New Plans Emerge For Vacant Wrightstown Country Store

WRIGHTSTOWN, PA — New plans have emerged for the former Wrightstown Country Store, which has sat vacant since January 2020 at corner of Route 413 and Penns Park Road.

Appearing before the Wrightstown Township Board of Supervisors, Tom Coates, who owns Transcend Fitness Club at 591 Durham Road, outlined plans to breathe new life into the property.

Previous efforts to acquire the store and close on the property have not materialized, including one that would have reopened the store in 2022 as a country store.

Coates said he has an agreement of sale with the current owner to purchase the property and renovate the buildings, which includes the main building with two commercial units and an apartment unit and a separate house and garage behind the main building.

"The idea is to bring a nice premium product to that corner of the township," said Coates. "As it sits right now it's unsightly. There's broken glass in the parking lot. I'd like to see it as a promotion for the township."

Coates is proposing to reconstruct the main building, which has been striped down to its studs by a previous owner. He would also retain the existing footprint and upgrade the structures to make them fully code compliant.

"We have all frequented the Country Store at some point or another," Coates told the supervisors. "It was a fond staple in the community for years. That property has stood the test of time and is unique to the community. We have struggled to drive past it and not seeing anything materialize," he said, explaining his motivation for getting involved.

"I understand there have been some attempts to purchase it or renovate it with little success," he told the supervisors. "We feel with our involvement in the community and with your partnership we can get the property back up and renovated so it can continue standing the test of time and bring in unique, township supporting businesses like there once was."

Coates said he's not looking to reinvent the wheel. "We'd be looking to assume any existing variances on the property," he said.

Coates said he doesn't have any specific use in mind at the moment for the two commercial spaces "other than maybe it would be low impact or low volume independent professional service," he said. "The intent here is to provide a premium product and make it the best possible rental opportunity."

Supervisor Jane Magne asked, “I gather from what you are saying you don’t foresee another country store in there or deli.”

"I don't have anyone teed up for it. If someone wanted to come in and recreate a country store I think that would be great. It’s a conversation we could have," said Coates. "But I don’t have any plans to put a deli in there myself.”

Known for its breakfast sandwiches and cheap coffee, the popular stop off at the corner of Penns Park Road and Route 413 in Wrightstown closed in January 2020 after decades in business.