New owners at Genoa Country Store focus on area products

Lynn and Steve Brown, the new proprietors at the Genoa Country Store, will whip up Blackberry margaritas for their guests on Candy Dance weekend.

The Browns took over the store this month. They are increasing the store’s stock of groceries — sundries, drinks, paper goods and packaged goods — and plan to carry fresh food along with staples such as lemons, bread and eggs.

“It’s going to be more like a grocery store,” Lynn said. “A place locals can pick up milk or ice and won’t have to spend 40 minutes driving.”

The Genoa Country Store deli sandwiches topped with meats and hand-sliced cheeses are popular with the lunch crowd, Lynn said. Candy Dance-goers can enjoy their sandwiches at tables inside or on the store’s front deck.

In summer, candy and ice cream are big sellers. Many of the Genoa Country Store specialty items are made locally, including the ice cream, which comes from Minden.

Baked goods from the Paul Schat’s Bakery in Carson City will soon be on the menu.

Lynn displays shiny jars of old-fashioned preserves and jams made with fruit and no sugar and bearing the Genoa Country Store label on shelves near the front door. Packages of Jerky Junction fresh jerky, made in Carson City, are sold at the deli counter.

Then there’s the wine, mostly from California, ranging from $9.99 to $32 a bottle.

Lynn has been part-owner of the store building for about a decade. She and Steve, who retired as a biology teacher at Incline High School in June, began painting the building in late July and added new flooring, new refrigerators, an ice-making machine, antiques and western art.

The Browns expect to make more improvements to the century-old building and bring in more and different stock as the weeks go on. They plan to open a bar and hold Wednesday night dinners in the fall.

Genoa Country Store employees Darlene Machutta, Rebecca Schweigert, Karen Jakob and Erik Warren help keep the store open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week.