When Steven and Mary Stoltzfus were buying 2.6 acres in Parkman Township, they considered demolishing the barn to build a completely new store.
When Steven and Mary Stoltzfus were buying 2.6 acres in Parkman Township, they considered demolishing the barn to build a completely new store.
“Everybody said, ‘Don’t tear it down,’” Steven said. “When we got in, we saw it was sturdier than we’d thought.”
The building had been the workshop of the previous owner, Ernie Conover, who was a well-known woodworker, Steven said.
The couple already had a store on their property on Farmington Road a few miles away where they sell home décor toys and gifts. While the business was growing, the operation was not large enough provide Steven with a full-time position, so they were looking for opportunities to expand.
In September, the Stoltzfuses bought the property at 18125 Madison Road and rapidly started on new construction of an addition, opening the doors in February.
They also bought out Clara Miller’s Crosscut Country Store, a local footwear store in need of a new setting, he said.
“We combined the two (stores) into this. Clara is here Mondays and Thursdays and her former employee, Saloma Miller, works here, too,” Steven said.
Now called The Barn – Stoltzfus Footwear and Variety, customers visit from all over Geauga County, as well as out of town.
Part of the attraction may be his attractive design and the work done by his construction crew, Steven said.
He retained the barn with some of the original walls to serve as a sales floor for the scooters many area Amish use in place of bicycles.
The other side of the older structure showcases handsome harness and tack, as well as the myriad items needed for horse and tack care.
The back of the barn opens to a wide wooden staircase leading up to a barn loft full of traditional Amish clothing and hats.
The staircase also leads to the new, lower level, where customers can get an elevated view of rows and rows of black shoes and boots from dozens of companies.
From the shoe store, visitors enter the variety store containing, among other things, children’s books, essential oils, toys, Milwaukee and DuWalt lanterns with rechargeable batteries, Immergood ice cream freezers, ice chests and a rack of P Graham Dunn trendy wooden signs announcing “I Need Beach Therapy” and “Seas the Day.”
Throughout the store are items handmade by local craftsmen such as Amish doll clothes and hanging racks for drying clothes.
Wide aisles, new windows, high ceilings and LED lighting provide good views of displays. Steven noted the lighting is completely solar-powered by panels behind the building.
