Inside the Old Sautee Store: A Timeless Detour Near Helen, Georgia
Podcast Show Notes: The Old Sautee Store
Step inside a piece of Georgia’s history. In this episode, we visit the Old Sautee Store, a landmark that has been welcoming travelers since the 1870s. More than just a country store, this place is part museum, part mercantile, and part café, making it one of the most unique stops you can make in North Georgia.
We’ll talk about the history of the store, how it has evolved from its days as a trading post into a modern visitor favorite, and what makes it such a fascinating detour when exploring the Helen–Sautee Nacoochee Valley area.
📍 Location
Old Sautee Store
2315 GA-17, Sautee Nacoochee, GA 30571
oldsauteestore.com
The store sits at the intersection of GA Highway 17 and Highway 255, just a few minutes outside Helen, Georgia.
🛒 What You’ll Find
A museum section with antique fixtures, an original fireplace, and historic merchandise displays.
A modern shop selling local jams, jellies, honey, cheeses, cured meats, and regional wines.
Specialty gifts ranging from hand-crafted goods to nostalgic candies.
A café counter with sandwiches, fresh bread, and coffee—perfect for fueling up while exploring the valley.
🌄 What’s Nearby
If you’re planning a visit, make a day of it by exploring the surrounding area:
Sautee Nacoochee Indian Mound – Just down the road, this iconic mound with its small white gazebo is one of the most photographed sites in North Georgia.
Helen, GA – A Bavarian-themed alpine town filled with shops, restaurants, and seasonal festivals.
Hardman Farm State Historic Site – Historic home and dairy farm tied to Georgia’s agricultural heritage.
Sautee Nacoochee Center – Local cultural hub featuring art galleries, performances, and Appalachian history.
🎧 Listen & Subscribe
Wherever you go, take the story with you. This podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, and all major platforms. Don’t forget to follow so you don’t miss future episodes.
Helen, Georgia: The Bavarian Town That Shouldn’t Exist
How a fading mountain town reinvented itself as an Alpine village in the Deep South.
Classic beer garden in downtown Helen, Georgia.
Nestled in the North Georgia mountains is a place that looks nothing like the South. Half-timbered chalets. Bavarian beer halls. Gingerbread rooftops. It’s called Helen, Georgia, a town that once teetered on the brink of collapse, until a handful of locals decided to gamble on a wild idea: transforming a former logging town into a Bavarian Alpine village.
In this episode, we dig into the improbable reinvention of Helen, from its boom days of timber, to its desperate pivot to tourism, to the Oktoberfest capital it has become today. Along the way, we’ll look at what worked, what didn’t, and why this “Alpine illusion” continues to draw millions of visitors a year.
Whether you love quirky roadside Americana or just wonder how a place like this even happened, Helen’s story is a reminder that sometimes, the strangest ideas are the ones that stick.
