Landmark community store reopens with Mendota native at the helm

If You Go

The Store @ Mendota is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday, except Wednesdays when it is closed. Sunday hours are noon to 5 p.m.

Contact the store owners at 276-669-2401, which, according to Dye, is the same phone number for the store when a phone line was installed in Mendota in 1958.

Directions from Abingdon to Mendota: From West Main Street, take Route 19 North on Porterfield Highway for 7.3 miles. After crossing the North Fork of the Holston River, turn left onto Mendota Road. Travel 14.5 miles. The Community Center is located on the left at 2562 Mendota Road.

A Day in Mendota

The 2019 Virginia Highlands Festival will feature a Day in Mendota, when visitors can spend the day learning about the historic town and enjoying the quiet and charming atmosphere of the community.

Activities begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Mendota Community Center, where participants can learn about the history of Mendota and pick up maps and a detailed agenda for the day.

At the community center, visitors can view artifacts Dye has collected from every store that operated in Mendota decades ago. Her collection includes memorabilia from old churches and some of her own belongings when she attended Bible School.

Around noon, the group will eat lunch beside the river and listen to discussions on the Bristol-Mendota Trail and Adventure Mendota. Lunch can be purchased at The Store @ Mendota.

Following lunch, visitors can participate in several activities — a talk on organic farming and a farm tour, a walk on the Bristol-Mendota Trail or kayaking on the river with Adventure Mendota (reservations are required).