PORTSMOUTH, Va. — On High Street in Olde Towne Portsmouth, a small business is blending history, nostalgia, and a teenager’s big ambitions.
At Market Street and General Store, shelves are lined with old-fashioned candy, candles, pottery, and Christmas decorations.
In the middle of it all is 18-year-old Lindsay Goodwin, a partial owner who graduated from Churchland High School in June 2025 and is now a first-year student at Virginia Wesleyan University.
Goodwin, who is majoring in art and minoring in business, spends her time shuttling between campus in Virginia Beach and the store in Portsmouth.
“Right now, we have a lot of Christmas stuff for the holidays, but we also have the old-fashioned Coca-Cola bottles in our original 1958 cooler,” Goodwin said.
A mountain-town idea brought home
The general store, which opened about three years ago, was inspired by Goodwin’s family trips to the mountains of North Carolina, where traditional general stores are still common.
“We always love going to the mountains of North Carolina, and you find general stores like this all over,” she said. “We loved the idea, but we wanted to bring it to our hometown.”
Portsmouth’s deep history made High Street the obvious choice, Goodwin said.
The shop leans into that historic feel, offering what she describes as an “old-fashioned family place” where locals and visitors can slow down and look around.
“Portsmouth is known for its history, and so we wanted to bring back the historical feel, but also the old-fashioned family place for everyone to come,” she said.
Learning small business the hard way
Goodwin’s father, Tony Goodwin, a Portsmouth native and longtime commercial real estate professional, helped her bring the idea to life while she was still in high school. He calls her his business partner, but says the experience is also meant to be a lesson in ownership.
He says small business ownership is rewarding but not easy.
Foot traffic is strong around the holidays or during events, but it can slow down significantly in the winter months.
“Small business is tough. It's not for everyone. If it was, everyone would be doing it,” Tony Goodwin said.
Still, he says, customers from all over, including many with military ties who have lived in different parts of the country, remind them why they opened in the first place.
“When they come in, they say, ‘Man, this reminds me of something I grew up on back home,’ and that's what makes us feel good about what we've done,” he said. “We've created a space that is nostalgic and fits Olde Towne perfectly.”
Community impact and a young owner’s motivation
The Goodwins see the store as part of a broader effort to revitalize High Street, a corridor that has struggled with vacancies over the years.
“We are just part of the solution in making High Street truly a place to live, work, shop, and play,” Tony said.
For Lindsay, the store is also a way to stay connected to her community while building real-world experience in retail, tourism, and customer service.
She says she loves working alongside her family and meeting visitors from out of town, especially during the holidays.
She admits that when friends first realized she was an owner, they were surprised.
“When I was in high school, I would have friends walk by, and they’d say, ‘Wait, Lindsay, you work here? That’s crazy,’” she said.
The skepticism extended beyond her classmates. Some people doubted that an old-fashioned general store could survive in Portsmouth.
“A lot of people didn't believe that an old-fashioned general store would thrive here in Portsmouth, Virginia,” Lindsay said. “But here we are.”
Alongside day-to-day operations, the shop also participates in community events.
Goodwin said they had special activities planned for a holiday music festival on Dec. 13, part of their efforts to draw more people to Olde Towne during the festive season.
As she works toward her degree in art and business, Goodwin is also thinking long-term.
Her father says the store was intentionally built so she could eventually call it fully her own, a homegrown business rooted in the city where she grew up.
Tony Goodwin says that soon they will be collaborating with Karen Wadhams to bring more items to the store.
For now, the 18-year-old is focused on balancing class schedules, customers, and the challenges of small-business ownership.
Her goal: keep the doors open, keep the nostalgia alive, and keep High Street moving forward, one customer at a time.
