Page 2 - JUNE2023

Page 2
Community
NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM
June 2023
DESTINATION
Craig, and Ryan opted to take a calculated risk and to “go big.” Holly wanted to think a little more. By that evening, she had
made up her mind and informed the others that she, too, was ready to take part in what would be more than an expansion; it would be a transformation.
Going “big” meant, among other things, adding a 5,000-square-foot structure to the Newfound Country Store and adding significantly to its line of products and services. It also meant added responsibilities for Holly and Amanda. However, the mother and daughter team was used to facing transitions and new challenges.
Holly Kerouac and Amanda Thomas have roots in Nashua, NH. (Amanda continues to live there.) Holly began working as a teenager on her parents’ land- scaping business, PK’S Landscap- ing, in the 1970s. Subsequently, she took a job at Lull Farms in nearby Hollis. Although indepen- dent in spirit, she was not alone in working at Lull Farms. Amanda had been born, and the single mom would bring her daughter to be near the worksite. As time
taking any job available but, with experience, climbed the industry’s advancement ladders to become a corporate trainer for national restaurant chains. A nurturing and ambitious person, Amanda is a mother of two young women, a certified EMT, and the founder of “On The Rocks,” a “Bartending and Event Company.”
Holly bought the store in 2005. Amanda joined the staff as manager in 2019. Craig Hall and Holly made their long rela- tionship “official” with marriage in 2022. Craig’s company, Hall’s Excavation, has been an integral part of the Newfound Store’s suc- cess. With the coming of winter in 2022, it was time for these three partners to bring their summer decision to fruition. Two more decisions had to be acted upon. First, who was to build the new structure, and second, what prod- ucts and services would it hold?
As any Lakes Region resident will tell you, it’s not easy to find a contractor ready to build on short notice at less than market compensation. Fortunately, Holly heard that it might be possible to contact the country’s best “barn raisers” to build the envisioned
areas of southern New Hamp-
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shire and the Boston metropol- itan area. With the worst of the epidemic over, it was likely that the supermarkets and large retail- ers, with their wide assortment of products, might soon recapture the customers that had found the Newfound Country Store a safe and desirable shopping alterna- tive. So, how might the store’s owners meet this likely challenge?
Three alternatives were consid- ered. With the success of the pre- vious years, it was an opportune time to sell the business. There were appealing offers, and Holly had been considering retirement from a 24/7 commitment. There was a large extended family to enjoy (it includes 15 grandchil- dren), and Holly envisioned some travel as well. Another option was to hunker down and continue to run the store in its present con- figuration, somewhat of a super convenience operation with a lim- ited sideline of clothing. This pos- sibility garnered little enthusiasm from the entrepreneurially-spir- ited decision-makers. Amanda,
passed, Holly became the man- ager of Lull Farms. Later, she would take a position as Project Estimator at Audley Construction. In the years prior to buying the Newfound Country Store, Holly
Krista
partnered in business with Craig Hall in Henniker, NH. Amanda grew to adulthood, inheriting her mother’s work ethic and entrepre- neurial spirit. She entered the hos- pitality and restaurant businesses