Orde Farm, a community grain and hardware store located in Hollis, NH, is under new ownership. The new face of Orde, Alexander Gaudette, originally from Mont Vernon, NH moved back from Boca Raton, FL this past January when given the opportunity to take over the store. Gaudette officially bought the farm this past summer on June 14. Although he has only owned the store formally for five months, Gaudette has been involved with the store for almost a year.
Former owner, Bryan Spence, was a model citizen and extremely involved in the town of Hollis. Brian was educated in the Hollis-Brookline school system, managed Orde’s Dairy Farm and was former President of the Hollis Brookline High School Athletic Booster Club He also was a member of the Board of Trustees at Beaver Brook Association and a member of the New Hampshire Farm Bureau.
Sadly, in December of 2010, Spence died very unexpectedly. This took a huge toll on the town. “He was the sole proprietor of Hollis Grain & Hardware [Orde Farm] for 27 years,” said During his time owning Orde, Spence not only made a convenient store for the town but also a safe space for people in the community to welcome and love.
One of Gaudette’s main goals since owning the store is to bring back the sense of community the store was once famed for. “At Orde Farm, our goal is to hone in on customer service and convenience. We [the staff] focus on the customer service experience and with that, our goal is to capture all our lost consumers,” said Gaudette.
After Spence’s death, a lot of regular customers moved their business elsewhere. Still, Gaudette plans to bring the community back.“We have been achieving these goals by having a wonderful staff treating customers with a smile, offering advice and answering questions. The things that big box stores don’t do, we do with a purpose,” he said.
Tucker Aiello, manager of the store, talks about what working at Orde has been like for the last six months. “[It’s] great! The environment is amazing and I always look forward to coming in,” he said.
Orde Farm is located on 58 Broad Street in Hollis, NH. You can find the store in between the two major farms in Hollis—Lull and Brookdale.
Both of these farms are frequent purchasers at Orde, with all of Lull Farms’ animals being fed with grain from Orde. If you are interested in supporting a small business or just want to experience the community, make sure to come to Orde Farm!
