Small Business Spotlight: Stella's Mercantile

When telling the story of Stella’s Mercantile, it is difficult to separate the story of the business from that of the people who have given it life. That’s because owners Ellen Lash and Brad Woolf have given their all to creating something akin to a memory machine in the rolling hills of Vinton County.

Step inside Stella’s and you will find yourself transported to another time and place. Here you’ll find locally made arts and crafts, plants, fudge, and baked goods among other things that you won’t see in a big box store.

Original hardwood floors, antique fixtures, a great ceiling, and an old pot belly stove set a special scene. Bars on the windows harken to the days when this was the post office for the small community of Stella. Add in the smell of fresh bread and this store feels timeless. It’s not just a place to buy things or to get lunch. It’s a truly special experience.

“People have an emotional reaction when they come in,” Ellen explained. “Sometimes it’s because they came here as kids and have memories to share or because it reminds them of somewhere else.”

Before opening as Stella’s back in April, the general store had a 135-year-old past but had sat empty since the retirement of its final owners Shag and Helen Fout in 1988. Generations of folks had frequented this store during a time when they sold everything from shoes and bibbed overalls to bulk Christmas candy and smoked meats. When it went up for sale a few years ago, Ellen’s family bought the property because they understood its historic value.

“I used to bring my kids here to buy Christmas candy when they were small. My mother-in-law and I would make a day out of coming here. It’s a part of my family’s tradition and the history of our county. We couldn’t just let it fall in,” she said.

The Vinton County native grew up in a civic minded family with parents who were entrepreneurs and a mom who was a business owner at a time when women were expected to stay home. “I watched her own a business and take care of her family. Then I had a family of my own and stayed home with them until my youngest was two,” she recalled. “I have always had a love of cooking, feeding people, and caring for people. Then Brad and I met and he has a business mind.”

Brad is retired from a 44-year career with Wendy’s where he started as a grill cook and ended up as director of operations. The Bellefontaine native lost his wife to cancer in 2017 at about the same time Ellen lost her husband to the same disease. The two connected a few years later, finding ease in a relationship where there is much common ground.

One day Brad asked the magic question. “I asked her what she would do if she knew she couldn’t fail and she said she would open a restaurant. That’s how all of this started,” he said.

They opened a food truck called The Dough Maker which specialized in her homemade pizza before expanding the menu to include things like pulled pork, grilled cheese on homemade bread, and cinnamon rolls that are their hottest seller. But Ellen had a vision for expanding that food truck into a business rooted in local traditions and in supporting local people who create things.

That’s how the store came to be.

Brad recalled spending 18-months clearing the overgrown landscape, scraping, cleaning, planning and prepping the space for locals to sell their creations. He’s a handy guy and a jack-of-all trades who loves people and their stories. “I used to run a youth ministry and taking care of people, ministering to their needs and helping them get what they want is important. This is our ministry. We are helping people here,” he said.

Today they have over thirty vendors who sell all kinds of things and Ellen says they all have a story. For example, there are leather items made with leather from the nation’s oldest tannery. One painter is battling cancer while there are sourdough breads from the home bakery of a young mother. Ellen’s own granddaughter sells bracelets to benefit Children’s Hospital while creations by one local man keep alive the tradition of woodturning. Quilted items, stained glass, houseplants, and walking sticks are just a few of the items that shoppers will find. They even sell Dubai Chocolate alongside some packaged snacks, local beef and supplies campers might need.

“Some people just come and look around but most people will talk a little, Brad said just before one visitor popped in to buy something he had seen the day before. That person stayed to chat a while, sharing stories from their own youth and about their life in retirement. After he left Brad said, “See? He didn’t just come for a plant. He came to talk to somebody. That’s what it’s all about.”

The store also features a small handmade merry-go-round that Brad’s grandpa built in the 1950s for a store he owned. There’s even a vintage Coca Cola cooler filled with glass bottles of Coke, Ski and root beer.

On the wall near the cash register, a framed portrait of Shag and Helen Fout reminds everyone that community is important and that people matter here. 

Brad and Ellen have plans for expansion including a restaurant and coffee shop in the old house next to the store. They also are planning a small outdoor stage for karaoke night and a pavilion so that folks who come to eat will have an outdoor place to enjoy. Right now, food is served from The Dough Maker’s food truck unless it’s out at an event or at Le Petit Chevalier Winery which is located just up the road. In fact, the winery and Stella’s regularly partner in promoting each other. They have a small campground for tent and RV camping, a couple of tree swings, and some picnic tables perfect for lingering over a good meal.

Brad says life has been good to him. “I used to be so tired and angry in corporate America but this, this is wonderful. I’ve got no pressure here and I feel fulfilled.”

Ellen talked about the art of finding purpose. “We all have to have a purpose in life. Once you get to a certain age, it’s more important than ever to have purpose in every day. I wouldn’t want to spend all my time sitting around. We are helping others and, in turn, are helping ourselves.”

Stella’s Mercantile is located at 26560 Locust Grove Rd., Creola, Ohio. Follow them on Facebook for hours and more!