Across the railroad tracks and nestled in Highway 531’s big “s” curve is a piece of history: Dubberly Gen’l Store.

Originally built in the early 1900s, the building that stands now is a testament to perseverance and love.

“This building was built in the 1920s, after the original building burned,” said Allen Frye, current owner of the store.

The Fryes purchased the store in 2006 from the Walravens, who owned it after the A.A. Holleys.

“We’re all connected in some way, so it’s like keeping it in the family,” Frye said.

A two-year labor of love that included more than 648 tubes of calk and a lot of sweat equity, has resulted in the reopening of Dubberly Gen’l Store – a place where folks can stop to pick up a few groceries, have a bite to eat or just visit with friends.

Although Frye, his mother and sister lived in Shreveport growing up, Frye’s family is from the Fryeburg/ Dubberly area. He was living in Houston, when he met and married Tammy. The couple moved to Dubberly with their children, but Tammy soon grew homesick for the city.

“I knew nothing about country living,” she said. “I was ready to move back to Houston when Allen asked me if he bought this building, would I stay. He knew I loved it, and that’s what keeps me here.”

After three years of living in Dubberly and two years of working on the old store, Tammy now thinks of this area as home. They’ve built an addition on back of the store, and that’s where they live. Allen still commutes some 500 miles to Houston to work.

“I have 24 years in the fire department there, with only six left before I retire,” he said. While he’s gone, Tammy tends to the store and their two young sons. She has plenty of help from family and friends – especially in the kitchen, where you can find Tammy’s mother, her daughter and other relatives.

“We are open for breakfast and lunch,” Frye said. “We have a few things on our menu that we offer every day, but we don’t have ‘specials of the day.’ One day we might serve chicken fried steak and one day we’ll serve something else. It’s home cooking, made right here in our kitchen.”

Although the store maintains an original “look,” the Fryes have made changes of their own. The outside of the building, once painted white, tended to blend into surrounding structures. The Fryes have painted it red.

“I wanted it to look somewhat like a barn,” Frye said.

Inside, some unique touches include bar stools made of boat seats perched atop motors, original murals on the walls that show off some of Frye’s hunting prizes, and old tools and photographs mounted on the walls. The original wood floors remain.

Remodeling the old store and building the addition where they live was no easy task for the Fryes.
John Cole, with Gibsland Bank & Trust, helped make their dream possible.

“Towns like Dubberly can dry up after a time,” Cole said. “This store is helping revitalize the area.”

Dubberly Gen’l Store opens for breakfast Monday through Saturday at 5 a.m. Although they don’t serve dinner, the doors aren’t locked until 6 p.m. Frye said that at some point, they may begin serving Sunday lunches.

“We have some constant customers, and we’d like to offer them an alternative place to eat every day,” he said. “As it is, now we’ll fax out menus to anyone who wants to pick up their lunch to go.”

Their phone number is 377-3073, and they have a web site: dubberlygeneralstore.com.

While the store has been reopened for some time, Allen and Tammy Frye and their children, “officially” cut the ribbon Tuesday, with family, friends and customers around them. It’s a new chapter in their lives.

“If I had never lived in Houston, I wouldn’t realize what I have here,” Tammy said. “It’s home.”

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