Unique Ohio Shops
and Great Ohio Shopping


All Attractions Free Magazines Regional Guide Festivals & Events Free Videos Advertising
 

Your Guide to Interesting Ohio Shops and Ohio Shopping

 The Arcade

Miller's Amish Furniture, Bakery & Bulk Foods

 Cooper's Cider Mill

Loudonville - Mohican

 Everything Rubbermaid Store

Quaker Square

 German Village - Central Ohio

Rocky Outdoor Gear Store

 IKEA - West Chester

Romanoff Jewelers

 Jungle Jim's International Market

The J.M. Smucker Company Store & Cafe

 Keim Family Market

Velvet Ice Cream & Ye Olde Mill

 KitchenAid™ Experience

Waynesville, Ohio - Best town to get out and walk

 Lehman's

West Side Market in Cleveland

 

Wooster, Ohio - Shop a great American Main Street

Search All Attractions by Region:
Central Ohio /
Northeast Northeast Ohio / Southwest Ohio / Northwest Ohio / Southeast Ohio

Your Guide to Interesting Ohio Shopping Opportunities

   


Don't forget to read our free monthly magazine

Click here to sign-up for your free subscription


 

THE ARCADE

 

The Arcade provides shopping but is simply a picturesque architectural gem. It was built in 1890, financed by John D. Rockefeller (among others) and was the first building in Cleveland to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is flanked by two 9-story towers and features a 5-story glass sky lighted atrium with extremely ornate brass-filled interior and gargoyles peering down from the uppermost level.

Printout: The Arcade

Return to Menu



COOPER'S CIDER MILL
Watch Video

 

Hop over to Cooper’s Cider Mill and see apples and berries go from the vine to spread. Cooper’s apple butter and jellies are sold far and wide. But David Cooper isn’t lying when he says, “it’s just like grandma used to make,” because it is. David learned to make apple butter at his grandma’s farm. Later, he bought a stirring pot and began making his own. Demand grew and a business was formed to handle the requests. For years the mixing was done by hand – David’s father-in-law’s hands – out in the yard. Today, the Cooper’s offer a complete behind-the-scenes tour of the entire production process and visitors get to witness the freshness, quality and care that go into every jar. Afterward, David’s wife Miriam has plenty of tasting stations set up for sampling throughout the country store next to the production plant. Inside, a new generation of Cooper’s is introducing another treat – fudge. The Cooper’s son started experimenting with making fudge for the fair and now has his own fudge station inside the family store.

Printout: Cooper's Cider Mill

Return to Main Menu


 

EVERYTHING RUBBERMAID STORE
Watch Video
 

 

Nearly 13 years and millions of customers later, this restored 90 year old, four story building at the square of historic Wooster, Ohio still opens its doors daily to those seeking selection and savings for one of America’s most recognized brands-Rubbermaid.   In addition to selection and savings, the store provides full-shipping services and a giant indoor playground. 

The store originally served as a laboratory to test customer response to new Rubbermaid products being manufactured in the nearby factory.  The first such product was a patented rubber dustpan in 1933.  Since then, Rubbermaid, now Newell-Rubbermaid remains a leader in developing cutting-edge technologies and products that have organized the lives of nearly every American for decades.  

The store truly represents its name Everything Rubbermaid by offering the largest assortment of Rubbermaid products anywhere in the world.  The 24,000 square feet of shopping has an enormous assortment of item that cannot be found anywhere else.  The product line has grown to provide something for everyone.  The selection includes items from Little Tikes, Irwin Tools, Sharpie, Shurline, Rubbermaid Commercial and, of course, the full line of Rubbermaid Home Products and Food Storage.  

On closer inspection, signs of a storied history appear throughout the store.  For example, there are old air tubes that were used, by the sales clerks, to send payment from the customer up to the fourth floor to process the receipt for purchases and return change.  Today, the tube system is used at Christmas time as a fun way for the children to send their Christmas lists to Santa at the North Pole. 

With new and different products comes, changes in the look of the store.  At present, the first floor is “Bargain Land”.  This wonderful world of savings features discontinued items and special purchases galore, with savings as much as 50 percent off!  The bargain merchandise, which is continually changing, makes each trip to the store a new adventure.  The fourth floor will be reopening soon as Bargain Land, to provide even more selection.  Once this change is made, the first floor will feature product from Rubbermaid Commercial, outdoor storage and other related products.  

