Business Spotlight: Martin General Store
Welcome to our new video series, where we will take you for behind-the-scenes peeks at our amazing local businesses here in Pilot Point!
Martin General Store, 101 S Jefferson, has been a staple on the Pilot Point Square since it opened in 2018. Owner Allison Martin gave us a quick peek at her store and chatted with us about her inspiration for the store and why she picked Pilot Point to start the next chapter of her life.
Question: What was your inspiration for the store?
Answer: As long as I can remember, from when my son was starting elementary school, I always wanted my own small store. I was fascinated by this candle shop and I would go in there and look around and just want my own store. Living and working in Plano and Frisco, it just never happened. After 20-plus years in my job as a paralegal, I was kinda miserable. So I went to a bank and a mortgage company, and I was still miserable. So it was time to make it happen.
Q: What are some of your best-selling items?
A: The jams and salsas, barbecue sauce and dressings. There are repeat customers for those. The Arbuckles’ Coffee is a huge seller as well. Lazy One is surprising me. It’s the second-top-selling item in 2021. They make great presents.
Q: How much do you love interacting with the public that comes in here?
A: Shopping for the store is my favorite, but that’s my second-favorite. Talking to people when they come in. I love the repeat customers and the customers who are really Pilot Point. At the beginning, I feared that the store wasn’t going to make it, but I had enough repeat local customers to keep my doors open. I’m very grateful for them.
Q: How important was it to you to be right on the Square?
A: It was very important to be here. I wanted to find a historic downtown area. I used to drive to Jefferson, TX and I loved their downtown area. I wanted to continue to be closer to home, because of my grandkids. So Pilot Point was the number one place I wanted to be.
Q: Why Pilot Point?
A: I did my elementary school in Pilot Point. My mother remarried and my stepfather was from Texas and had a relative who lived in this area. In high school, I had friends in Pilot Point, I dated a boy from Pilot Point. It’s always been an area I loved – those Sunday drives through the backroads, I always ended up in Pilot Point. Looking around, especially at the old house we lived in and stuff like that.
Martin General Store
101 S Jefferson | 940-324-6068 | @martingeneralstore on Facebook and Instagram
This is the first in our monthly series of videos covering the local businesses that make Pilot Point special. Follow us on YouTube for the latest!