Petoskey Michigan – Symons General Store
One of the treasures you’ll find in Petoskey is Symons General Store located on the corner of Lake & Howard. Opened in 1960 by Tom Symons, the store has evolved into one of Petoskey’s main tourist attractions.
In the general store, you’ll ll find unique gourmet items, including artisan cheeses, patés, crackers, chocolates, candies, mustards, sauces, jams, jellies, coffee, tea, cookies, olive oils, vinegars, a great selection of wines and much more.
The wine list at the general store made Food & Wine’s October 2006 “America’s 50 Most Amazing Wine Experiences.” The wine cellar holds over 5000 bottles and Symons holds regular wine tasting events.
I received a Symons’ gift card for Christmas, so I wandered in on Tuesday to look for a few items – which can be a daunting task given all the wonderful delights that are packed into every nook and cranny – one of the great attributes of the general store experience.
Symons General Store is not your IKEA experience – IKEA being one of my least favorite stores on the planet – not the merchandise, but the marketing philosophy. IKEA’s idea of marketing seems to be – let’s trap our patrons in the store and force them to walk by everything we can cram into our 2 acre warehouse. This is great for 20-somethings but hell on others. Ah, but I digress…
Symons General Store has a lot of merchandise crammed into a rather small space, but that’s exactly what a general store is all about. You can get trapped in Symons – by the crowd, but you’re only 20 feet from the door, not a mile – IKEA 
It took me 25 minutes to decide on the few items I chose and in the end, as you might expect, the sweet tooth won.
I purchased some Chicago Flats Flatbread to use as a base for some peanut butter & jelly snacking.
For a fruit spread I chose (a very difficult decision – so many choices in jams & jellies!) Scandinavian Delights Lingonberry Danish Spread.
Ptom loves ice cream, so I got him a jar of Fudge is My Life Dark Chocolate Sauce - which I am hoping he will share.
Depending on how you view life, I made the mistake or had the good fortune to get in line behind a gent that wanted some of the $22 a pound toffee that Symons General Store carries. I’ve never sampled any toffee in that price range, so I decided to go along for the ride as well – man, that stuff just melts in your mouth. Before I knew it – the bag was empty. I did manage to share a piece with Sheila at Petoskey Health & Fitness.