The second floor features home organization, laundry and kitchen products, as well as a full line of cleaning items.  The options seem as endless as the selection!   

On the third floor there is a giant indoor playground where the children get a chance to try out the toys, expend some energy and make a lot of noise.  The playground is surrounded by aisle after aisle of Little Tikes toys.  

This one of a kind store also makes shopping easier than ever by offering shipping for any and all items purchased.  Everything Rubbermaid’s Mail Order Department serves the lower 48 states through phone and fax Orders.  For questions or to place an order, call 330-264-7119 or email everythingrubbermaid@hotmail.com.  

Rubbermaid began as Wooster Rubber in 1920.  The five businessmen who started the company by making toy balloons paved the way for Everything Rubbermaid and had their fame grow to iconic proportions.  

Everything Rubbermaid is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 to 6:00, Saturday from 9:30 to 5:00, and Sunday from 12:00 to 5:00 all year round.  The store is closed on major holidays.  For visitor information call 330-264-7119 or see www.everythingrubbermaidstore.comClick here to get 15% off your entire purchase! (For mail orders, refer to code EVR01) For additional savings at other Wooster, Ohio merchants, click here.

Printout: Everything Rubbermaid Store

Return to Menu


 

GERMAN VILLAGE 

Columbus’ premiere downtown historic neighborhood filled with eclectic shops, award-winning restaurants, galleries and beautiful architecture.

Printout: German Village - Columbus

Return to Menu



IKEA

Location: West Chester, Ohio
www.ikea.com  

The Swedish home retailer IKEA is bringing its eclectic mix of furniture and house wares to Butler County, Ohio in Spring 2008. IKEA West Chester will offer shoppers trendy and chic designs at affordable prices and is also a fun and unique way to brighten up any home.

Located in West Chester, the first IKEA in Ohio will span 344,000-square feet and feature 10,000 exclusively designed contemporary home furnishing items, 50 room settings, three complete model homes, a supervised children’s play area, and a 300-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon plates, as well as American dishes. Other family-friendly features will include a “Children’s IKEA” area in the showroom, baby care rooms, and preferred parking. Butler County, located in Southwest Ohio in the Cincinnati-Dayton corridor, is The Destination Designed for You! For more information about IKEA West Chester and Butler County, contact the Butler County Visitors Bureau at 888-462-2282 or go to www.destinationbutlercounty.com.

Printout: IKEA

Return to Menu


 

JUNGLE JIM’S INTERNATIONAL MARKET
(Self-guided tour is Free - Formal basic group tours cost $1 per person)

Play Video

Six acres of food under one roof – it's not a supermarket, it's a zoo-permarket!  An international mecca, Jungle Jim's offers thousands of imported and national brand groceries: 12,000 wines, 1,200 beers, 1,600 cheeses, 1,000 kinds of hot sauce, one full acre of produce (including organic and international). If it's edible, you'll find it here!   Jungle Jim's is truly a Food Lover's Paradise!   

Featuring: 

There are five restaurants on the premises, including Chipotle, Rib City Grille and our one-of-a-kind Jungle Subs and Salads. Each year they host three major festivals; Jungle Jim’s International BeerFest, Jungle Jim’s Weekend of Fire Hot Sauce Show, and Jungle Jim’s International Wine Festival. There is a full service event center, The Oscar Event Center at Jungle Jim’s International Market capable of holding up to 1,000 people for any type of event. In addition, there are three boutique gift shops on site, monthly cigar/wine/beer tastings, a Starbucks coffee, food demonstrations/samples throughout every weekend, and a 3,000 square foot department of just culinary and cookware items. This madcap grocer has even won the “Best Bathrooms in America” award.

Printout: Jungle Jim's Farmers Market

Return to Main Menu


 

KEIM FAMILY MARKET

Keim Family Market
Burnt Cabin Road in Seaman, Ohio
Phone: 937-386-9995 

Ohio Amish Country now includes Southwestern Ohio. In 1975, Amish families moved from the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country in Holmes County and settled in rural Adams County. Roy Keim began selling baked goods along side Route 32. From there, the Keim family businesses grew from its humble beginnings to an Amish superstore selling baked goods, bulk foods, full line delis with meat and cheese selections and almost anything you can imagine being made from wood. The bulk food selection includes spices and baking ingredients plus an enormous variety of canned goods, sugar-free foods and candies. Their indoor and outdoor furniture lines include hutches, bedroom sets, chairs and gliders. In addition, they hand build gazebos, children play sets, footbridges and even buildings.  They provide credit card processing, UPS delivery, catalogs for their products and superb customer service. 

