Country Charm with All the Fixins Country Giftware and Edible Gifts at Country Stores

By Carimé Lane

From soup to nuts, country stores have customers covered. For this article, we spoke with five store owners about their best-sellers and sales strategies to keep their country-themed and edible merchandise selling.

Elsah General Store can be found in historic Elsah, Ill. The village, a historic stop for riverboats on the Mississippi River, is a tourist destination and home to 100 residents. The village has preserved its historic character. In fact, said Blair Smith , the store’s owner, the countertops and flooring of the store are original to 1877.

Hadley Pottery, featuring Mary Alice Hadley’s distinctive blue primary color and country scenes of pigs, cows and houses are best-sellers for Smith. He sells Hadley Pottery with Christmas designs as well, but said that “by far,” his best-sellers are the dishware depicting the livestock.

Smith stocks some of his edible selection with merchandise not easily procured in the area. Some very popular products come from Cherry Republic in Glen Abor, Mich. “Their cherry salsa, jams, and chocolate-covered cherries make excellent gifts,” Smith said.

Local edible gifts are also strong sellers.

These include specialty foods and treats from nearby St. Louis. For instance, Smith carries gooey butter cake from McArthur’s Bakery or Ann & Allen Bakers of St. Louis. The cake, indigenous to the area, was created accidently when a baker reversed the proportions of flour and sugar in the recipe.

Another local favorite is Ella & Ollie Popcorn. “It’s an heirloom variety (never been hybridized), grown on land that has been farmed by the same family for seven generations, pops up to a large, fluffy, white popcorn, and is sold in glass jars or burlap gift bags,” Smith said.

It’s important to curate an attractive display to sell more merchandise, Smith said. Smith also pointed out that each item on display has a story–“a unique reason why it’s on the shelves of an old general store.”

“Being willing to engage customers in conversation, and share some interesting information about each item, adds value and makes the purchase and the whole shopping experience feel a little more special,” Smith said.

Top of Texas Country Store, is located in Texline, Texas, a town roughly 500 residents strong. Megan Nightingale , owner of the approximately 1,100-square-foot store (with 300-square-feet of bakery/kitchen), said travelers from several hours away often pop by to shop as well.

Best-selling country themed items at the shop include larger items like windchimes and musical clocks and smaller items like punched tin wax warmers, nightlights, and Milkhouse Candle Co., which carries candles in old-fashioned cream and butter jars (and melts, too). Purses and tote bags fashioned from cowhide leather and recycled canvas sell very well, too. In the five years the shop has been open, the trending colors

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