In Cambridge: Village Market changes hands

The family has vowed that there will be few changes to the market’s operation after they took the reins from Bruce Macmillan this week with little fanfare. Plans to lean on their ample deli experience to expand the grocery’s prepared food section is the only change longtime shoppers might notice in the coming months.

“I always say, the first thing you do with a successful business is change nothing, and the first thing you do with a failed business is change everything,” Ron Frey said. “We’re taking over a successful business, so we’re just going to do a couple little tweaks here and there, but it’s really not going to be anything major.”

The village market had been listed for $1.6 million by realtors VT Commercial, which included the property, the store’s inventory and an already-rented apartment on the store’s upper floor. Frey said he couldn’t reveal what he actually paid for the store, but confirmed it was less than the listed price. The listing claimed that the market brings in over $4 million in annual revenue.

The market has weathered many changes in its century and a half as Cambridge village’s grocer, including surviving catastrophic events like the flood of 1927. For a time, it provided cold storage for area residents prior to the popularization of home refrigeration, according to Macmillan.

Macmillan, who bought the store in 1992, has made his own mark, expanding the store to twice its original size through multiple additions and adding gas pumps. The market was named Retailer of the Year by the Vermont Grocers’ Association in 2008.

Far from grabbing his fishing pole and dashing out the door to retirement, Macmillan elected to stick around after the closing of the sale last week and was on hand Tuesday morning in the market’s backroom helping Hayes and the Freys get the hang of things.

When asked for comment, he simply thanked the Cambridge community for shopping at his store for over 30 years.

The Freys aren’t exactly novices: Linda worked at Hannaford’s for 30 years prior to getting into the deli and restaurant business. According to Ron Frey, it was his daughter and her desire to create a legacy within the community she lives in that was the driving force behind the acquisition.

“It’s a great location, great business, so it was kind of a no-brainer for us,” he said.