Toys on the Square
When Nan Gunnett spotted an available storefront on Hummelstown’s town square, she knew this was the place to open her fine crafts shop.
“I came here because I like Hummelstown,” said Gunnett, who opened Nan Gunnett & Co. Fine Craft Gallery in March 2015. “It’s quaint and small. It’s a very nice community, but a lot of people don’t even know about it.”
At first glance, this Dauphin County community with around 4,500 residents might appear sleepy and quiet. In reality, through, the Hummelstown Business and Professional Association boasts a roster of around 100 business owners and professionals.
Want to play Santa’s elf? Toys on the Square is stocked for the little munchkins in your life. Looking for that unique gift? Visit Nan Gunnett or Down a Country Road. Need a lift while shopping? The caffeine’s brewing at Seasonal Grounds Tea Bar.
It’s Great
Two years ago, Anju Singh opened Aanchal Apparel & Accessories, where she carries a wide variety of colorful clothing and jewelry from her native India. She began by selling items from her home but soon realized that she needed a storefront to accommodate a swelling customer base.
“The culture of Hummelstown is a good mix,” said Singh, who also serves as president of the borough’s business association. “It’s a small town, but it’s broad-minded.”
Down West Main Street from Singh’s shop, Nan Gunnett sells unique, handcrafted pottery, jewelry, hand-blown glass pieces, copper mobiles and more by American and Canadian artists.
“I have personally met just about every artist whose work we sell here,” said Gunnett. “It’s not mass-produced. Each piece is just a little different because it’s all handmade.”
For instance, on Nov. 11 and 12, Harrisburg crafter Richelle Leigh will visit for a trunk sale featuring her fine jewelry creations.
Before opening her store, Gunnett ran a shop in Hershey’s Briarcrest Square for 13 years and said that several of her old business neighbors there also have moved to Hummelstown. In fact, it was Gunnett’s old neighbors who urged her to reopen her business in Hummelstown, she said.
“‘Come on down here, it’s great,’ they told me,” Gunnett recalled.
Like Family
Toys on the Square comprises about 8,000 square feet of dolls, trucks, crafts, games, trains, toy animals, Magic Ink books and countless other items. It also offers an onsite pottery studio for artists of all ages.
“Our variety is unique,” said owner Grafton Stine, who said the store has been in business for 30 years. “We sold an 18,000-piece puzzle just a few minutes ago. We have stuff here for all ages.”
“Nothing is computer generated here, either,” added store employee Donna Trostle.
Youngsters can entertain themselves as parents shop with the in-store Thomas the Train table display and riding toys. For parents on the go, Toys On The Square offers pickup service and free gift-wrapping.
“It’s very personal here,” Trostle said. “It’s more like family.”
But maybe the kids in your life are the furry kind. In that case, the Hershey Pet Food Company, just a few blocks away, stocks healthy treats and fun playthings for your pet. After all, they’ve been good (more or less) all year long, too.
For the adults, Down a Country Road, just up the street, sells gifts, décor items, food and drink mixes and a whole lot more placed through 11 themed rooms set in a charming 1949 house.
“I have everything,” owner Paulette Flicker said. “Candles, wall décor, outside flags and mailbox covers, things for every room in the house.”
Flicker opened the business with a partner in 1994 but has maintained the store by herself since 1999. She also runs the PJ Scoops ice cream stand located at the back of the Down a Country Road homestead. The “55 Flavors of Fun” treat shop is open from April to October each year.
Flicker also manages to find time to help out at the Backyard Woodshop, which is owned by her boyfriend, Richard Lundeen. It offers furniture stripping and restoration, structural repairs, part reproduction and veneering.
Speaking of guy stuff, don’t hesitate to stop into Bill Maloney’s Men’s Wear & Tailor Shop, which has been making fellows look good for almost 40 years.
Throwback
If all this shop-hopping wears you out, you can take a break at the Seasonal Grounds Tea Bar located directly across from Nan Gunnett in the Cocoa Flats complex on West Main Street. Co-owners Tom Brown and Crystal Huff opened the shop in October 2015.
“We roast our own coffee with no syrups and blend our own teas,” Brown said. “It’s a throwback.”
Customers can buy beverages by the cup or purchase specialty teas by the ounce and coffees by the pound. Tea varieties include Raspberry Fields Forever, Just Peachy and Mint Chocolate Chip. Coffee choices include Not Your Mamma’s Java, Up In Smoke and Awake O Sleeper.
Seasonal Grounds is hosting a Hummelstown Area Food Bank fundraiser on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m., featuring live music. Patrons are asked to bring a non-perishable food donation.
Eventually, Brown said, he and Huff would like to start afterschool programs in the shop’s unfinished back room or rent it out for community events. For now, however, patrons simply can sit back with a steaming cup and engage in one of the many board games on hand.
“We want to get people to just come in and relax with friends,” he said.
For more information about Hummelstown businesses and upcoming events, visit the Hummelstown Business and Professional Association’s website at www.hummelstown.com.
Going There
Are you interested in doing a little shopping in Hummelstown this season? You have dozens of stores to choose from, including the following shops mentioned in this story:
- Aanchal Apparel & Accessories, 417 W. Main St., www.aanchalapparel.com
- The Backyard Woodshop, 121 W. Second St., www.backyardwoodshop.com
- Bill Maloney’s Men’s Wear & Tailor Shop, 17 E. Main St., www.billmaloneymenswear.com
- Down a Country Road & PJ Scoops, 295 E. Main St., www.downcountryroad.com
- Hershey Pet Food Co., 245 W. Main St., Facebook: Hershey Pet Food Company
- Nan Gunnett & Co. Fine Craft Gallery, 7 W. Main St., www.nangunnettco.com
- Seasonal Grounds Tea Bar, 7 W. Main St., www.seasonalgroundsteabar.com
- Toys on the Square, 22 E. Main. St., www.toysonthesquare.com
Author: Phyllis Zimmerman
