By Ruth Purnell Rappahannock News Staff Writer Located right

By Ruth Purnell

Rappahannock News Staff Writer

Located right off Route 211 heading east is, Hillsdale General Store, a small country store where you can purchase gas and grab a sandwich on the go. Having been a country store for over sixty years, Hillsdale was purchased by its current owners, Bob and Neeru Ghuman in 2002. With no gas offered at the time, the Ghumans had their work cut out installing the gas and updating the store.

“It took us about three or four months to get the store ready,” said owner Bob Ghuman.

The Ghumans, at the time living in Sterling, Va., were looking for a way to get out of the hustle and bustle of that growing area. They had driven through Rappahannock County many a time on their way to Luray Caverns and when their real estate agent told them there was a business for sale in the area they jumped on it. “We looked at it and never gave it a second thought,” said Bob who added, “It only took us a week to get used to the area.”

The Ghumans have done much to update the store. Along with the addition of the gasoline, they have enhanced the sandwich making, added made-to-order pizzas and a Western Union facility. Ghuman explained that they were trying to add more to the convenience aspect of the store.

Approximately 70 percent of Hillsdale’s customers are locals, except on the weekends when tourists make up 50 percent of their business. “I have customers who have been coming to this store when it first opened and they were kids. Now they come in and talk about all the change they see going on in the county,” noted Bob.

The Ghumans have still more planned for the store and they are hoping to begin pizza delivery to businesses in the area.

They have also planned to have movies for rent in the near future.

With all this happening in the past three years it is a