we decided it would be better in the long-term to fix it right the first time. It was completely gutted and stripped back to foundations. Every time we looked at something, we found more work that needed to be done,” he explained.

This project however is no debut in the fine art of running a good supermarket for Adam who, with his brother Ben, cut his teeth in the merchandising game.

“Especially Dad, when he was establishing the business, he was really keen for us to learn the trade. It’s the real old stereotype of the ‘mum and pop’ store,” Adam said of his family’s two supermarkets in Orange.

“Soon as we could walk, we were going to get the trolleys,” he laughs.

When the Millthorpe corner store, which had become a mixed newsagent, general store, café, and takeaway milk bar, hit hard times due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, his family stepped in.

“The previous landlord contacted Dad and said that he was not renewing his lease. He said to Dad (Ian Ashcroft) ‘the village needs a general store,’ which suited us fine.

“We’ve never done hospitality, all we’ve done is supermarkets, though this one will be a lot smaller at only 260  square metres, so it’s a bit of a change,” he explained.

Adam will be running the store with oversight from his brother, Ben who runs a family supermarket at Dubbo. “My brother and I, it’s all we’ve ever done. I have the same family business sense, but I like a quieter life,” Adam explained.

Stripping back the 120-year-old building to its bare bones has uncovered many old fragments of the building’s retail history that ranged from general merchandise, men’s wear, groceries, drapery, hardware and farm produce.

Peter Amos, whose family ran the business for decades, recalls in the 1960s the store selling new-fangled television sets with he being designated aerial installer, having to clamber over the rooftops of many Millthorpe homes to ensure reception.

Adam is now waiting for enough dry weather for the large polished concrete slab to be poured with another month for curing.

He is patient though at the delays, moving upstairs with his partner and looking forward to becoming part of the thriving village community.

“We’re hoping to reopen sometime this year, we hope to lay the slab this month but, at the moment, it has all stopped.

“If we can pour the concrete slab in the next few weeks, and it can cure in the next month… three months to open, would be fantastic!” he enthused.

He said that the family is invested in the project and want to get it done right, not quickly.

“The money is adding up, I’ll say that much, but we look at it as a long-term investment. I’m coming out with ‘the missus’ and we’re moving in.

“We’re both really looking forward to becoming part of the community; we can’t wait!”