Old and new: Greenwood General Store reopens Friday; business debuted 130 years ago

For the better part of 130 years, The Greenwood General Store has been exactly that: an old-time, true general store for residents of the tiny McHenry County village of Greenwood.

For the past two years the store sat empty, but James Krzyzak and his partner, Emily Truscott, could see the potential of getting it open again.

“We would drive by and think, ‘What if? What can we do there?’” Krzyzak said.

The stars aligned in August 2023 when the couple bought the building at 4409 Greenwood Road from its previous owner. They got to work restoring the store – the only retail business in the village of about 250 people – and it reopened Friday morning.

“We had the time and the interest, so we thought, ‘Let’s do it,’” Krzyzak said. “Let’s bring it back to the community and make it special, a meeting place for people in the area.”

Let’s bring it back to the community and make it special, a meeting place for people in the area.”

—  James Krzyak, co-owner of Greenwood General Store

“I love the history of this building and how it’s been a part of the community for 130 years,” Truscott said. “We wanted to celebrate that history, preserve what we could, and also hopefully create a spot that families are excited to visit,” she said.

They have already heard from several groups about holding sewing groups, book clubs or morning coffee get togethers at the store.

“This is a place to meet while getting sandwiches and coffee and having a nice time,” Krzyzak said.

Once they bought the building, which includes a second-floor apartment, there was work to be done. The couple completely rebuilt the counter and food service area, refurbished the original floors and worked with the village to get their liquor and tobacco sales licenses.

The ice cream cooler now will offer scoops of dairy goodness and vegan ice cream, and the coffee will be Heady Cup out of McHenry. The couple is bringing back a customer-favorite sandwich – the corned beef reuben – and also will offer ham, turkey, Italian and a veggie sandwich.

The family’s three children, ages 9 through 12, will help out at the store too, and the couple has hired staff to help them run the business while Krzyzak and Truscott both work their full-time remote jobs.

“One of us will be here every day,” Krzyzak said.

They also need Greenwood residents to come back, new residents from Wonder Lake’s Meadows of West Bay and Stonewater to discover them, and bikers and bicyclists driving through town to find them, too.

“We don’t have traffic counts ... but it is a well-traveled road,” Krzyzak said of Greenwood Road. “There is traffic on it all of the time, tradespeople in the morning and school traffic, cars up and down between Woodstock and McHenry take that route. They can stop and get a six-pack for the lake, drinks for the kids.”

As the business grows, they hope to continue to increase their offerings and ensure they can give customers what they need.

“Our initial focus with reopening is to get things running smoothly and well,” Truscott said. “We have a great team of people who will be working here alongside us. And then hopefully we can have some fun in the future with seasonal specials ... based on community feedback and what people want to see.”

The website is not up yet, but the couple was able to secure the store’s Facebook page, The Greenwood General Store. Business hours will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, with Mondays being closed.