Monroe Couple to Open Stripling's General Store in Watkinsville

Mouths have been watering since customers learned in January that a Stripling's General Store was planning to open in Watkinsville. It seems they won't have to wait much longer to sink their teeth into the business's popular beef jerky and sausages.  The franchise, nestled on the corner of US Highway 78 and Ga. Highway 53, is almost ready to open its doors. The latest update on Stripling's Facebook Page states that the Oconee County store is expected to open the week of Oct. 29.

According to a story in the Americus Recorder, the new store is a partnership between Stripling Store founders Ricky and Lisa Hardin and Jimmy and Andrea Camp of Monroe, Ga. Camp is a businessman and hog farmer and reportedly a "sausage connoiseur."

The Oconee County store will be a fourth location. It reportedly will have the look and feel much like the original Stripling store on Highway 300 in Cordele - a store from the early 1900s.. This 15,000 sq. ft. store will have custom-cut meat market including items like Stripling’s Sausage and Beef Jerky. It will also have specialty items such as jellies, jams, syrups, sauces, pickles and other grocery items.