The Mercantile Thrift Shop in Clarks Grove has a new owner, Dolores Weberg.

Saturday, January 26, 2002

The Mercantile Thrift Shop in Clarks Grove has a new owner, Dolores Weberg. But taking over doesn’t mean big changes are in store for consigners and buyers, said Weberg. The old, familiar practices and policies will still be in place with the new owner.

&uot;We’re keeping things pretty much the same as they were – store hours will be the same, people will still be able to drop things off,&uot; Weberg said.

Even though most things will stay the same, Weberg is doing some redecorating and reorganizing. Her husband, Jeff, who owns a construction company, helped out with some new shelves in the front and in the out-of-sight storage areas.

The business will be a family operation, since Angie and Amber, the couple’s two daughters, also plan on helping out at the store, on weekends and in the summer.

Weberg took over on Jan. 1, 2002, from Katie Smith Troe, the previous owner. The store, often referred to as simply &uot;The Merc,&uot; has been in business for nearly 15 years, starting in Hartland before relocating to a building in Clarks Grove. Ironically, Weberg worked as a waitress in the current building back in the 1980s, when it was a cafe. Now she’s back, doing a completely different kind of job, but as the owner now.

&uot;The way I look at it, it is a big, permanent rummage sale, only we have set hours,&uot; she said.

Weberg took on the responsibilities of owning her own business after working full-time at a job in Owatonna. One of the things that attracted her to The Merc was that it allowed her to work closer to her home in Hollandale, and be more involved in her daughter’s activities at school.

The Mercantile Thrift is a consignment operation, and the ‘customers’ bring many different kinds of items in for Weberg to display and sell to the ‘buyers’, from clothing to baby clothes and furniture to knickknack items. It’s open Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 until noon. The Merc is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

Weberg can be reached at 1-507-438-0774.