Worth the Drive: Saxapahaw General Store

Let’s venture out for a bucolic drive. Imagine a two-lane blacktop surrounded by grazing cows and fields covered in heirloom tomatoes.

For a while it may seem like you’re in the middle of nowhere, but before growing weary of sitting, the promised land emerges. Welcome to Saxapahaw General Store, an Alamance County outpost that serves as an eclectic restaurant, grocery market and gas station. It doesn’t take long to realize that this is no ordinary gathering spot.

Right inside the front door, rows of neatly stocked shelves contain assorted dry goods, healthy snacks, fresh vegetables and eco-friendly cleaning products. If you’re seeking standard corner store fare, there’s no need to fret. You’ll find Spam and sardines right beside the canned sofrito mussels. Dill pickles next to organic bread and butter pickles. Just don’t be afraid to expand your horizons and, for instance, pick up a bag of elk jerky.

A nearby reach-in commercial refrigerator is filled with locally sourced artisan cheese.

Thirsty? Grab a Pabst Blue Ribbon or a local craft beer, a can of kombucha or a jug of Gatorade.

But if you’re like most people, the primary reason for visiting isn’t the bottled elderberry extract or the bars of goat’s milk soap. The more likely scenario: You’re here for what’s made in the kitchen.

“We feel a tremendous responsibility to put out great food,” said owner and self-taught chef Jeff Barney, a one-time butcher who in 2008, along with his wife, Cameron Ratliff, breathed new life into the erstwhile convenience store.

Within five minutes of conversing with Barney, his ethos is evident: Practice good stewardship of locally grown food, provide an inclusive and welcoming environment, and find better ways of doing business so the entire community thrives.

What started simply with a limited menu, the restaurant soon became known for churning out refined dishes like pan-seared diver scallops served atop applewood bacon succotash, red wine-braised short ribs alongside roasted garlic mashed potatoes, and duck confit salad with candied walnuts and organic apples.

People showed up in droves. Local media took notice. Then came the likes of Our State magazine, The New York Times, Garden & Gun and others. Ultimately, the store developed a clever slogan (“your local five star gas station”) and printed it on T-shirts.

Before long the tiny, distressed mill town situated on the Haw River resurrected into a thriving village with a butchery, a live music venue, a sustainable wares market and a charter school.

Briskfast is a hearty morning meal consisting of braised brisket with tomato au jus, eggs, home fries and toast.

“It’s a pretty unlikely success story,” Barney said. “Saxapahaw is a state of mind, and we have a really great culture and a loving sense of community here.”

That communal foundation was vital when the coronavirus pandemic hit last year.

“We have a history of being resilient,” Barney said while sipping a steaming cup of Carrboro Coffee Roasters java. “We opened during the Great Recession of 2008, so difficult times are part of our DNA.”

Day-to-day operations pivoted to accommodate increased takeout orders plus offering curbside service and local delivery.

A wide variety of produce, grown in Alamance County and North Carolina, is on the shelves of the Saxapahaw General Store. When local produce is not available, the owners strive to bring in organic food from small farms that support their local communities.

“We had a group of farmers who met here and were looking for ways to collaborate,” said Barney. “That group allowed us to provide a farmer’s box available for ordering online.”

The store also added a fresh fish market to provide healthy protein options for people to cook at home. A daily seafood menu includes everything from whole fish and fillets to shellfish and oysters.

The federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program also provided a much needed injection of cash.

You can also find small batch cheeses from around the world and just down the road.

“It enabled us to hold on to staff during such an extraordinarily unsure time,” Barney said. “The staff has come together and supported each other and the community in an amazing way.”

While a considerable number of the restaurant’s food orders have shifted to takeout, patio dining is available. It’s best to call ahead to see if indoor dining is feasible. Most recently, there was limited indoor seating due to physical distancing protocols.

The eatery serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.

In a signature salad, a confit duck leg quarter is served with blue cheese, organic apples or other seasonal fruit, and candied walnuts over mixed greens with balsamic vinaigrette.

Breakfast items like two- or three-egg omelets and biscuit & sausage gravy are served daily until 2 p.m. An elevated weekend brunch includes mushroom-infused shrimp and grits, hash du jour, and house specialty “Briskfast.” Barney describes the dish as “poor man’s steak and eggs,” but the fork-tender brisket is so flavorsome you’ll think you’ve discovered gastronomic gold.

“We really thought at some point we would have to narrow the menu, but culinarily we are very curious, so we’re constantly adding things,” Barney said. “The menu’s complexity is what draws people to come from longer distances.”

In 2008, Jeff Barney and his wife, Cameron Ratliff, took over the convenience store and gas station that had served the community for several years. The butcher and self-taught chef launched the restaurant with a simple menu focused on quality ingredients.

Signature burgers range from goat and lamb to bison, emu and beef, all of which are grass-fed and locally sourced. Order the Duck Jam burger with blueberry ketchup, lemon garlic aioli, Black Diamond cheddar and smoked duck bacon on a brioche bun.

Gourmet pizzas come in 12-inch and “hunk of pizza for one” sizes. Try the Saxy White suffused with mozzarella, artichokes, prosciutto and roasted tomatoes or the Schmancy, laden with pesto, red onions and bacon.

Dinner entrees include beer-braised pork carnitas, fresh crab cake served with duck fat fries, and vegetable lasagna involving bell peppers, onions, roasted squash and zucchini.

Daily specials at the Saxapahaw General Store might include the cilantro tinged Banh-Mi sandwich with coconut milk braised pork shoulder, pork liver pate and pickled vegetables.

Don’t ignore the chalkboard specials like the incomparable cilantro-tinged Banh-Mi sandwich with coconut milk braised pork shoulder, pork liver pate and pickled vegetables, or blackened scallop tacos with chipotle mayo and pepper slaw on corn tortillas.

“We serve sustainably grown whole food that’s wholesome, and thankfully people keep coming back for it,” said Barney.

And here’s some additional good news: Saxapahaw General Store is set to open a new, much closer location in downtown Raleigh’s Transfer Co. Food Hall. Construction is scheduled to begin soon.

“It will be similar to what we do now but with a bigger grocery, produce, specialty foods and beer and wine footprint,” said Barney. “We are currently in about 3,000 square feet, but the new space will be about 7,000 square feet.”

1735 Saxapahaw-Bethlehem
Church Road, Saxapahaw
(336) 376-5332 | saxgenstore.com

More From Our Mar 2021 Issue

• Rhythm and Clues
• Road Trip to Pinehurst Leads to More Than Golf
• A View of North Carolina’s Historic Lighthouses
• The Arts Shine in Downtown Sanford
• Nonprofit Spotlight: Chinese American Friendship Association
• Big Little Gardens
• Small Business Spotlight: Campbell Road Nursery
• Garden Adventurer: A Tale of Two Pretties
• Worth the Drive: Saxapahaw General Store
• Liquid Assets: Octo Pils from Vicious Fishes Brewery
• Liquid Assets: Grateful Dead from Mellow Mushroom
• Liquid Assets: 3 Day Vacay!