Printout: Amish in Southwest Ohio

Return to Main Menu


 

KITCHENAID™ EXPERIENCE & FACTORY TOURS

Proclaimed to be more than a store, it’s a mixing, blending, slicing, juicing culinary adventure!

 

Learn new cooking skills by attending the many cooking classes offered that promise to stir up fun in eight interactive areas. Each class allows you to roll up your sleeves and use the KitchenAid™ products, learn various techniques and more. Free Live! Cooking Shows weekly - no reservations needed.

Factory Outlet shopping is available downstairs where the heritage exhibits are displayed. These authentic KitchenAid™ artifacts are used to tell the history of an ever-evolving iconic American company. It explains how products were improved and refined over the years since 1919 when the first stand mixer was introduced. An original Model H KitchenAid™ stand mixer is also exhibited.  

Tour the nearby mixing factory and see firsthand how the entire manufacturing process works. The tour enables visitors to see a stand mixer move to the final stage of assembly by peeking over the shoulder of an assembly line worker.  

Printout: KitchenAid Experience & Tours

Return to Main Menu



LEHMAN'S

A Piece of the Past makes an Excellent Present! 

If you like the attractive, practical appliances of yesteryear, then you’re going to love Lehman’s.  This family owned and operated business specializes in antique-styled appliances and retro home furnishings, non-electric kitchenware, old-time toys, hand tools, oil lamps, collectible cook books and much more.  If you think it isn’t made any more, call Lehman’s before you give up!

Excerpt from a past edition of OhioTraveler

Lehman's
The Crossraods of
HOLLYWOOD
& OHIO AMISH

What do Jacob Miller, an Amish man that farms 30 acres in northeast Ohio, and Brad Pitt, the Oscar-nominated, high profile movie star, have in common? They both shop at Lehman’s, the country’s most famous old-time hardware store.

Where else could Jacob find the butter churns, cream separator and glass milk bottles he needs for his cows? And where could Brad (or more accurately, his production staff for The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford, an epic Western) find copper kettles, cast iron cookware and a coal shovel?

Providing merchandise to movie production companies looking for historically accurate period pieces is a growing segment for Lehman’s. Founded by Jay Lehman in 1955 to serve the local Amish in northeast Ohio, Lehman’s stocks a huge selection of non-electric appliances, wood stoves, hand tools, old-fashioned kitchenware, toys and much more in its winding retail store, huge catalog and  e-commerce web site (www.Lehmans.com). At Lehman’s, everything old is new again.

Today, the newly expanded retail store features a buggy barn demonstration room, the Cast Iron Cafe serving soups, salads, sandwiches, drinks and desserts, indoor and outdoor seating and four reconstructed pre-Civil War era barns inside the retail space. Lining the shelves are thousands of products, from tin toys to weather vanes to butter churns that you probably thought they quit making years ago.

Jay Lehman always dreamt of preserving the past for future generations, but never had any idea it would take place in a Cinema Ten movie theater.  Another release featuring Lehman’s products is The Great Debaters, starring Denzel Washington.  This drama is based on the true story of Melvin B. Tolson, a professor at Wiley College Texas. In 1935, he inspired students to form the school's first debate team, which went on to challenge Harvard in the national championship.

In recent years, Cold Mountain with Nicole Kidman, Mystic River with Sean Penn, War of the Worlds with Tom Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean with Johnny Depp, The Patriot with Mel Gibson, Gangs of New York with Daniel Day Lewis and many other top movies used Lehman’s "historical technology" to add realism to their scenery.

Ironically, what started out as a business to serve the local Amish has turned into an international operation, shipping products all over the world. Missionaries, survivalists, environmentalists, homesteaders, vacation home owners and the chronically nostalgic, as well as movie producers wanting to create an authentic scene, have made Lehman’s their low-tech superstore. The guest book in the crowded Kidron store is peppered with signatures from all over the world, including South Africa, Slovakia, Siberia, Germany and Kenya.

