Dan and Whits

We had hustled to Norwich in early October to see relatives and realized as we drove into town that we didn’t have a housewarming present. Fortunately, there was Dan and Whit’s, the venerable fixture that proudly declares «If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.» What we needed was the perfect bottle of wine, and with the guidance of the cheery staff, we bought not one, but two bottles.

A classic, real VT country store, not contrived like many… don’t miss the huge hardware store hidden behind the meat counter. «If they don’t have, you don’t need it!»

Fun place to shop. It has a pretty good selection of everything you need. Food (including meats and produce), wine, kitchen and dining ware, hats scarves gloves and boots, hardware, plant and garden supplies, tools, toys. It’s actually pretty well curated — more imported crap than in past years, but still some good USA made things like pickling crocks.
They carry a lot of basics, but prices are high so I mainly buy things I can’t find at Walmart or hardware stores. Coir door mats, every kind of mason jar you can imagine, made-​in-​usa glassware, maple sugaring equipment. I stick to basic items, since some of the stock is old and dusty, and return policy isn’t as good as chain stores.
Small but convenient parking lot, and there’s always a few open spaces. Nice kids working the registers. Not too many people on the floor, but if you find one, they’re usually helpful and pleasingly gruff. Prices are high but not extortionate. Returns/​exchanges are grudgingly allowed. This place has been part of the community for a long time and it’s worth a visit even if you don’t need anything!

As everyone here knows, if Dan & Whits doesn’t have it, you don’t need it! Just the best haberdashery ever!!!

I spent an amazing 45mn in here one evening when I had nothing else to do and the basic cable at the Norwich Inn had already bored me to distraction.
It’s an amazing little shop. I spent part of my childhood in a very rural village up in the mountains. This was exactly the kind of store we had, and nothing else for a good 40 miles. It has the most random assortment of things you could possibly imagine. Velvetta? Check. Gourmet dark chocolate? Also check. Rubber chicken? Check. Winter boots? Check. Some of the inventory was dusty and neglected, but most of it was in pretty good shape.
If you’re in the area, stop by and wander. If you’re like me, you’ll end up with something you didn’t realized you needed. (Bright pink Carhartt overalls, specifically.)

Dan & Whit’s is a gem. Family run, locally owned, and they hire local help and stock local sandwiches. At least one of almost anything as other reviews say.
Their pricing/​stocking system is absolutely unique. (1)Rather than pay employees to rotate stock or mark things up year around like the box stores, they only mark things down! (even on the spot if they’re not selling.) Examples– Year around you can buy fulfill any gardening/​canning/​toy needs.
(2) Everything has a price sticker. They work very hard on that.
If you don’t find what you need, ask but probably not at the registers where local school kids earn their pay– often it’s their first job from a local high school.
If you live locally ask them if they can get it and they’ll very often look it up sometimes while you’re on the phone. Ask them when to stop back.
Nowhere else in the area will you find a maple baseball bat… year around. An old fashioned heavy steam iron, you betcha. Household appliances, winter/​summer clothes… in the corner by the toys.
If it’s hardware (gardening, canning etc), find the pass through door between the fine deli, locally made sandwiches and the employees only restroom. Or start in the far corner before the boxed-​in section, hardwire phone/​phone book & the toys .
Hardware «cloth», rope, tubing, fasteners… ayup, a no brainer.
For a rare item they didn’t stock! I was surprised and grateful when they sent me to the Upper Valley’s best pure hardware store, Fogg’s, Rte. 5, south before I91.
Yes and Foggs is quick to refer folks to them for unique items also…
Their young manager, Dan Fraser, heir of the store’s founders is first rate as is all their veteran help of any age, and someone is always around there to help. Usually he works in the boxed in section main store (by the toys catty corner to the registers.) He and the other managers are super well informed and willing to make adjustments.
To maintain these policies, please look before you ask.
Will they dicker? Absolutely… especially if it’s last of a unique item or looks slightly dusty or disheveled. Just ask for or better find the department manager.
And yes, I bought an $ 11 tee shirt and will buy one for any relative who comes to town! They carry baby sizes to XXL.

Love Dan and Whits! Literally can find almost anything here, including old toys from when I was a kid! Hurray! Really enjoyed the selection of cheeses, yogurts, and locally made breads as well as all the other food options. Staff is friendly and helpful and I really enjoyed my experience here. A truly genuine experience, Dan and Whits has not sold out! YAY!

