While I was on my Northeast Georgia Road Trip, I stopped by two stores that are combination store and museum (and one was also part cafe). They’re both nice combinations of commerce and history, where you can shop and see how things used to be.

On Thursday, after I visited the Hardman Farm State Historic Site, I stopped by the Old Sautee Store in Sautee-Nacoochee. It’s a combination of General/Country Store, Museum, and Cafe. My first stop was the Cafe, where I had an excellent Turkey Panini (with cheese, spinach, and chili stone ground mustard) for lunch. When you walk into the store, the first thing you see is the counter of an old General/Country Store along with merchandise and store equipment. They still operate as a store where you can buy a variety of tourist type merchandise your remember your visit to Sautee-Nacoochee with and/or locally produced food or locally made products. The staff are amazingly friendly, it’s a wonderful place to stop for break or a bite to eat if you’re traveling around North Georgia.

During my visit to Hardman Farm on Thursday, I learned that Nora Mill Granary on GA-17 between Hardman Farm and Helen was once part of the Hardman Farm. It had been on my list of places to visit, but after that I knew I had to stop in, so I dropped in on my way back to Savannah on Friday. The mill still operates off of water power from the Chattahoochee River to make grits, cornmeal, flour, and a variety of corn and wheat based mixes that are sold there at the mill. I enjoyed seeing the stone mill equipment even though it wasn’t in use when I stopped by. I did take the opportunity to buy some stone ground grits and some jams and preserves from their store. If you drop by, make sure you go out back to see the mill’s dam and the river behind the mill – it’s quite picturesque and full of some huge trout.