Moulton's General Store for Sale

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
10:33PM / Tuesday, June 16, 2009Print Story | Email Story

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — After seven years operating the city's only general store, Mark and Cathy Moulton are ready for something new.

Moulton's General Store in the former J.J. Newberry space at 77 Main St. has been listed with Century 21 Harold Dupee Realtors for $74,900.

"We're exploring other options," said Mark Moulton by phone on Tuesday afternoon. "We're putting it out there to see if there's any interest."

Moulton said the listing is turn key; all the inventory, equipment and furnishings are included. The building is owned by Scarafoni Realty.

The store offers a variety of gift shop and New England-style merchandise, along with homemade fudge, coffees and soup, sodas and other beverages, newspapers, and general merchandise and travelers' needs. It had been accepting electric and phone bill payments, but stopped on June 1.

Newberry's, once a national chain of small department stores and lunch counters, had been shuttered for more than a decade when Moulton's moved into the vacant space in 2002. The Moultons have recognized their predecessor by spelling out its name in large letters on an interior wall.

Moulton's wife and sister-in-law, Laurie Moulton, have been running the business since it opened.

"We know everybody in the downtown," said Laurie Moulton on Tuesday. "We have our regulars who come in at different times of the day."

While she'll miss her regulars, she, too, is ready for a change. She said she and her sister-in-law are both planning on spending more time with their children and families.

Mark Moulton said business has been good but the couple are looking at other opportunities. He said they "haven't thought that far ahead" of the possibility of closing if no buyer appeared.

"It's a great business and a great price," he said. "We think someone will want to keep it going."

Update: Joe Manning informs us that the letters spelling out J.J. Newberry's are the original ones that used to be above the storefront. Manning owns the letters and he and Moulton agreed that they looked good inside.

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Your Comments

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Sad day to hear the ladies of Moulton's are leaving the downtown. You will be missed.
from:	on: 06-17-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Sad day is right. Give them all alot of credit for what they have done for 7 years. Hope someone half a nice can take it over. It will do well with all the changes coming to North Adams. Best of luck!
from: Kim	on: 06-18-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

What a great store. let's hope it stays on Main St. Good luck to the Moultons.
from: Suzee	on: 06-23-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

HOW DID JOE MANNING GET TO BE THE OWNER OF JJ NEWBERRY LETTERS???? THEY SHOULD BE PART OF N. ADAMS HISTORY. Editor: Joe says no one wanted them. When they were being taken down he asked if he could have them so they would be kept save. As most people know, Joe is very interested in preserving North Adams' history.
from: wONDERING	on: 06-23-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

The update says Joe Manning owns the letters????How can that be. How is the owner?????
from: jj	on: 06-23-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

There is a history to the letters spelling Newberry which now belong to Joe Manning. When I found that the historic letters were no where to be found, I contacted David Carver who informed me that Joe Manning had them. I immediately contacted Mr.Manning with the hope that the sign be returned to their place of origin namely, North Adams. I also contacted the North Adams Historic Society with the hope that the sign be returned to it's rightful place. The Society was interested and upon calling Mr. Manning he said he would loan the sign to the Historic Society. That never happened, but the sign did come back to the city via Moulton's General Store. It is now my hope and that of many of the citizens of this city that Mr. Manning would be willing to return the sign via the Society or other means as many of these types of signs are considered to be historic art. We certainly do not want to loose this part of our history as the sign still remains intact. Mr. Manning claims to have a tie with this community and one of the ways to continue that sentiment is for him to return the sign to its place of origin.
from: Vin Melito	on: 06-23-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

Back some six or more years ago, when I was told by Dave Carver that the sign was about to come down, I was alarmed that it was going to be thrown away. I asked Dave if anyone had expressed interest in it, and he told me no one had. So I alerted the North Adams Historical Society. Although they were interested, they had to decline because the sign was too big to even get in the door. Realizing that the sign was about to come down, I asked Dave if I could have the letters for safe keeping until I could find a responsible interested party to take them. I didn't ask for the red sign part because there was no way to transport it or fit it in my house. Dave was very nice and instructed his workers to take down the letters carefully. I pulled in front of the building and loaded them into my car, which was a huge job, since they weigh a lot. Soon after, I learned that Mark Moulton was interested in putting a store in the building, so I asked him if he wanted to put the letters on the wall. He liked the idea. So I leased them to him for no cost. The lease is renewed every year. This arrangement has worked out very well. Both Mark and I have received plenty of compliments about it. The bottom line is that it appears that I saved the letters from getting thrown out. I think most people in North Adams know that I have been dedicated to preserving the history of the city, and that I would never take any personal or financial interest in the Newberry's letters.
from: Joe Manning	on: 07-02-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

It wont be the same store. Its too bad theres not enough support in our downtown. That combined with the economy noone can blame any of our stores for not remaining. Lori made baskets in less than an hour for me and always helps the elderly patrons etc. with any need. Its too bad. I hope they have a change of heart and remain. I'll miss the store and atmosphere alot. Very upsetting.
from: Liz	on: 07-13-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

What 'history'? JJ Newberry is considered 'history'?
from: Guy Hawkes	on: 07-18-2009 12:00AM I Agree (0) - I Disagree (0)

'Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune' Is a Sparkling Gem

By Alan PetrucelliSpecial to iBerkshires
02:39PM / Tuesday, August 18, 2026

The adult-oriented 'Frankie and Johnny' runs through Aug. 23 at Shakespeare & Company.

LENOX, Mass. — Talk about strangers in the night. There's lots of social intercourse between Frankie and Johnny. There's also lots of sexual intercourse.

There's grunting and growling and grinding and puffing and huffing and moaning and groaning as Frankie and Johnny make love to the orchestrated orgasmic overture. You could almost smell the sweat. When climaxes are reached, lights go up and Frankie wishes she had a cigarette. (One of her funniest lines.)

Welcome to "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune," now playing at Shakespeare & Company's Elayne P. Bernstein Theatre.

Terrence McNally's 1987 romantic comedy is sophisticated, sweet, sentimental and, yes, sexy. Post-coitus, Frankie wonders what she's gotten into. She and Johnny work at the same Manhattan greasy spoon. She's a waitress and failed actress with shattered dreams; he's a short-order cook and Shakespeare devotee with scarred hands.

On this Saturday night, they've crossed the line. Dinner, a movie and the move to become lovers in her one-room Hell's Kitchen walk-up. By three in the morning, Frankie is ready for Johnny to go back to his Brooklyn Heights apartment. No way. He declares he has found his soul mate. He suggests marriage and children. She expected a one-night-stand that probably wouldn't last a night. What she now wants is for Johnny to leave so she can watch TV and eat ice cream in peace.

What's love got to do with it? Everything

Stripped bare, literally and figuratively, Frankie and Johnny expose each other to their fears and frustrations. Nothing is simple or taken for granted. Frankie and Johnny hurl everything at each other; Frankie offers why they do not belong together, Johnny insists why they do. There are other times when she offers him food. She lets him stay. She gets into conversations with him. There are moments where she's genuinely interested in what he has to say. The play is a negotiation into intimacy.

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