Product Description
Commons General Store
Ken and Margaret Schaden and their 11 children run the End of the Commons General Store, located at state routes 87 and 534 in Mesopotamia, Ohio, just 6 miles east of Middlefield.
Ken and Margaret Schaden and their 11 children run the End of the Commons General Store, located at state routes 87 and 534 in Mesopotamia, Ohio, just 6 miles east of Middlefield.
End of the Commons General Store was established in 1840 and has been serving the community as a general store for over 170 years! After many years in corporate sales planning, Ken & Margaret found what the family was looking for in Mesopotamia; the family, living in Mesopotamia, visited the very store they own today to buy milk, groceries, and penny candy for their large family. When the store was for sale the Schadens believed that it would be a great way for their family to work together while serving the needs of their own neighborhood.
Familiar with shopping in bulk for their own large family, the Schadens decided they could best serve the Amish community with bulk products at reasonable prices. The old grocery store had to be cleared out of its back rooms to make room for the bulk products. As the cleaning process began, it soon became clear that what was thrown into back rooms and into the basement and attic, was not junk, but store history! They found hundreds of items: old store products, supplies, furniture, and fixtures. Cash registers, scales, needle boxes, dry goods, and actual food products in cans, tins, and boxes dating from the late 19th century!
Today, upon entering the store, one will find on display old clothes, shoes, a barber chair, a post office, a player piano, and many antiques. Outside the store on a sunny summer afternoon, one may find the Schaden’s collection of cars which range from a 1916 Depot Hack to a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere.
Penny candy still lines the shelves by the checkout counter, where slots and boxes of the old post office remain. People actually ask “How much is the penny candy?” but around here it still is a penny!
One will find old-time memorabilia, old-fashioned candy, Amish country meats & cheese, hand-dipped ice cream, over 150 varieties of glass bottle soda, popcorn, home-made fudge, hard-to-find kitchen gadgets & clothing, just to name a few. It’s a treasure trove of products for those filling Easter baskets or shopping for Valentine, Fall Harvest, or Christmas. Many thousands of pounds of chocolate wafers are sold for candy making at Christmas time.
Bread bakers who come across the general store return again and again. They find the unusual flours they seek in quantities suitable for frequent baking of all kinds of goodies. Get rice flour, potato flour, rye flour, and semolina flour here along with wheat gluten. In 2010, an additional 5,000 square feet were built to bring together the Schaden’s 1940 era gas station & hardware with the 1840 general store. In addition to their expanded product line, they have added the Commons Cafe which serves both lunch and dinner daily.
Take a journey back into yesteryear and visit our unique general store and enjoy a slower pace in the quiet surroundings of Amish country.
