Five-year-old Clyve takes a quiet moment to dance at Home and Farm Artisan Market at 106 S. Main St. in Eureka. His mother, Marissa McClure Mitchell, opened the store in late Oct. 24. Less than a month later, Mitchell expanded into the adjacent space and increased her lines of curated artisan products. (Photo courtesy of Marissa McClure Mitchell)

A couple of years ago, Jessica Ioerger was feeling pretty isolated on Main Street in Eureka. Her store, Lucky Hunter Jewelry Design, just across from the Woodford County Courthouse, was the only retail shop there, at least until recently.

“For the past two years, I was pretty much alone, and I felt it pretty hard,” Ioerger, who also serves as vice president for the Eureka Business Association, said. “Now, we have all these new businesses coming in, Artisan, Maurie’s, Caleri’s. I’m very happy not to have those empty businesses, and Eureka is becoming a destination.”

A destination that now includes Caleri’s Cafe, the Home and Farm Artisan Market and the Eureka Et Cetera Shop’s Store Next Door. All three are located on the 100 block of South Main Street, and all have recently opened for business.

Caleri’s Cafe and Bakery, so called by combining the first names of owners Caleb and Erin Leman, is an offshoot of the couple’s Roanoke bakery.

The Lemans are known for creating elaborately frosted cookies, complex cakes and uncommon pies and baked goods.

Their menu also includes brewed favorites like espresso, Horchata, cafe au lait and cafe con meil, as well as mango, strawberry, peach and blackberry teas. The Lemans also cater. “Not only did it look good, it was also delicious. Thank you, Erin!” Stephen Bertschi said of his 40th birthday cake, which featured a fly fisherman.

Next door, at Home and Farm, Marissa Mitchell features carefully curated jewelry, apparel, bath and body offerings. Mitchell grew up in Eureka and attended college on art scholarship after winning the Scholastic Art Gold Key for two separate pieces and the regional Congressional Art Award.

“Honestly, it has been amazing,” Mitchell, who opened Oct. 24, said. “The response has been so incredible just through the store visibility and word of mouth that I’ve expanded in the first month.”

On Oct. 22, the Eureka Et Cetera Shop opened The Store Next Door at 113 S. Main St., to accept and sell larger donations of home furnishings. The  Mennonite Central Committee originally purchased the building on the Et Cetera Shop’s 40th anniversary in June 2018. (Photo by Holly Eitenmiller/for Chronicle Media)

Mitchell purchased the adjoining space that was once occupied by Jim Maloof Realty, and increased her inventory of artisan-crafted lines. Across the street, the Eureka Et Cetera Shop has also expanded, by opening The Store Next Door.

The Mennonite Central Committee originally purchased the building at 113 S. Main St. on the Et Cetera Shop’s 40th anniversary in June 2018. It opened to the public on Oct. 22, and serves as a location to accept and sell larger donations of home furnishings.

The building was once home to the Woodford Theater and for those wondering about the antique film projectors that were found on the second floor, they’re still there. The two 1930s Simplex Peerless projectors are on display at the front of the store.

If that was not enough activity, two more businesses are slated to open around the first of the year — Maurie’s Candy and Braker’s Market. “The term is ‘bulk foods store’, and that’s a lot of things to a lot of people,” Phil Braker said of the market he plans to open on the west side of Eureka on U.S. Route 24.

Braker’s definition of a bulk foods store will include a line of Amish baking goods, such as sugars, spices, flours, gelatins and grains. He’ll also offer a large variety of deli meats and cheeses, along with a menu of sandwiches and drinks for hungry patrons.

“We also plan to have other local produce; meats, honeys, farm fresh eggs, people like to see local growers,” Braker said. “And we’ll have some gift ware items specialty gift toys, sticker books picture books, quiet toys, puzzles.”

Work is underway with plans to open in January, but for passersby, it’s not hard to miss where the market is. Recently, Braker hoisted a red 1949 five-window Ford truck and it placed on the roof above the entrance.

Caleri’s Cafe and Bakery is now open on South Main Street, and features the same elaborately frosted cookies, complex cakes and uncommon pies and baked goods that owners Caleb and Erin Leman feature in their Roanoke baker of the same name. “Not only did it look good, it was also delicious. Thank you, Erin!” Stephen Bertschi said of his 40th birthday cake, which featured a fly fisherman. (Photo courtesy of Caleri’s Bakery)

Also, coming in January, next door to Lucky Hunter Jewelry, is the storied Maurie’s Candy. In September, the Association for the Developmentally Disabled of Woodford County (ADDWC) purchased the longtime Pekin business, which first opened in 1941, and will reopen it at 116 N. Main St.

ADDWC purchased the name and all of the equipment and will feature the same recipes Maurie’s Candy became known for; particularly the fudges, specialty popcorns and caramel apples. The income will supplement ADDWC’s recycling program, which has suffered serious losses in the past few years.

“I am ecstatic to get Maurie’s. I grew up in downtown Pekin and it’s near and dear to my heart,” Ioerger said. “Everything they stand for, creating careers for people with disabilities … it’s purpose driven, and it’s candy. Who doesn’t like candy? You’ll feel good buying it, and my shop will smell like chocolate.”

On Nov. 30, the Eureka Business Association will celebrate Small Business Saturday with its annual Holiday Stroll, which begins at 9 a.m. The event works in tandem with the lighting of the Woodford County Courthouse Christmas tree that evening.

The day will feature in-store specials at local shops, treats and beverages, carriage rides, visits with Santa Claus and children’s activities. For more information, visit the EBA Facebook page, “Eureka Business Association.”

SHOP LOCAL

On Saturday, Nov. 30, the Eureka Business Association will celebrate Small Business Saturday with its annual Holiday Stroll, which begins at 9 a.m. The event works in tandem with the lighting of the Woodford County Courthouse Christmas tree that evening.

The day will feature in-store specials at local shops, treats and beverages, carriage rides, visits with Santa Claus and children’s activities. For more information, visit the EBA Facebook page, “Eureka Business Association.”