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Word of Mouth Rockets Customers to Harvest Moon

By Justin SaldoiBerkshires Intern
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WILLIAMSTOWN — The Harvest Moon General Store opened last week at 724 North Hoosac Road. The new general store has everything from basic amenities, drinks and snacks to a well-stocked deli offering full line of soups, sandwiches and rotisserie meals for any time of the day.  

"So far business is going better than I could have hoped for," said Michelle Koelle, the store's proprietor. "I wanted to take it slow to get a feel for things until our grand opening so business has been mostly people in the neighborhood, but customers have come back multiple times since we opened last week and word of mouth is spreading."

Since the store opened, Koelle estimated that about 75 people have come in daily. "About 95 percent of our sales so far have been from the deli," she said. "My big draw is my slow-cooked ribs; I went through 13 racks of them in just one day last week."

Harvest Moon General Store owner Michelle Koelle sells lunch on Tuesday to Jim Bayliss.
Among the first-time customers were Williamstown residents Beverly Bayliss and her husband, Jim.

"We drove by the store several times before it opened; our hunger and curiosity brought us in today," said Beverly Bayliss. "It looks very nice. ... I like the colors, decorations and the menu."
A resident of Hinsdale, Koelle is no stranger the world of small business in the Berkshires. "I have always been interested in this kind of business, for six years I have been self-employed and ran a realty business with my husband in Pittsfield."

The property has seen its fair share of general stores, from the Tupelo Honey Market to McNichol's General Store for many years before that. Koelle offered her thoughts on challenges she has encountered with the location and her plans that she hopes will make the Harvest Moon outlast its predecessors. 

"The most challenging thing is trying to balance supply with demand," Koelle said. "Meat is too valuable a commodity to waste with respect to the amount of time it takes to get it and the life of the animal that provided it.

"Right now I am trying keep store prices convenient in terms of customer's gas and time so that people won't have to justify a drive down to Stop & Shop to save on milk and bread."

Koelle's plans for the general store as it grows include advertising online and through local papers and the addition of a delivery service. Another popular idea is the recent addition of rotisserie duck to the deli menu. Currently, the store has five employees but Koelle plans to hire more as it grows. 

The Harvest Moon General Store's hours are Monday through Wednesday 6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Thursday and Friday 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information or to place a takeout order, call 413-458-4300.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Images Cinema Community Rallies to Aid Departed Managing Director

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff

Janet Curran's friends started a gofundme to help her through the transition.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The community is rallying to support the longtime managing director of Images Cinema after her job was eliminated late last year.
 
As of Thursday morning, a Gofundme campaign for Janet Curran had raised more than $12,500 from 90 contributors.
 
"I feel really held and supported by the community right now," Curran said this week. "I'm really moved that people appreciate the work that I did at Images."
 
Curran did that work for about a quarter of a century, first as a volunteer in 2000, then as an intern in 2002 and finally as the managing director, a position she held since 2007.
 
"If you've been to Images Cinema in the last 25 years … you've probably been helped by her, welcomed by her, or had a conversation with her that you still think about," the creators of the Gofundme campaign wrote.
 
"Janet is one of those people who makes a place worth living in. She's kind without making a show of it, dependable in a way many people aren't, and she has given more to this community than she'd ever say herself."
 
Two days before Thanksgiving 2025, Curran learned from the Spring Street theater's board of directors and Executive Director Dan Hudson that her position was being eliminated. Her last day at the non-profit movie house was Jan. 2.
 
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