Feels Like Home: Lewis' Country Store prepares to open in Chilhowie
Ty and Carly Lewis with their children want their new country store to be a light to the community.
Lewis’ Country Store is set to open during the Apple Festival.
These barrels are ready to hold candy to be sold by the pound.
Fresh meat from the Lewis' farm will be available at the store.
Design elements are hoped to create a home-like atmosphere.
The smell of fresh cut wood filled the space. Barrels stood in a row ready to hold old-fashioned and more modern candies. Locally raised meat filled freezers to capacity. A few toys were already on shelves. An old bicycle and a much-loved, kid-powered toy tractor helped decorate the space that will soon be Lewis’ Country Store.
Then, a couple weeks from opening with much stocking and other finishing work to be done, the Chilhowie retail space felt comfortable – just how Ty Lewis wants it to.
Ty and his wife, Carly, with help from friends and family have built the country store from the ground up.
As he talked about the business, Ty said he wants people to feel welcome and cared about. He also wants them to enjoy their shopping experience.
The idea of a country store isn’t new for Ty. The dream has persisted for several years, he said.
Ty worked in the rodeo business for about five years. This dream, he said, has been growing for the last three to four years.
Ty’s dad, Travis Lewis, believes the dream may have been incubating longer.
Travis remembered taking Ty into country and general stores when he was child. Even then, he could see the “people person” flourishing in his son. “He loved meeting people and talking to them,” said Travis.
On the Friday afternoon of the interview, Travis sat in a freshly hewn wooden windowsill, watching his son carry out business. He expressed deep pride in Ty. With a gentle laugh, Travis observed that Ty “used to be known as Travis Lewis’ son, now I’m known as Ty Lewis’ dad.”
Travis believes Ty and Carly will be successful, reiterating that they are people oriented.
Ty does think frequently of his customers. He wants them to know the origins of their food.
Also a farmer, Ty will be making beef, pork, and lamb raised on his farm available to customers. It will be fresh and local, he said.
The store will also feature a variety of Amish products, including those of Walnut Creek Foods in Walnut Creek, Ohio, and Dutch Valley, a distributor in Myerstown, Pennsylvania.
The Country Store will also offer seasonal décor, Ty said, including pie and carving pumpkins and gourds, mums of various colors, and other items. At Christmas time, he expects trees, wreaths, and more, and flowers in the spring.
The store will also be a place for deli cheeses and meats and sandwiches as well as breads and pies.
Of course, the barrels will be filled with candy that will be available by the pound.
Overall, Ty wants the country store to be a blessing to others. He and Carly want to “be a light to the world” and share “what the Lord has blessed us with.”
Over time, Ty wants to add to the Country Store. His vision includes an outside ice cream shop and an outdoor kitchen for steak dinners.
For now, though, he’s focusing on the store’s grand opening set for Saturday, Sept. 26, one of the Apple Festival’s biggest days. The store will be open from noon to 6 p.m., then, at 7 p.m. Carson Peters & Iron Mountain will play on the front porch until 9 a.m. There will be lemonade and food trucks, Ty said.
Following the grand opening, he said the store will operate Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with weekly specials, meat sales and more. “We want to make it affordable to buy fresh meat,” he said.
Customers, Ty said, can come in and order a half or whole beef to be cut to their preference, and then pick it up at the store.
Ty knows the store intimately. With the help of family and friends, he poured the foundation and built it from there. “It’s been a family thing,” he said.
They’ve added their design touches as it’s gone along, striving, Ty said, for the home-country vibe that everyone likes.
With building a business and farming, the couple are also the parents of a 3-year-old, a 4-month-old, and a baby who died in 2024.
The kids’ footprints are preserved in the concrete and will “be here forever,” Ty reflected.
Located at 224 East Lee Highway in Chilhowie, Lewis’ Country Store’s general manager will be Adam Hock. Once open, the store can be reached at 276-521-0035.
