No saws, sanders and screwdrivers at this hardware store

A trip to the hardware store? It's necessary on occasion, but not my definition of a good time.

But a hardware store that serves pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, paninis, soups, salads, muffins and coffee?

I'm there! 

I'm talking about the Hardware Cafe and General Store. It's in a circa 1874 hardware store in the center of Fair Haven, about a 50-mile drive from Syracuse.

A view of Little Sodus Bay, Lake Ontario.

Fair Haven, in Cayuga County, is one of my favorite summer haunts. It's a gorgeous village on the shore of a great lake -- I mean a Great Lake, Lake Ontario -- and is a magnet for swimming, boating, camping, fishing and just plain relaxing.

The nice thing about the Hardware Cafe is that you can stop in for something as simple as a cookie and cup of coffee to go, or linger over lunch at a table outside and enjoy a snapshot of life in a small town as it unfolds on Main Street: kids walking dogs and skateboarding; couples window shopping; people stopping by the bank or just out for a stroll.

 My lunch: A veggie panini with pesto mayonnaise ($7.50), plus a pickle and chips on the side.

The Hardware Cafe was doing a nice lunch business on the Friday I visited, but was not overwhelmingly busy. 

It's also a gift shop, featuring jewelry, scarves, purses and other accessories, candles and home decor, kites and beach gear.

I was tempted to have a dish of ice cream for dessert -- they have a dozen or more flavors of Gifford's, from Maine, and Gifford's makes what's reputed to be some of the best vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream in the country.

But I can't stop in Fair Haven without making my way down Fancher Avenue to the Fly By Night Cookie Company for a Famous PMS Cookie (a soft chocolate cookie with chocolate chips and minty chocolate icing).

The Hardware Cafe and General Store is at 566 Main St., Fair Haven. It's open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily during the summer months. For more information, call 315-947-6700.

 

Comments

[tina hanford]

hi,
I just saw your blog. I was the former owner of the Hardware Cafe along with my bff. We, along with our husbands restored the building. We sold it a few years ago. It was hard to sell "our baby" but we will always be proud of our Harware Cafe which we feel sparked a renaissance of Fair Haven. We are now opening an Inn just down the street where we raised our four sons. There will be 3 rooms decorated in Mackenzie Childs patterns. I hope you will come visit!

[Margaret]

Thanks for stopping by, Maureen. I'm with you: I love the places that are throwbacks. The owners have done a nice job with the store/restaurant place and Fair Haven is just the sweetest place. I love these kind of untouched places in Central New York, like FH and Sackets Harbor.

[Maureen Green]

Margaret this is the kind of place I love. It's a throwback to the days when one stop offered just about everything you needed that day. Thanks for telling me about it.