The store has been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, Time and Newsweek magazines, HG-TV, London Telegraph, National Public Radio and many other international news outlets. Why? Because there is no one else doing what Lehman’s does, on the scale that they do it.

Two of Lehman’s four children work at this unique family owned and operated business. Galen Lehman is president; Glenda Lehman Ervin is vice president. 

The Kidron retail store is open every day except Sunday and is located four miles south of Rte. 30 between Wooster and Canton in northeast Ohio. Visit www.Lehmans.com for information about the store and its unique product line.

Printout: Lehman's

Return to Main Menu



LOUDONVILLE - MOHICAN
Watch Video

Specialty shoppes abound in the Village of Loudonville. The old-fashioned service in this historic town make every shopping and dining experience memorable. Some of the favorite shoppes include Amish Oak Furniture, Native American jewelry and crafts at Creative Outlet, fine art at Copper Top Gallery, Four Seasons Flowers/Gifts, Raby Hardware, and Stonewall Gallery, plus more. Dine around at West Main Café, Chase’s Place, and Radar’s Restaurant. It’s all good! As a true hotspot in Ohio tourism, Mohican and Loudonville deliver special events like no other throughout the year – even in winter!

Return to Main Menu



MILLER'S
Amish Furniture, Bakery & Bulk Foods

The Miller Brothers are continuing the family tradition of 30 years by providing the best possible Amish baked goods, Amish-made furniture and Amish bulk foods. This Amish family-owned business attracts folks from hundreds of miles away to their southwest Ohio location. The furniture store alone has 34,000 square feet under one roof and more outside, not to mention the separate building for the bakery and another for the bulk foods.
Together, the Millers have 300 acres of Amish country! 

Their motto is “If we don’t have it, we make it.” 

Every year, there are special events and sales during Memorial Day Weekend, Labor Day Weekend, Fall Cookout, End of Year Clearance and from time-to-time, quilt auctions and other special occasions. 2007 marks their 30th Anniversary. On October 6, 2007, it will be a very special customer appreciation day you won’t want to miss. 

Checks and all major credit cards accepted, gift certificates and layaway available. Get on the mailing list so you don’t miss a thing.

Printout: Miller's

Return to Main Menu



QUAKER SQUARE

 

What was once the original Quaker Oats Company is now home to a unique-looking retail complex providing shopping, restaurants, hotel and entertainment center. The buildings, known as silos, are unique and are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The company’s rich history is told with historic advertising memorabilia and includes accounts of how Ferdinand Schumacher originally attempted to sell his breakfast oats as well as how a fire nearly destroyed everything.  

Printout: Quaker Square

Return to Main Menu


ROCKY OUTDOOR GEAR STORE

Appalachian Ohio is filled with rugged hills, scenic views and plenty of outdoor experiences, and the biggest enthusiasts have long known where to find the best gear suited for their ventures into the wild. 

Nestled into the heart of Hocking Valley, Rocky, a leading manufacturer of premium shoes, boots and outdoor gear, was established in Nelsonville in 1932 by William Brooks as the William Brooks Shoe Company. While products have undergone dramatic changes over the past seven decades, the company’s dedication to innovation, quality and durability has remained steadfast. 

“It’s a real joy to come to the Rocky Outdoor Gear Store and meet people from all over Ohio and the Midwest who take interest and pride in wearing our shoes and boots,” said Mike Brooks, Rocky’s current chairman, president and CEO. “It’s a testament to the legacy of my great uncle William, my grandfather F.M. ‘Mike’ Brooks and my father John, who were committed to producing only the finest quality products for this community.” 

A giant mural of a big horn sheep, an image now synonymous with the brand, greets visitors to the Rocky Outdoor Gear Store, which is found inside one of the company’s now-remodeled original factories. The service at the outlet store is as charming and friendly as historic downtown Nelsonville. 

Falling on hard times, brothers William and F.M. “Mike” Brooks took a leap of faith during the Great Depression and moved their families from Columbus to Nelsonville to start what would become Rocky in a shoe factory in southeastern Ohio.  

Even though business grew throughout the ’40s and ’50s and the company supplied more than one million pairs of shoes and boots for servicemen in World War II and the Korean War, the company was sold in 1959. 

