We said that if we were to be here full-time, this is what we’d want to have available”

Eric Komoroff

Our country home

Shopping locally saves rural agriculture

Finally, something good has come out of the COVID pandemic. It brought Eric and Sharone Komoroff to Barryville, which through a series of events, led them to create Barryville General. And we’re all richer for it.

Located where Okers and the River Market previously existed, on Route 97 near the intersection with Route 55, the building has been whitewashed inside and out. It seems to represent a fresh start for this new business.

Eric Komoroff explained that his business plan has three lanes. The first is to provide a grocery market/general store offering a variety of products, locally sourced when possible, and carefully curated with healthy offerings in mind. The second is to offer a café/deli, with a menu of soups and sandwiches that will change daily; the menu will be created using high-quality ingredients. The third is to provide a place where people can meet and hang out, standing in for a “Main Street” that is lacking in the Barryville area.

“We said that if we were to be here full-time, this is what we’d want to have available,” he said.

The Komoroffs have returned to their New York City home and live in the Barryville area part-time as they tend to other businesses they have established in the city.

They can do this, Eric Komoroff said, because, through a series of events and meet-ups with friends of friends, they met Shane Pearson, a local businessman and chef who started in the food-service business at age 11. Eric Komoroff said the couple considers themselves “lucky and blessed” to have forged this relationship with Pearson.

Because of his roots in the area, Pearson has been invaluable in assembling an excellent team of service providers ranging from tradesmen to food professionals, Komoroff said. As a result, the start-up was completed ahead of schedule, and since the doors opened less than two months ago, the business has been even better than anticipated.

Other members of this winning and winsome team include a diverse group of workers, older and younger (including current and past Eldred students), “locals” and newcomers.

Indeed, upon entering the premises, one encounters both the rich aroma of the Barryville General’s brewed coffee, from its own blend of freshly ground beans, and a palpable sense of energy, even beyond the euphoria that a good cup of coffee can elicit. Breakfast fare includes egg sandwiches with or without various meats. Other menu offerings include an array of vegan and more traditional fare.

Barryville General is open seven days a week, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends, with an early close on Wednesdays.

Barryville General is located at 3385 State Route 97 in Barryville. Do yourself a favor and stop by.