Medina County general store marks 170 years and recreates Kmart's famous subs

The Chatham General store has been a place to buy a soda and a can of beans for some 170 years.

Situated at the crossroads of state routes 83 and 162, the fixture in central Medina County is a place for conversation.

And lately the conversation has strayed from the usual politics and the weather.

It has centered around, of all things, Kmart.

The recent demolition of the nation's first Super Kmart in nearby Medina has rekindled a lot of memories even in a place that is so full of memories, particularly for shopkeeper Beverly Scandlon, who along with her husband, Bill, purchased the general store in 2020. They run the place with their children Benjamin and Sara.

The final chapter of the Kmart in Medina to make way for a slick, new Meijer's brought back memories for Beverly.

One of her earliest jobs as a teenager was at the Super Kmart.

Although she worked at the jewelry counter, Beverly said, one of her favorite memories of her time at Kmart was the the deli counter where they made the store's famous subs.

She spent many a break at the store noshing on a Kmart sub.

So it only made sense to attempt to recreate the culinary memory for generations of fans at the general store, which offers a variety of subs and even ice cream to hungry residents, travelers and even construction crews who stop by for lunch or a snack.

Recreating the Kmart sub

Beverly said she began researching online and anecdotally for the recipe to recreate the unique taste.

With the original recipe in hand, she began tinkering with the ingredients to get the taste just right.

And interestingly, she found that the secret ingredient was something that wasn't really an ingredient at all.

The Chatham General Store's Kmart sub consists of three slices of all-beef baloney, four slices of Genoa salami, three slices of Black Forest ham, two slices of Land O Lakes American cheese, shredded lettuce, thin slices of tomato, thin slices of red onion, thin deli pickle slices, banana pepper rings and mustard and Beanos Original Submarine Dressing.

But it's a missing step in many of the recipes floating around, she said, that made a Kmart sub, well, a Kmart sub.

Beverly believes the sub must be made hours in advance and wrapped in cellophane so, just like at Kmart, it would chill for some time in the cooler.

"It just tastes different than a fresh-made sub that you eat right away," she said. "The Kmart sub has to sit and let all the flavors marinate.

"That sub was just really, really good."

And after introducing the Kmart sub ($6.99) just a few weeks ago, she said, they have become very popular.

"We have a lot of repeat customers," Beverly said.

General store gets back to its roots

Since acquiring the general store, the Scandlons have worked to restore it to its former glory.

And that has meant renovating and restoring everything from the floor to the roof.

All the while, they were careful not lose its charm by keeping as much of the original wood floors as possible. The even kept the original cash register.

This also meant carefully picking what goes on the shelves, too.

Beverly said great care is taken to ensure there's everything you might expect from a general store. That includes the food staples and even some medicine to boot. (There's even a pair of those, too.)

They have tried to take care to stock locally produced items, from honey to baked goods to wine and beer.

There's a fair number of campgrounds and hunting spots nearby.

Beverly said they have standing orders for provisions − like craft beers − and hunting supplies and equipment.

That's not too much of a stretch as the family's other business is a machine shop that makes parts for bow makers.

Beverly said that even part of the store is dedicated to local artists and crafters.

And like in the general store's humble beginnings back in 1854, Beverly said, they hope to offer something for everyone.

"If you need it, we probably have it," she said. "Everyone says they are coming here if there's a zombie apocalypse."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Chatham General store celebrates 170 years in Medina County