New Mabbetsville farm store opens for year-round operation

MILLBROOK — Nestled along Route 44 in Mabbetsville, The General’s Gathering is a new farm store in Dutchess County that’s quickly becoming a one-stop-shop for farm-fresh products. Open Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., The General’s Gathering offers everything from maple syrup and packaged goods to bread, meat, eggs and fresh harvest — all locally sourced.

With a robust lineup of local labels and vendors, The General’s Gathering is filling a void along Route 44 between Litchfield and Dutchess Counties. Shoppers can find products from Great Cape, Ronnybrook Farm, Sterling Bake Shop, and more — with in-store staples complemented by seasonal outdoor vendors in a farmer’s market style.

But this is not your average farm market with upscale prices and curated ambiance. While the shop is charming, its mission is designed with farmers and producers at the center. The General’s Gathering was created as a farmer-first marketplace — an approach that supports the people who grow and make the products.

The store is the brainchild of Holly Hammond, an Amenia native and multi-generational farmer who grew up on Bangall Amenia Road. Spending her formative years learning the ins and outs of farming, Hammond credits her father — the late David Hammond, a dairy farmer and veterinarian — with inspiring her to “preserve the rich agricultural heritage of Dutchess County.”

Hammond said her goal is to keep the rural spirit alive. After years on the farmers’ market circuit from Dutchess County to New York City, she wanted to capture the best parts of those markets while eliminating their biggest challenge — the seasonal shutdowns. The General’s Gathering will offer a year-round marketplace for local goods, providing vendors and farmers a longer “shelf life” to sell their products.

“From my years of selling milk and trying to make value out of products, to attending farmer’s markets and sometimes enduring the pouring rain or the freezing cold, I wanted to make a farmer’s market — or a farm store — that is available to people in every season,” Hammond said.

While the storefront itself is new, its namesake farm has roots dating back to the Revolutionary War. As the story goes, Holly’s father David grew up on the historic General Cochran’s Farm in St. Johnsville, New York. The land once belonged to General John Cochran, a General of the Continental Army under George Washington during the Revolutionary War. Holly said there was a commemorative plaque on the wall that actually logged where George Washington slept in that home during the war.

After studying agriculture at Cornell and later earning his veterinary degree there, David Hammond moved to Amenia, where he bought his own farm and carried on the name from his childhood farm. He built a life as both a dairy farmer and veterinarian, cultivating the world in which his daughter Holly grew up. Today, some of Holly’s customers still remember him fondly.

“Your father used to work on my cows,” one customer said after buying peaches and farm-fresh eggs.

Claudio Gonzalez of Gonzalez Farm in Orange County brought fresh fruits and veggies to sell under a pop-up canopy in the General’s Gathering parking lot.Photo By Aly Morrissey

Customers can expect to find farmers and vendors outside the store each week, many of whom Holly has partnered with for nearly a decade. Last weekend, Claudio Gonzalez of Gonzalez Farm in Orange County brought a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to his stand.

Gonzalez’s 20-acre farm specializes in tomatoes, corn, hot peppers, beans and much more. He credits his produce’s flavor to natural practices — no fertilizer, just careful crop rotation and an evolving mix of plants.

Adding to the mix, Culinary Institute of America-trained chef and baker Sterling Smith of Sterling Bake Shop offered sweet and savory treats, from rustic pizzas and sourdough bread to cookies and Dutch brownies. While he draws from his professional training, Sterling said he’s always looking for the next innovative creation and enjoys improvising. His homemade soups are also available inside the market, complementing the store’s pantry staples and offering something for everyone.

With its farmer-first focus, The General’s Gathering blends history, community and good food, ensuring the rural spirit of Dutchess County continues to thrive twelve months a year.