CHURCHVILLE — The smell of pine welcomes you as your enter the storefront off U.S. 250. Bella the dog greets you and saunters off. 

The building, built in 1929, still has its original pine floors. It was originally a grocery store for the town of Churchville. 

When Jack Wilson purchased it two years ago, the walls were covered in fiber board and the floor was tiled and carpeted. That's all changed now, floor and walls are encased in wood — sourced locally.

You can see almost to the back of the building — a wide space that has merchandise in the middle and off to the sides. 

The Necessary Mercantile recently opened in Churchville offering beekeeping supplies, mushroom materials and more. Wilson said it's kind of an extension of his restaurant down the road, White's Wayside. Jack and Mary Wilson purchased the restaurant in 2012, began renovations and opened that in 2016.

Two years ago, they were driving past the empty storefront on Churchville Avenue in downtown Churchville and saw a for sale sign in the window of an old general store. That's when they bought it. 

The store focuses on bringing the land to the people. Want to learn how to grow mushrooms? This is the place. Need to learn about pollinators or maybe want to keep bees? They can help. 

The store, through Wilson's company Friends of Fungus, has an expanded selection of fresh and dry mushrooms, along with and grow-your-own oyster mushroom kits. There's also inoculated Shiitake mushroom logs along with certified wild mushroom foragers available to answer all your mushroom questions. 

The store holds classes on how to grow your own mushrooms and beekeeping classes, as well. 

Wilson said the store serves as an outlet for the restaurant. The store carries products from the small apiary Necessary Bees, which is out near White's Wayside, like local honey, maple syrup, molasses, hive supplies, swarm traps, books and more. 

Wilson has his hand in a little bit of everything in the shop, including the mushrooms, bees and anything to deal with the restaurant.

He's also brought in several other local merchants, like B&B Craftsmen, a local lumber company out of Mount Solon and also Chris Vacher, who runs the store an also has his own touring business called Enchanted Nature Tours, which is an education hike program. Wilson also brought on Rose Grant, who manages White's Wayside and Nicole Majer, who is a master beekeeper from Highland County. 

More:Staunton's Long John Silver's to open sometime in April

More:Homicide suspect is Staunton councilwoman's son. Can he get a fair trial in the city?

More:COVID caused Stewart Middle's FCCLA membership to dwindle. Two 8th graders want to build it back.

The store also carries White's Wayside bread, beef, Amish products, hand pies and other local food. 

The store aims to be a resource for the surrounding community that is looking to get more involved in nature, Wilson said. 

"I think that especially for things like beekeeping that is very much a something that takes a mentor," Majer said. "There's a lot to learn. And I think having a place in the community where you know, you can meet and find not only the resources that you need in terms of hardware, but also the research sources in terms of conversation and discussion ... I think the most important thing."

Vacher said he wants people to get more in touch with nature, which is what his business Enchanted Nature Tours is all about. 

"Look at the world, all the problems ... we have the bees are in serious trouble," he said. "One out of every three bites of food relies on pollinators. People are out of touch with nature. There was a study at Harvard Medical did a study three years ago saying the people on average in America spending 90% of their time indoors. So they're just getting further and further away from nature."

Wilson said he's hoping to see more revival in downtown Churchville. His store follows a pizza shop — Village Pizza Too — opening in 2020 and a coffee shop community space — MTN. Mystic — opening in 2019.  Wilson said he's liking the empty buildings in the main thoroughfare being rehabbed and brought back to life. He's also renovated apartments upstairs. 

The store is located at 3816 Churchville Ave. For more information visit ChurchvilleNecessary.com. For now, the store is open Thursdays and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Laura Peters is the trending topics reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip on local trends or businesses? Or a good feature? You can reach reporter Laura Peters (she/her) at lpeters@newsleader.com. Follow her @peterslaura. Subscribe to The News Leader at newsleader.com.