The Real Story

Frank and Priscilla moved to Anacortes in early 1990. Having come from a large city they set out to fulfill a dream of settling into a small town, establish roots and engage in becoming a part of the community. They found their “Holy Grail” in “The Store”.

Originally built in 1900, “The Store”, then known as Brunsens was located on the main highway into town. Built as a grocery store and operating continuously to this day as a community grocery, “The Store” has grown first under Mr. & Mrs. Brunsen, who along with their family operated the business until 1939, turning over the keys to Mr. & Mrs. Jorgensen. The Jorgensens ran the business over the next 40 years in turn selling to Mr. & Mrs. Welk in 1979, who operated the business until selling to Frank & Priscilla in May of 1990.

P riscilla and Frank began their plans first by opening “The Bakery at The Store”. Beginning with just a few baked goodies, they have overseen the development of the menu to now include…Muffins (link to photo), pastries, cookies, breads and so much more (visit our “Bakery” Slideshow for a tantalizing tour of our tasty treats).

Realizing that the “Bakery” needed support form a close cousin, “The Deli at The Store” was soon begun. Today they offer breakfast items, and a full “Menu” ( link to photo and menu) of soups, salads, sandwiches and daily specials to satisfy your hunger (visit our “Deli” link to browse the Deli Menu and tease your appetite with our photo gallery).

Early on, Frank and Priscilla wished to also develop a Wine Shop, as this had always been a passion of theirs. “The Wine Shop at The Store” is driven by Frank’s palate, sampling wines from around the world and working closely with importers and distributors throughout the Northwest. “We have a boutique Wine Shop which you might say is more intimate and friendly. I feel confident in the presentation we have including wines from the Northwest, Europe, California, Australia and New Zealand. On a scheduled basis “The Wine Shop at The Store” offers wine tasting's (link to photo). Always conducted on Friday evening from 4:30 to 7:30, the taste includes a flight of 8 wines. Calling on their Deli/Bakery staff there is always a selection of fresh breads and appetizers to compliment the wines.

A bout 5 years ago Frank and Priscilla decided to open an on site Coffee Roasting Department. ( link to photo) “The Roaster at The Store” offers coffees from all over the globe…Sumatra, Africa, South America, Mexico and beyond. The coffees are roasted 1lb at a time, allowing unparalleled attention to customize the roasting. This delivers coffees roasted to the individual tastes of their coffee customers. Frank insists upon Triple Certified, Fair Trade green coffee beans.

As they near their second decade of operating “The Store”, Frank and Priscilla look forward to introducing new departments as well as fine tuning their current operation in the quest to becoming “Your Hometown Emporium to Good Taste”