John Brooks, son and nephew to the founders, bought back the company in 1975 and reopened operations in Nelsonville. He planned to run a small family business, but the vision of his son, Mike, would take the company to unseen heights.  

By the late 1970s, Mike Brooks decided it was time for the company to have its own brand name. Looking for name that matched their products, he chose Rocky – the name the company would eventually take in 1993.  

The brand continued to enjoy growth throughout the ’80s and ’90s, and the company was soon selling shoes and boots at retailers across the nation, which prompted them to expand production to include Western and work footwear. 

In 2005, Rocky acquired EJ Footwear, bringing brands Georgia Boot, Durango, Lehigh and a license for Dickies into the family. The next year, Rocky changed its name to Rocky Brands to reflect its diversified portfolio, which now includes comfort line zümfoot and Michelin Footwear. 

Even though Rocky has become an international company, their values remain homegrown where it all began in Nelsonville, Ohio. 

Printout: Rocky Outdoor Gear Store

Return to Main Menu



ROMANOFF JEWELERS

 

At Romanoff Jewelers, small groups get an amazing tour of how jewelry is made from scratch. The tour begins with wax, which is used as a mold between rubber to create or replicate a certain design. The wax piece is added to a wax tree accompanying other pieces that will be cast from the same mix of gold. The tree is encased with a cement-type mixture and placed in a kiln where the wax melts to nothing leaving a cavern. The cavern is filled with heated liquefied gold, cooled and dismantled. Everything in the factory is recycled to recover gold dust, shavings and particles that over time add up to quiet a bit of money. There is even a special filter to catch gold that would have literally gone down the drain when employees wash their hands. The tour has many interesting tidbits that go into the entire jewelry making process and covers other intricate stages of the process including the polishing and setting of gemstones.

Printout: Romanoff Jewelers

Return to Main Menu



 

THE J.M. SMUCKER COMPANY STORE AND CAFÉ

With a name like Smucker’s, it has to be good. ® And nowhere is this more true than at The J.M. Smucker Company Store and Café. Located in Orrville, Ohio, The J.M. Smucker Company Store and Café originally opened in 1999 and was recently expanded and renovated. Now twice its original size, the store retains its classic timber frame barn structure and is the premier showcase for The J.M. Smucker Company’s entire family of brands, including Smucker’s®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Hungry Jack® and more. 

The fabulous new café serves up fresh, tasty treats made with the company’s own branded ingredients, delicious pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven and mouthwatering sundaes topped with heavenly Smucker’s toppings. The store is packed with exclusive branded merchandise and one-of-a-kind gifts, including the Gift Basket Design Center, where you can create your own custom gift basket – the perfect gift for any occasion. 

You’ll also want to take a journey from 1897 to the present day at The J.M. Smucker Company museum, where you’ll experience how the company started and how it continues to evolve today. 

Finally, be sure to visit smuckers.com for a schedule of special events at the store, including classes, concerts and celebrity guests.

Printout: The J.M. Smucker Company Store and Café

Return to Main Menu



YE OLDE MILL
Velvet Ice Cream Company
www.velveticecream.com
 

  • Visitors Center with hourly tours
  • Ohio’s only ice cream museum
  • Ice cream production viewing gallery
  • 1817 Ice Cream Parlor
  • The Mill Room Restaurant
  • Gift shop
  • Weekend family entertainment
  • Picnic park and shelter houses
  • Children’s playground
  • Nature trails
  • Farm animal petting zoo
  • Buckeye tree grove

A DAY OF FUN AT YE OLDE MILL 

Each year, Ye Olde Mill attracts 150,000 nature and ice cream enthusiasts from all over the country. Ye Olde Mill, on 20 picturesque acres nestled in the gently rolling hills and forests of lovely Licking County, is the perfect spot for family fun, reunions, weddings, and more. 

The restaurant can accommodate large groups for any occasion. For group reservations, contact Guest Relations at 740-892-3921 or 800-589-5000.

