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None of the regulars of the Pierpont Store on Missouri 163 are quite sure about its beginnings.
Patty Basurto, who has been working at the store for six months, heard it started out as a distillery for a settlement near Devil’s Icebox in Rock Bridge Memorial State Park.
The gas station and convenience store’s owner, Ed John, agreed it was part of the settlement, but he thinks it was always a store.
Reed Taylor, a regular at the Pierpont Store who lives in Sapp, can’t quite remember its origin but said its current location is set atop a cave.
They all agree the store was moved from near Rockbridge State Park in 1889 to its current location at 7650 Missouri 163 S. in Pierpont.
The trouble with tracking the store’s history may have something to do with the number of times ownership has traded hands.
In the ’60s it wasn’t a store, but the residence of Lloyd “Fatty” Martin, who was often seen sitting on the back stoop smoking cigars, John said. The store didn’t reopen until the ’70s. And when it went up for sale in 1995, John and a partner decided to buy it.
“It was just kind of a spur of the moment thing,” John said. “I didn’t even start thinking about it until pretty darn close to the day I bought it.”
Since then, the store has become a gathering spot and an information center for those who live nearby. People will call looking for lost dogs, or in the winter, they will call to ask about road conditions, John said.
The primary source of community knowledge is a group that meets every morning at 6:30 to drink coffee and chat.
When someone has a problem, a piece of broken machinery or another sort of inquiry, their first stop is often to those morning regulars.
“Between all of us, somebody knows something about everything,” John said.
“Or thinks they do,” Taylor added.
Hannah Robbins, who started working there in February, said she enjoys working at the Pierpont Store.
“All kinds of people come here,” she said. “I like the friendly atmosphere, especially the coffee club. All kinds of people come here.”
John agreed with her.
“It’s almost like a therapy to spend a few hours over here chatting to people,” he said. “We see some of the richest people in the area and then people who are basically living in their car. Doctors, lawyers, locals, bicyclists from the park. You get to see such a different variety. And even the richest folks will sit around and talk to you just like everybody else.”
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