Iconic Simmons Market for sale in Adamsville

Landmark property on the market for $985,000

By Paige Shapiro
Posted 3/30/23

An unexpected sight has replaced the crowded bulletin board that hangs over the porch of Simmons Market and Cafe –– a 'For Sale' sign.

The listing of the cafe and market, previously …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Iconic Simmons Market for sale in Adamsville

Landmark property on the market for $985,000

Posted

An unexpected sight has replaced the crowded bulletin board that hangs over the porch of Simmons Market and Cafe –– a 'For Sale' sign.

The listing of the cafe and market, previously and perhaps more commonly known as Simmons General Store, marks the second major establishment up for sale in Adamsville in the past four months. The other, Gray’s Grist Mill and the Daily Grind coffee shop, sold last December to a Fairhaven couple after being owned by the Guild family since 1980.

Located at 78 Crandall Road, Simmons had been owned and operated by Jennifer Holewka and Ralph Borden for nearly 15 years before they sold it to Westport resident Jennifer Marshall Grantham in 2014. Under Grantham's ownership, Simmons Market and Cafe branded itself as a ‘reinvention’ of the original F.A. Simmons Store that had been a landmark in the area since the 1800s. Over the nine years she owned it, the landmark became home to locally sourced products and a diverse menu of prepared food.

Adamsville’s intimate sense of community was a big part of Grantham’s initial pull to Simmons –– she wanted to keep the history of the store alive but elevate it with a “modern twist," she said. And despite her love for the challenge of owning a business, raising a family has not left her the time she believes the business needs — “I’m trusting myself to know to let it go for now,” she said. “We revitalized the café and brought it to the next level. We’re excited to see what the next owner will do.”

Learning from the legacy

In its nine years of life, the cafe became the stage for many local artisans and lively events, frequently hosting dozens of friendly faces in the back garden to enjoy live music or a dinner. According to Grantham, there were many successes.

“We built from scratch an organic food co-op where we delivered weekly groceries to 150 families across several towns,” she said of the business during COVID-19. “Our employees stayed to serve the community. We all learned so much and feel that Simmons has been an incredible resource for the community, so I will forever be proud of that.”

Community landmark

Since its founding in 1840, Simmons Store has been a pillar for the community, sometimes becoming synonymous with the village itself. One of the Little Compton Historical Society’s books, "Remembering Adamsville," expresses the deep love that town residents felt for the establishment.

“We always shopped in Adamsville,” wrote Caroline Wilkie Wordell. “My fondest memory of Simmons is, of course, the penny candy.”

Gracie Simmons McKivergan, the granddaughter of F.A. Simmons, looked back on her childhood in the village. “I remember going with [my grandfather] on the Tiverton Four Corners route,” she said of the store’s old delivery service. “Mrs. Cory always had a molasses cookie for me.”

According to McKivergan, Simmons was a small country grocery store and, unlike other stores such as Wilbur’s or Manchester’s, wasn’t the type to sell every little thing. Flour and meal were scooped out of big barrels and weighed out in paper bags for each customer. Barrels of molasses and kerosene sat in the basement for the same cause. Fruit came in bulk and the famed penny candy was counted out piece by piece at the customer’s request.

Now, the property is listed by Keller Williams Coastal for $985,000, and includes a detached house and one-car garage situated alongside the store, bringing its total square footage up at around 4,500. The cafe houses a full prep kitchen, and the two-level dwelling has three bedrooms and one and a half baths.

 

 

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.