2020 Update

Family and friends - I’m overdue for an update:

In Spring 2019, I left my Chicago-based law firm to spend more time with my grandmother in NC. Alongside caretaking duties, I began thinking about ways to rehab our 150 acres in Rockingham County, NC. What started as an attempt to save our 150-year-old farm house has evolved into a separate concept for a modern retail space.

Introducing (in concept) Butler’s Pantry NC: A modern, socially conscious take on the typical convenience store. BPNC will provide locally sourced goods alongside traditional staples (like eggs, milk, coffee and . . . wine), to be located in Rockingham County, NC. More important than the merchandise is a vision to create a space where people can gather, and reclaim community that has been lost in our increasingly divided and technology-driven world. It also serves to reinvigorate the homestead that has been in my family for generations, while providing jobs and access to amenities otherwise lacking in rural NC.

It’s been said that this project has all the familiar markings of a Hallmark movie: Career-driven girl leaves corporate America when family obligations call her home. In the made-for-tv version, we’re in the montage scene: The glossy middle that uses a song to move the story along and summarize the daily drudgery and petty frustrations that go along with starting a business. Rolling up your sleeves and doing the hard work rarely makes for exciting tv.

For now, I’ve put my law practice on hold pending #buildingbpnc. However, an undertaking this large cannot be accomplished alone. Together with this update, I’m putting out the clarion call for help. I’m asking for your contacts, not capital. If you or anyone you know has experience with operating a small convenience store, grocer or coffee shop, I’d love to talk to them. Immediate need: An architect with experience designing small retail spaces. Anyone looking for part-time work in Rockingham county that can help with electrical, plumbing, woodworking or general handywork, I have plenty to do on the property. Document scanning and preservation: If you have a computer and a scanner, I have dozens of photo albums that need scanning and archiving. (There are services that do this, but I’m having a hard time physically letting go of the albums).

For my neighbors: Thanks for welcoming me into the community. I appreciate your patience as I settled in. I see afternoon teas and evening hangouts by the new fire pit in our future. For everyone else, the guest room is set up, and I hope you’ll come visit the farm when your travels bring you to NC.

Final note: We lost my sister twelve years ago today (1/20), so I have spent the day reflecting on happier times spent with her on the property. I know that she and my grandparents are looking down, and they’ve sent me small signs that I’m on the right path, including the fact that the Ruth Butler Bailey camellias are in full bloom a month early. While BPNC looks to the future, it is firmly rooted in the past and the legacy built over many generations on this farm.

Xoxo - Meredith + Fitz