Everyone is family at Minor's as Fairfax store takes off
Everything from sandwiches to gas to sports gear offered 
St. Albans Messenger Photo Scanned From The Newspaper Taken By Leon Thompson
Appeared in the March 29, 2013 Edition Of The St. Albans Messenger
FAIRFAX - It is hard to find a Minor from Fairfax that has not worked at Minor's Country Store. "The store is the identity of the family," said Jeff Minor, store owner, while seated with his nephew Aaron, store manager, in their office on Route 104. "But we're definitely modest about it."
Jeff's parents, Lee and Louise - who now split their time between Fairfax and Florida - bought the store in 1977 from a New Jersey couple that owned it for nine months.
Since then, many a Minor aunt, uncle and cousin have helped staff the store, including all three of Jeff's siblings and his grandmother, Stephanette Potvin - well, at least until she was 90. (She's almost 99 now.)
When Jeff started working at Minor's at age 17, it was a 60'x20' box on 3 acres of land. The size of the property stayed the same, but Minor's Country Store grew to offer: a small-scale grocery; a full wine, beer and microbrew selection; outdoor winter and sports gear (including hunting and fishing items); gas; and seasonal items, such as
pumpkins in the fall and Christmas trees in December. Minor's Country Store is also a state liquor agent.
Minor's full-service deli menu lists takeout meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but the most popular might be the made- from-scratch pizza. The deli doubles as a social hub, especially between the hours of 6 and 7:30 a.m., when 15 to 20 diverse regulars - from farmers and artists to IBM-ers and lawyers - all gather for pre-workday coffee talk.
"They're our irregular regulars," Jeff joked.
The store runs on about 20 employees, depending on the season, who range from high school and college students to Minor's Country Store veterans Kim Heyer (30-plus years) and Lori Sanders (20-plus years).
Our staff is our family, too," Aaron said.
The Minors are tight. For the past decade, their refuge from the store has been their summer camp on Lake Champlain. "That's where we take time to breathe," Jeff said.
Aaron has a bachelor's degree in business with a concentration in marketing. The family plans call for him and his wife, Lisa, to succeed Jeff as owners of Minor's Country Store - and Jeff will be around to help.
"I have to have something to do," Jeff joked. 'And there's way too much to do in here to not do something."
