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COMMUNITY
A taste of the country holds its own on Mount Paran Road
BYJ.D.M00R
PHOTOS BY J.D. MOOR
The Mount Paran Country Store includes a “private label” gas station.
You’re cruising through north Buck-
head’s expansive, expensive, contempo
rary neighborhoods. Up ahead is the
crossroads with Sandy Springs. Sudden
ly, there’s a rustic, anachronistic land
mark - a lone, com
mercial enterprise
catches your eye.
You’ve intersect
ed with Northside
Drive and Mount
Paran Road, where
this antique desti
nation survives in
the present. It’s the
Mount Paran Coun
try Store, where
folks come to gas
up, eat up and cheer
up.
One recent day,
floral designer Britt
Wood was filling
up his SUV there.
“They’re always very
nice and grateful for
your business. I like
the charm and con
venience of it,” he said.
Step inside, and one sees how the
1906 facade belies a plain convenience
store stocked with a smattering of food,
drinks and supplies, plus one very popu
lar feature - a hot grill deli.
“It’s the fresh burgers, biscuits and
BLTs that keep customers coming
back,” said own
er Pete Chevallier,
who runs the place
with his wife, Jan.
They’ve owned the
place for about 10
years. “That’s what
they rave about the
most. Thirty-five
percent of our busi
ness is lunch, and
we could triple that
if we just had the
parking,” Pete said.
A regular cus
tomer, Angie Hoyt,
interrupted. “Diet
Coke’s out,” she
said, and Pete broke
away to refill the
soda fountain.
“I come every
day for a Diet Coke
and a banana,” Hoyt said. “This place is
much better now that Pete’s running it.”
Jan greeted another customer who
was coming in. “Hey, good morning!
How ya doin’?”
Jan then dished out a serving of his
tory on the place. “Mr. Norman had it
as a farmhouse in 1906,” she said. “Folks
would pick up their mail from him, but
he got tired of them helping themselves
to his coffee and food when they came
over. So he started selling to them in
stead, and he made more money than he
did farming.
“That’s the original farmhouse fire
place over there,” she said, pointing to
ward an interior wall in the store.
The Buckhead Heritage Society rec
ognizes the store’s uniqueness. “The
Mount Paran Country Store is one of
the earliest buildings that still exists in
Buckhead, and is a wonderful visual re
minder of our rural roots and a time
when the country store was at the heart
of community life,” said Executive Di
rector Erica Danylchak.
Pete Chevallier said business has been
bouncing back lately. “2007 was our
best year yet. We make a little on our
‘private label’ gas, so we’re hangin’ in
there,” he said.
From the cash register, Jan Chevalli
er hollered to her husband, “Make sure
you tell him about the movie!” Appar
ently, Hollywood crews just used the
store for scenes in the upcoming film,
“A Friggin’ Christmas Miracle,” featur
ing Robin Williams.
The store plays a role in real kids’ lives
too. Jan told a story about one boy who
credits the store with changing his life.
“Decades ago, he got caught stealing
some bubble gum by Mr. Norman. He
was so scared and upset, he swore nev
er to get in trouble again. He became a
lawyer and a judge. He’s now one of our
best customers.”
Some parents bring their kids in for a
reward of treats and candy on Friday af
ternoons. “It’s a tradition around here,
and we can tell who’s gotten A’s and who
hasn’t done so well in school that week,”
Jan Chevallier said.
Also, the store gets in the spirit ev
ery Halloween and Christmas. Valerie
Thompson of Sandy Springs reminisced,
“Our son always loved the decorations
there during the holiday season. It is
very quaint.”
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“The Mount Paran Country
Store is one of the earli
est buildings that still
exists in Buckhead and
is a wonderful visual re
minder of our rural roots
and a time when the
country store was at the
heart of community life.”
- ERICA DANYLCHAK
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
BUCKHEAD HERITAGE SOCIETY
18 | JUNE 14 —JUNE27, 2013 | www.ReporterNewspapers.net
