Grampy Hart’s General Store

Eat & Drink in the Shopping & Services in the The Eastern Shore

We offer specialty grocery items, homemade freezer meals, ‘Grab and Go’ lunch options, a great selection of unique gift ideas, and always something new in store. We focus on Maritime/Canadian made products and host a variety of work from local artisans.

Grampy’s will be expanding our lunch counter in the coming months and focusing on offering more food options, from our freezer to the counter. Stay tuned!

Although we are moving away from the gift section of the store, we will still continue to carry a unique selection of products, primarily sourced within Nova Scotia, and will have special items brought in for the holiday season.

We look forward to seeing you all!

Our History:

77 years, and yes, we’re still going!

In 1948, Earle and Jean Hart opened a tiny little confectionary store in the scenic rural riverside community of Boylston in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. Here Earle and Jean served lunches, baked goods, ice cream, banana splits, sundaes, general confectionary, and grocery staples. Earle also operated a butcher shop from the basement of the store and during the winter months he peddled meat products throughout the area. Boylston was a bustling community and the store bustled right along with it.

The Hart’s raised their ten children in Boylston, and in the early 1970’s, son Gerald took over the store. It wasn’t long before Gerald saw that an expansion was necessary, and the little store became a little bit bigger.

For decades Hart’s was known as a local hot spot where not only could you pick up almost anything you needed on your way home from work or heading to the cottage at MacPherson’s Lake, it was the place to catch up on local news and to share stories with friends, neighbours and strangers on the local ‘going-on’s’.

In later years, Hart’s became renowned far and wide for Wednesday lunches, serving up true homemade fare, just like mum would make:) Wednesday evenings the crows would fly in to The Crow’s Nest to share in the communities love of music, showcasing the local talent in a casual, comfortable setting. Gerald was the head crow, and a country crooner who melted a few hearts along the way. Gerald passed in 2014, and since then it has been managed by generations of the Hart family.