Batesville
Albemarle County, Virginia
Down Greenfield Road and just over the county line The Batesville Store has been operating for decades. Apparently some bad news hit the most recent owners within the past few days. The following message was posted on their website:

Dear Friends of The Batesville Store,

I have some sad news:

The Batesville Store is closed until further notice.

Earlier today two representatives from the state of Virginia showed up at the store without warning, informed us that we were not in compliance with certain state regulations, and gave us basically no choice except to close immediately.

This came as a complete shock to Liza and me. We believed that we had been operating in compliance with all state regulations since we opened in April of 2007, and we received no indication otherwise from anyone representing the state.

In fact, we have been inspected regularly by Warren Ollinger, the representative from the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services who is responsible for inspecting the store, and he has always given us favorable reports on our operation. He never suggested in any way that we would encounter what happened today. The two representatives who showed up this afternoon told us that Mr. Ollinger initiated the complaint and the subsequent review that led to the decision to close us down.

Liza and I intend to explore this matter further. I will let you know by email about any important developments.

We cannot find words to thank you properly for your support for our humble establishment. So I hope a simple “thank you” will suffice for now.

Fondly,

Cid

Then on Saturday (6.11.11) the following constant contact notice was sent out:

MORE DETAILS ON THE CLOSING OF

THE BATESVILLE STORE

AND

HUGE BLOWOUT SALE BEGINS

SUNDAY, JUNE 12

NOON – 7:00 P.M.

Dear Fans of The Batesville Store,

As you know from yesterday’s email, the state has given us no option except to close The Batesville Store.

For the past five years, we’ve attempted to serve the community by keeping this classic, historic country store alive and thriving.Ironically, our success has proven to be our undoing.

Although we have always operated with an eye toward Virginia State Health Department guidelines (and have never been cited for a health code violation of any kind), we were in fact defined by the state as a country store and thus fell under the governance of the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. We were regularly inspected by the Ag Department and were never informed of any significant problems with our operations.

However, the state representatives who suddenly appeared yesterday afternoon and shut us down without warning told us that it was decided (note the passive voice, please) that we do too much business to remain a country store. They went on to say that our only option for remaining open was to convert the store into a restaurant that would comply with all Virginia Health Department regulations.

Our kitchen is basically in compliance with Health Department regulations now. But the legalities of the store’s historic status as well as the limitations of the building itself make it impossible for us to meet the state’s other requirements for operating a restaurant.

We would have to make a host of changes in the facility to stay open legally, but because of a combination of the law and practical realities, we cannot make those changes.

So much to our regret, we are closing The Batesville Store . . .

AND SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR WONDERFUL SUPPORTERS WITH A HUGE BLOWOUT SALE – TAKEAWAY ONLY (NO TABLE SERVICE)

The sale begins tomorrow–Sunday. We will open at noon and close at 7:00 p.m.

EVERYTHING EXCEPT BEER AND WINE IS 50% OFF THE STICKER PRICE

BEER AND WINE . . . BUY ONE, GET ONE OF EQUAL VALUE FOR 50% OFF

When we say “everything,” we mean EVERYTHING.

Everything from the deli and bakery. All of our drinks. All of our groceries. All of our baking and cooking supplies. All of our serving dishes and plastic products and cooking equipment. All of our tables and chairs. All of our baskets. All of our t-shirts and caps.

WE WILL ALSO BE OPEN MONDAY AND TUESDAY NEXT WEEK (OR UNTIL EVERYTHING GOES) FROM NOON UNTIL 7:00 P.M.

THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO GET
BATESVILLE STORE FOOD OR
A MOMENTO OF WHAT WAS GENERALLY REGARDED AS THE FINEST COMMERCIAL ESTABLISHMENT IN ALL OF BATESVILLE

Thank you once again for your ridiculously wonderful support since we opened in 2007.

Fondly,

Cid and Liza

We love the folks at The Batesville Store and wish them well. The community won’t be the same without them in business. 🙁