VELVET ADVENTURE BEGINS AT VISITORS CENTER 


Ye Olde Mill features Ohio’s only ice cream museum, an 1817 Ice Cream Parlor, The Mill Room Restaurant, and gift shop. The Velvet adventure begins with the Visitors Center, built to resemble Grandpa Dager’s old milking parlor, which offers hourly tours of the Mill and museum, along with observation of the Velvet Ice Cream factory at work.  Outside, the adventure continues with the Visitors Center’s livestock barnyard, children’s farm animal petting zoo, and scenic natural trails and picnic grounds. 


Open May 1 to October 31
 

Mill Room Restaurant, Ye Olde Mill, Ice Cream Museum, and 1817 Ice Cream Parlor

May, September, October: 11 am to 8 pm daily
June, July, August: 11 am to 9 pm daily 

Tours of Ye Olde Mill and Factory

Weekdays: 11 am to 3 pm on the hour
Weekends: 12 pm to 3 pm on the hour 

Printout: Ye Old Mill and Velvet Ice Cream Company

Return to Main Menu


 

THE WEST SIDE MARKET

(Admission is Free)

 

Take a self-guided tour of this 1912 multi-cultural historical landmark. It is produce shopping old-world style and features more than 100 ethnic vendors selling first-rate vegetables, meats, fresh-fish, pastries and a lot more. There is a viewing area high above the main-market floor, which provides tourists with a panoramic view of the hustle and bustle going on below.

Printout: The West Side Market

Return to Main Menu



WAYNESVILLE, OHIO
Best Town in Ohio to Get Out And Walk

Dubbed one of the most walkable communities in America and the Antique Capitol of the Midwest, the historic village of Waynesville, Ohio awaits your footsteps no matter if it's summer, fall, winter or spring.

 

This quaint small town is like none other. It's like an endless outdoor shopping mall set in the 1800s with character galore. Each little building or shop has a history, rich in Quaker heritage and Victorian architecture. The five-block “Old Main Street” is lined with more than 70 Mom & Pop shops featuring a wide-array of antiques, crafts, custom woodworking, collectibles, eateries, coffee houses and specialty shops. Whether it's the middle of winter or a hot summer day, it is always buzzing with pedestrians on a shopping binge.

 

Waynesville offers visitors a nostalgic experience as they meander by and through the charming buildings from the 1800s, past copper street lamps on brick sidewalks gazing at the seemingly endless restored Victorian homes turned shops with colorful window boxes and street-side benches. 

 

Merchants are often seen unloading their trucks with their newest (or oldest) additions to their inventory coming from estate sales nation- sometimes world-wide or far off or nearby places that they travel too in order to obtain the lore that someone will undoubtedly find and say, "this piece completes…" Whether shopping with purpose, merely browsing or just looking for a nice place to take a stroll, Waynesville is the place to do it - in style.

 

The old-time village is a perfect place to explore year-round. And throughout the year, the calendar of events is littered with fantastic attractions such as Old Main Street Antique Show in May and September, The Ohio Renaissance Festival from August to October, the Ohio Sauerkraut festival in October, and Christmas in the Village in December to name some. Nearby attractions include Caesar’s Creek State Park featuring an 18th Century Pioneer Village with more than 20 restored buildings of that period.  

Information about Waynesville is available online at www.waynesvilleohio.com, www.waynesvilleshops.com, and www.ohio4fun.org. Visitors can pick up a self-guided walking tour brochure at The Museum at the Friends Home or make an appointment with a local historian and official Towne Crier to undertake an in-depth historical tour of Main Street and the Quaker Historical District by calling 513-897-1607. On the tour, visitors will also learn why this small town has also become widely known as the Most Haunted Town in Ohio.

Return to Main Menu


WOOSTER, OHIO
Shop A Great American Main Street

Watch Video

Experience shopping is where you can still see, hear, touch, smell and taste the local culture. And in downtown Wooster, Ohio all five senses are filled with delight. 

Everywhere there are signs of a vibrant downtown. It is seen in shopkeepers’ faces along the eclectic storefronts. It is seen in the downtown residents looking out their windows from their second story lofts. It is even seen in the faces of  construction workers building new lofts to meet the surging demand of people eager to move downtown.

The downtown scene is filled with a diverse selection of stores and services. Many people come for the shopping, exercise, restaurants, and entertainment. There is new construction at the library, historic churches around the corner, nearby College of Wooster and county fairgrounds all adding to the ambiance of Wooster, Ohio, past winner of The Great American Main Street Award. 

