Little Shop, Big Stock
By Brandy Nance
Originally published 09:12 a.m., January 19, 2008
Updated 09:12 a.m., January 19, 2008
Need a lamp? Bait, Tackle & Treasures, 416 E. Grand St., Hartford, has it.
Need a fishing hook? Or even a ceiling fan? The store has that too. And you could even pick up some baby toys or books while you are there.
Hartford resident Leona Horton opened her store, Bait, Tackle & Treasures, last month. And the building’s already bursting at the seams with all kinds of merchandise. Horton decided to open the store after taking early retirement. She opened up her store with her husband, Paul Simpson. Simpson manages the tackle and fishing side of things, Horton said.
“I didn’t want to just sit around,” she said. “It gives me something to do.”
Horton opened her store next to her home in a large shed. She converted the shed into her store, which is already filled with merchandise. Horton has so much stuff she said she may add on to the shed to add more storage. Even the lofts in the shed are chock full of merchandise. And Horton has more.
“If I sell half the stuff in my house, I’m supplied for a year,” she said, chuckling.
A walk-through of the store proves Horton has a lot of variety. There’s everything from kitchen items, bathroom items, bedroom items, art, lots of toys, clothes, decorative items and even Halloween costumes. There’s an entire section of the store dedicated to children’s items. Horton gets these items from her daughter. As her daughter’s children grows out of the items, she gives them to Horton to sell in her store. The items are like new and all mechanical toys work, said Horton, as she demonstrated a toy dog that walks and barks when a button is pushed.
“I just have a little bit of everything,” Horton said. “You name it, I got it. I have stuff I didn’t even know I had.”
Horton even has an “easy button” next to the cash register. The button is similar to the buttons sold by Staples and has the words “easy button” taped to it.
“The kids love it,” Horton said, adding that they love it so much, the batteries are already run down.