New Fostoria store features local vendors

Aaron Patterson, co-owner of the Thistle Exchange, was hard at work Saturday morning as a check-out line stretched halfway to the back of a spacious downtown store at 210 S. Main St., in Fostoria."It is fun," Patterson said. "It's quite the turnout."Fostoria's newest store, an offshoot of the popular store of the same name in Findlay, had only been open for half an hour as the line was formed by shoppers who had already found what they wanted, many in sizeable quantities. Thistle Exchange, which largely works on a consignment basis of selling items for people who produce them, had a soft opening with a ribbon-cutting conducted by the Fostoria Area Chamber of Commerce last Friday evening before fully opening at 10 a.m. Saturday.Patterson said that with the encouragement of customers at their business of four years in Findlay, he and co-owner KJ Newcomer decided to venture into a building in Fostoria that's larger than the one in Findlay.Patterson and Newcomer are leasing the property, directly across Main Street from the municipal building, from Mike and Tiffany Aurand, who also own the UrbanWoody Brewery at 105 E. Tiffin St."Fostoria really needed some shopping," Patterson said. "There's nothing here anymore, except for a few little local stores — like (Alan Kaminsky Jewelers) down there, which is absolutely amazing. This block is really up-and-coming — with the (UrbanWoody) brewery on the corner and the green space right in the middle."Indeed, other businesses are planned for downtown in the near future."There are a lot of great things happening downtown," said Fostoria Mayor Eric Keckler, who was among the Saturday-morning visitors after having been present for the ribbon-cutting the previous evening. "This is such a great addition, to have this retail space here. It's going to just keep drawing people. All of these different vendors that they have in here are bringing different, handmade pieces downtown. It's ever-changing; it's not the same store all the time. It's pretty exciting for downtown."Indeed, the store was packed with items, many of them having a Christmas theme."We have over 20 local vendors here now — from handcrafted pens to clothing, children's clothing, candles, chocolate, Fostoria T-shirts, crocheted items, hats, soap, hot-chocolate bombs, hand-crafted jewelry, including some made out of old watches, signs, home decor," Patterson said. "We even sell popcorn, and bread mix in the back. We really try to have a variation of everything."Patterson said he's enthused about bringing business to a location that' has expressed a welcoming attitude."We're very Fostoria-proud," he said. "We have our Fostoria T-shirts, which we had custom-made, just for our store. We have Fostoria ornaments. Fostoria used to be really big back in the day and we want to try to bring that back."We are very excited to be here. Last night, the warmth that we got from the chamber and the mayor was just very heartfelt."The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.