A day in town may start by meeting up at the gazebo in the square. From there, you can grab a cup-o-joe at Muddy Waters Café, Seattle’s Coffee House or Tulipan Hungarian Pastry & Coffee Shop.  

Although plenty of ATM machines are around town, many mistakenly walk into Gallery in the Vault looking for money and walk out with artwork. The former bank turned art store features the grand old vault and stashes of Ohioan artwork flowing out of it. Over at Moorefield Pottery, a local potterist and her mother display their creations along with other Ohio pottery collections. And if handcrafted jewelry is appealing, and I’m sure it is, be sure to visit MacKenzie’s Silver & Gold for something made-to-order. Gifts galore beckon you to A Sentimental Journey and The Wooster Gift Corner. But if you are truly seeking to walk away with that one-of-a-kind shopping experience, take a look at Artfind Tile where the artist in residence has rare tile from around the world.  

Antiquing is considered an art form by many. For those that do, pay a visit to Uptown/Downtown Antique Emporium where there are more than 100 consignment booths to browse or for unique high-end consignments of furniture and more, be sure to see Frientique.  

Around midday, before or after a meal at a fine local eatery, you may stop in a local spa for some spoil-me time or sit and read at Wooster Book Company or Books In Stock featuring more than 80,000 rare reads.  

Now about that meal! Whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, the town is filled with traditional family-owned and operated restaurants and unique eateries. Here is the menu: 

And on that last note, after a tasty dish and day of walking, you may need a room. If so, try The Best Western Wooster Plaza or Barrister’s End bed and breakfast.  

Once your battery recharges, there is more to see and do.  

For the traditionalist that remembers yesteryear and the old-town department stores that served as a community’s retail anchor, stop in and say “hi” to the friendly people at the 120-year-old Freelander Department Store. Alterations are provided on the spot. Nearby, furniture like no other and gorgeous home accessories can be had at Roomscapes, Timbuktu and Jerry’s Home Furnishings.  

As you can see, Wooster is full-service experience shopping right down to the uncommon Sam & Stan’s Army Navy Store, which is gigantic, to the third-generation downtown Buehler’s Grocery Store, Wooster Natural Foods, Pierce’s Sport Shop and more.  

But what makes this a true experience shopping destination is at the corner of Market and Liberty Street where they have been organizing America for years at Everything Rubbermaid. The historic four-story building has the traditional product line’s signature items plus Irwin Tools, Little Tikes Toys, and a spacious indoor playground.  

Wooster. It is not just a great place to visit, it is a great place to live. You do not have to ask the locals, their faces will tell you. 

When planning your own Wooster shopapalooza, be sure to print a day full of savings and freebies at http://www.ohiotraveler.com/wooster.htm. For more information about Wooster, including directions, visit http://mainstreetwooster.org/.

Return to Main Menu


Disclosure: As a precaution, please call ahead to the venues you plan to visit to ensure that the hours, admittance and other data in this Web site have not changed. We assume no responsibility for omissions, inaccuracies or errors within the contents of this Web site. However, we will take into consideration, any comments that would better represent the venues within, and add them to our Web site.

Ohio Traveler Site Map:
Free Ohio Fun   (By Category): Ohio Planes, Trains & Autos; Ohio Oddball Museums & Hall of Fame Museums;
Ohio Art Museums and Botanical Gardens; Ohio Historical Society Sites and Museums; Ohio Festivals and Special Events; Historic Ohio Homes and Villages; Famous Ohio Birthplaces and Memorials; Treasure Chest of Great Outdoor Ohio Fun; Ohio Tours and Demonstrations; More things to do in Ohio for Ohio family fun in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, Akron, Dayton and elsewhere. (By Region): Northeast Ohio, Northwest Ohio, Central Ohio, Southwest Ohio, Southeast Ohio; More Ohio Bargains; Getaways, Wineries, Restaurants, Bookstore; Fun and Contests; Ohio Explorers Challenge, Hidden Ohio, Best Small Town in Ohio, Best Ohio Community Web Sites; Urban Legends, Ghost Stories, Sing-A-Longs, Games Kids Play; About Us; Ohio Marketing and Public Relations Services for the Ohio Publishing and Travel and Tourism Industries; Free Ohio Magazine; Ohio Writers Market