New antique store launches Nov. 20
Cristy Nelson has begun setting up her new Trackside Antiques shop at 403 Market St. in downtown Clinton, which she plans to open on Wednesday, Nov. 20. (photo:G. Chambers Williams III )
Cristy Nelson, a dialysis nurse who for several years has operated a booth inside Granny’s Attic antiques, said Friday that owning her own store “has been a dream if mine for a long time,” and she jumped at the opportunity to create Trackside Antiques when the building became available recently.
“We have nine vendors already signed up, and we have room for about four more,” she said.
The “soft opening” of the store will be next week, but there will be a three-day grand opening event on Thanksgiving weekend, Nelson said – Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 29-Dec. 1.
“We will have refreshments and some special sales for the grand opening,” she added.
Trackside Antiques’ regular hours and days will be 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, and 1-5 p.m. Sunday, she said.
“I’ve just started bringing things in,” Nelson said. “We plan to have an eclectic mixture of products for sale. We want a little bit of everything.”
Meanwhile, two other downtown stores have closed in recent days.
Evans Candy Company, which opened in late September 2022 at 226 N. Main St., has closed and announced on its Facebook page that it is moving to a new location at 2109 W. Emory Road in Powell.
“We will be across from Powell High School beside Weigel’s on Emory Road,” the Facebook post said. “We are hoping to be open by mid/late December, depending on the construction completion of our new building.”
Also, last Saturday was the final day in business for My Guys Comics with Phoenix Gaming at 405 Cullom St., next to Apple Blossom Café.
That store, which opened Dec. 15, 2023, offered comic books, graphic novels, trade paperbacks, graded comic books, key books and more in the comic-book realm, along with a selection of new and used video games, trading cards, and toys – vintage and new –
according to the owners.
Fixtures and furniture in the comic store were sold off on Sunday and Monday.
As for Trackside Antiques, it’s in the same building with Preppy Pups, a dog-grooming business, which is in the rear, with its own separate entrance.
Lerissa Douglas, who runs the dog-grooming business, had been operating a boutique in the front of the building, but she closed it Oct. 31, she said.
The building housed a church for a while, and it has two stories – including a full basement that eventually will be used to expand the antiques store. It’s now divided into small rooms that were used for Sunday School classes, Douglas said.
Evans Candy Co. earlier this year received a $10,000 “Backing Small Businesses Grant” from American Express, in partnership with Main Street America, owner Kelli Evans said.
The store had begun opening only on Saturdays in March, but went back to Tuesday-Saturday operation in July after receiving the grant.
Kelli Evans and her husband, Phil, originally opened the store in 2022 in the space formerly occupied by Signs Unlimited, next door to Dogwood Carpentry.