Customers stand inside the Store at Five Corners in South Williamstown which reopened under new ownership on Wednesday.

WILLIAMSTOWN — “We’re so glad to be the next stewards of this amazing, long history,” Colleen Taylor said to a group of roughly a dozen people inside The Store at Five Corners.

“For the store to be in our hands, it is a little intimidating, I have to be honest.”

Taylor and her brother, Sean, from Bay State Hospitality Group, LLC., reopened the 250-year-old general store Wednesday at the intersection of Route 7 and Route 43 after its previous operator left in December. With similar breakfast and lunch offerings and adding some of their own evening ones, the Taylors said they’re excited to bring their business to the historic building and the South Williamstown community.

The general store, which got its start as the American Revolution-era tavern that George Washington allegedly dined at, was closed by a previous owner in 2020. Residents formed The Store at Five Corners Stewardship Association and raised funds to buy the building in 2022.

Siblings Sean and Colleen Taylor of Bay State Hospitality Group, LLC., have reopened the Store at Five Corners in South Williamstown.

“They are an amazing group that runs this and they are so supportive,” Colleen said of the association. “And the community has been amazing — it must be the Berkshire energy.”

The Taylors have operated restaurants in Northern Berkshire for almost three decades, including the Trail House, the Freight Yard Pub, Craft Food Barn and Berkshire Catering Company.

“I’ve been bothering [Sean] for my entire life,” Colleen joked as she and her brother cut the ribbon in celebration. “We’ve been opening different establishments for 30 years together.”

Neighbor Hari Kumar came for an oat milk latte, pastries and to support the reopening of the restaurant. He's been watching its progress over the last several months while standing out with the Rotary Dial, his weekday morning standout group for “freedom and democracy.”

“We’ve been cheering them on for two months and sometimes in super cold conditions as they get ready to open this place,” he said. “It’s great to [now] have a place to warm up.”

Colleen said the business will start with hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and a cafe-style breakfast and lunch menu, with breakfast sandwiches, burritos, pastries, flatbreads and a host of sandwiches. Ice cream will now be available from behind the counter.

Colleen said the store will employ 12 people, including four from Bay State’s other restaurants. She said they will also host pop-up dinners and Friday pizza nights with a new outdoor pizza oven. With the West Branch of the Green River to the near side of the store, Taylor also envisioned future picnic tables for outdoor dining.

“It would be nice to be able to eat lunch by the river,” she said.

The Taylors are also working on obtaining a liquor license for the store, Colleen said.

Deb Chaulk, a Williamstown resident, sat inside the Store at Five Corners and read a book for the Williams College history class she was auditing. Sean and Colleen Taylor of Bay State Hospitality Group, LLC., have reopened the Store at Five Corners in South Williamstown.

Deb Chaulk was on her way to Wander in Pittsfield when she saw the bright green grand opening sign hanging on the front of the store and decided to pop in.

Chaulk, a retired Williams College associate vice president, sat in a lounge chair and read a history book for a 20th Century Europe class that she is auditing at Williams.

“I’ve always loved the atmosphere here,” she said. “I saw David Letterman here once a year ago. ... He was with his wife and we had a real conversation. It’s just a nice place to meet people or get a coffee and read a book, and it just has this historic reputation.”