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Dublin General Store gets ready for grand reopening

Posted at 4:53 PM, Sep 22, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-22 16:58:44-04

DUBLIN, Mich. — The Dublin General Store burned down over Labor Day weekend last year after someone purposely set it on fire – but it’s that fire that’s lit a different one in the Fischer family.

The family has been working hard on the store’s grand re-opening.

Even though the outside might now look like much right now, a lot of work is being done inside.

“Every day is a new day for us, a new experience,” Bonnie Fischer said. “I’m just hanging in there without any sleep.”

The store, known as “the famous jerky place,” is located in the not-so-famous small town of Dublin in Manistee County.

The family wanted to open sooner, but couldn’t when the coronavirus pandemic hit.

From needing a new liquor license, to the wrong type of concrete being poured, the Fischers have had to start over completely from scratch.

All the machines used to make their products had to be special ordered, which took time, too.

Dean Fischer says they have a new smoker for the jerky, and there was a learning curve with the machine.

Dublin General has been a family business in every way for three generations.

A tribute to where it all started is front and center at the new store.

Greg Fischer’s mom is 90. Her parents ran the store, too, many years ago.

Her wish was to have a place for people to meet.

She also insisted she would pay for it.

“Absolutely, I said, ‘Mom, you don’t have to,’” Greg said. “She put her foot down. When mom puts her foot down...”

You have to listen.

Greg did, and the Dublin General Store is almost ready to open.

“It’s a lot of manual labor,” Bonnie Fischer said. “But I said, ‘We’re noted for that.’”

Another thing they’re excited about is a pharmacy and pharmacist that will be in the new store.

The pharmacist still needs more state licensing, so that won’t be available just yet – but they haven’t had a pharmacy since 2008.

It’s a service they’re excited to offer the town for the first time in a while, along with many others.

The Fischers have just a few hundred more pounds of jerky to smoke and a few finishing touches to make before they can say the Dublin General Store is open.

As for that fire last year?

No arrests were ever made.