By Julie Huss
DERRY — JP Superette will close its doors March 1, ending a 26-year run under owners Douglas and Rosalind Hartley.
The door opens almost constantly one recent winter morning as customers scurry in and out to take care of their convenience store business. For many frequenting the JP Superette on West Broadway, the tiny market long has been a regular part of the day.
As a quick stop for lottery tickets, a quart of milk or the daily newspaper, the store has been a mecca for neighborhood chit-chat and small-town business for decades. Now, with a tough economy and more and more competition, those days are coming to an end.
Plans are now in the works to convert the 1,000-square-foot market space into a small eatery, spearheaded by the Hartleys' son, Marc, a restaurant proprietor hoping to spark new life into this classic location.
The Hartleys took ownership of the JP Superette in 1976, taking over the business named for former owner Joe Picard, who had purchased the store and made it a West Broadway icon.
"We came here when the kids were small," Douglas Hartley said.
He said he and his wife believed the business would be profitable. They hoped to attract the many Derry residents driving by the store every morning on their way to work, rushing to Boston or other points south or north. The Hartleys hoped they would stop for the newspaper and a quick cup of coffee.
Those early years offered busy days, minimal time off, but a lot of family togetherness as the Hartleys hoped to make a success of their market venture.
"The first 10 years we lived here, no days off, no sick days," Rosalind Hartley said.
The hours were long, the work was hard, she said, but running the market gave the family a sense of community pride. The entire family worked the counter, she added, children and parents together making a go of a popular Derry spot.
Years passed and the market moved forward, but when the economy tanked, the Hartleys found the business world more and more difficult. Regulars still stopped by, but sales were slipping and there was more competition from bigger stores.
"We struggled the last four years to try and keep it," Douglas Hartley said. "And 2009 was definitely not the best."
Jack McGillen was one of those regulars, stopping by JP on a regular basis to purchase a lottery ticket or other items. He said he missed the store when the Hartleys decided to close on Sundays — and he really will miss it when it closes for good.
"I've been coming here a very long time, almost 30 years," McGillen said.
Employee Chad Kowalczyk has worked the JP counter for four years. He said he would miss the atmosphere and, most of all, his employers.
"They are the best bosses I've ever had," he said.
Another regular, Wayne Jacques, shared a laugh recently with Rosalind Hartley across the JP counter. He said the small market was a favorite stop as he traveled in and out of Derry. Losing one of his favorite places would be hard, he said.
The Hartleys said they would miss these day-to-day exchanges with the Superette's familiar faces — people they could count on to stop by on their way somewhere.
"We will miss our customers," Douglas Hartley said.
The process to convert the store to a restaurant is moving along. The zoning board gave them the go-ahead last week, but there are more town procedures and approvals to follow.
He said the family is taking its time to make sure things are done right. He added the new eatery may include a look that is all about Derry, from historical materials and souvenirs, right down to the decor and seat-cushion style.
"We don't want to rush into it," he said. "You've got to do it right."
