Lyme — Three years after purchasing Hadlyme Country Market on Ferry Road, Lisa Bakoledis and Susan Raible Birch can finally declare their labor of love to restore the building to its 1905 origins largely done.

Sure, they still need to finish painting the exterior a cheerful buttery yellow color, but all of the hard work has been completed, including the most recent renovations to the front porch and veranda that necessitated a two-day closing this fall.

"It's a community investment," Birch said. "I feel it's more like a community pull than just a business."

Bakoledis, the partner customers see day in and day out when they buy their coffee and pastries or made-to-order sandwiches, said the people in town make it all worthwhile.

"I build so many relationships," she said. "It's just a wonderful place to be."

"You can't describe the people who live in Lyme and Hadlyme," said customer Judy Varley, who rents an upstairs apartment at the store. "There is a heart you can't describe."

And at the heart of the community is Hadlyme Country Market, where everyone seems to pop in to grab a bite, buy a newspaper, say hello, hang out and share the latest news. Many stop by on their way to or from the Hadlyme Post Office, which is right next door.

And the market literally opens at the crack of dawn, 5 a.m., when only construction workers and hunters are on the road. By that time, Bakoledis is usually making the Ashlawn Farms coffee and heating up the delicious pastries made with frozen dough imported from France.

The partners said they take great pleasure in providing everything their customers ask for, including a deli area for sandwiches and their most recent foray into prepared dinners. Many of their products are from local providers, including D-Train's Hot Pepper Sauce from Westbrook, Salem Valley Farms Ice Cream, East Lyme's Grassy Hill Honey and, during the warmer months, local farms. 

"It's listening to people — what they want," Birch said.

The store even started stocking coconut water in the warmer months because of the number of serious bicycle riders who requested it.

This time of year, it's mostly locals who pop by the store, but in the warmer months the market gets many tourists heading to and from Gillette Castle, the Hadlyme Ferry and other local attractions, including Devil's Hopyard. Tourists enjoy the local products, T-shirts and a few items by local artists, the partners said.

The store is tastefully laid out, with a long 1907-era coffee bar reclaimed from a former apothecary in upper New York state dominating one wall and the throwback curved display cases of the deli and pastry area attracting customers to the checkout area. The partners said they try to stock enough staples in the store for weekend residents not to have to drive 15 to 20 minutes to the nearest supermarket. 

"We taste everything before we sell it,"Birch said.

The Hadlyme store's history dates to the middle of the 19th century when entrepreneur Lee Luther Brockway took advantage of steamboat travel to open up a prosperous business on the banks of the Connecticut River near Brockway's Ferry Landing. He later craftily moved the store to its current location when he realized automobile travel was supplanting boat trips.

But by the time Bakoledis and Birch took over the store, it had fallen into disrepair. The coolers weren't working right, the wiring was a mess and the whole store was cramped and uninviting, the partners said.

"There was nothing to buy," Birch said. "They really kind of lost hope. It got decrepit."

So the partners closed the store for two months early in 2013 to strip it down and start over, seeking to merge the hospitality of country life with the original historic feel of the place. They solicited opinions from customers every step of the way, they said, and patrons were instrumental in picking out the exterior color that the store will be sporting.

"We're the little hub," Birch said. "We really truly believe it belongs to everybody."

l.howard@theday.com

Twitter: @KingstonLeeHow