Things I found here: a roll of tickets. Jack London-​style snow shoes. Yarn. Apricot parfait. Carhartt sweaters. The scent of a female deer. Yard ornaments in the shape of an anthropomorphic frog doing yoga poses (badly). Etcetera.
As others have noted, it’s a chaotic jumbley mess of a general store, emphasis on GENERAL. You’ll find one of everything here, but it’s not necessarily guaranteed to be the highest quality or in the color that you want. Items were piled crazily onto the shelves, which was cool for atmosphere, but also made things feel a little bit dusty and low-​quality. At least, some of those kid’s plush toys looked sad and not great for the asthmatic.

This is just the kind of place I love. It’s a total mess and has a bit of everything. Sadly, Chicago and L.A. hardware stores lack this type of rural charm. It’s a place you can buy everything from gourmet chocolates to light bulbs. You cannot go wrong and I’m sure you can complete all of your holiday shopping on one trip here.

I did not realize till I came on Unilocal to write a review that this store’s motto is «If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.» Maybe they have sold the sign that said that. Point is, I found myself saying to myself as I walked the aisles, «if it’s not here I probably don’t need it.»
This is an honest-​to-​god general store where you can buy sushi, fiddleheads in season (a bargain at $ 6.99 a pound), grass-​fed beef, local IPA, snow boots, nuts and bolts (not all sizes and varieties, but if they don’t have it…) Prices are extremely fair, even low. The worn-​out hardwood floor was probably trod on by Calvin Coolidge. If you’re anywhere near Norwich, get yourself in here.

I really have never seen anything like this place in my life. It’s totally crazy. Walk in and it appears to be a small crowded little grocery store for the locals to get food, drink, etc. Walk to the center back and you see a room on the left that has paint and some tools on the wall. So you think that’s for employees. Nope, it’s the entrance to the hardware labyrinth. Walk through there and you will find every sort of tool or hardware item you will ever need. Twist and turn your way around and it just keeps going. Totally crazy, but awesome.
Once you wind your way back to the front you think you have seen it all… Nope, they have an upstairs. If you turn left to go to the hardware area stop and look to the right. A stairway leads you to the second floor. You may need to turn the lights on. Trek up the stairs to find an entire floor of shoes, boot, jeans, jackets and all sorts of work wear. It’s so amazing what they have done to this place over the years.
Their motto: «If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.» So true.
If ever in the Norwich area you have to check out Dan and Whits!
Cheers!

When people come to visit me from out of town, I bring them to Dan and Whit’s: it’s an institution.
«If they don’t have it, you don’t need it,» is true (except for propane — they don’t have that, and we needed it, once…)
They usually have one or two types of anything you need, but it is usually an inexpensive yet sturdy version. For instance, if you need a flat head screwdriver, they don’t have a whole WALL of screwdrivers, like some big box places, just one brand (Ace) of them in in different sizes. If you need a wine glass, they have one type, and it’s a couple bucks but sturdy. If you need sewing needles, they have a variety pack. If you need irrigation tubing, maple syrup taps, plastic bins, aspirin, ice cream, rain boots, underware, colored baloons, or a dog collar, they have all of those things at very reasonable prices. They even had light coconut milk when I needed it once.
Everyone is very, very nice, and will help you find whatever it is you need. If you drive by often, get a «coffee card» for $ 1 coffee every morning.
I recently moved away, and I miss it so much. Now I have to go to Target or something, or a hardware store, or at least 2 – 3 stores, and park far away, and support a big corpocrat, for what I used to go get down the road, from a friendly neighbor. America would be a better place if every neighborhood had a Dan and Whit’s

One of the truley great «Country» Stores. A must see when you are in Norwich, VT

It feels like you’re stepping back into time when you enter Dan and Whits. The sign on the front door says: «If we don’t have it, you don’t need it», and that is absolutely true. You can get food, magazines, toys, winter boots, paint, ANYTHING! Go there!

I need some toothpaste
This place is so darn crazy
Holy crap I’m lost
(If you’ve never been to Dan & Whit’s, you really do need to check it out. What appears to be a regular, medium-​sized store is actually a gigantic labyrinth. Seriously! Walk in there and just see if you don’t get lost… the place just keeps on going, and going and going. Fortunately, if you DO get lost, you could probably live in there for years… they have EVERYTHING! Highly recommended.)

«If we don’t have it, you don’t need it» they boast, and incredibly, it is likely to be true. This is an old-​style department store, long a family business, with groceries, a meat counter, clothing, hardware, gasoline, plants, etc. Anyone living in rural New England will be fully supported by this place.