Harvest House Emporium, the newest addition to Stuart’s Main Street, is now open, offering a unique mix of locally made goods, artisan crafts, and sweet treats.
Owner Angel Garner describes the shop as a two-part business: one side serving as a café with fudge, coffee, baked goods, and ice cream, and the other functioning as an artisan emporium showcasing the work of local makers.
The café features coffee from Springs of Life, traditional espressos, and dairy products from Homestead Creamery, including ice cream and milk. While the shop will offer a variety of baked goods, Garner said she does not plan to sell cold or frozen drinks, instead referring customers to Uptown Stagecoach for those items.
“I want everything in here to be amazing. When you come in here, I don’t care if it’s even getting an apple fritter. I want you to leave here going, ‘They have the best apple fritters I’ve ever eaten,’” Garner said.
On the artisan side, Harvest House Emporium features vendors specializing in handcrafted products, including:
- Goat’s milk lotions, soaps, and lip balms
- Locally sourced honey and bee-related products
- Pottery by David Lunt
- Various local artworks and crafts
Garner is also looking at carrying works from other vendors that visitors can take home as a souvenir or a gift, and plans to stock souvenir shirts featuring Patrick County, Virginia, and Blue Ridge Mountain designs for visitors.
Although the main focus of the café, fudge was not part of Garner’s original plan.
“Then I literally woke up in bed one night like, ‘Fudge, fudge, fudge,’ and I’m like, ‘Fudge what? What are you trying to tell me, God?’” she said with a laugh.
After researching the industry, she felt confident that a fudge shop would be a strong attraction for the shop.
“It is a great draw; fudge is a great draw anywhere you go. So, we felt that’s going to be like our thing that makes people want to come down here,” Garner said.
The shop’s location—directly across from the Patrick County Visitor’s Center and Main Street’s large parking lot—felt like the perfect fit.
“People are going to see ‘fudge,’ and they’re not just going to get out, go into the Visitor’s Center, get back in their car, and leave. They’re going to come in this shop,” she said.
When visitors do come to her shop, Garner said she wants to have a flyer detailing Main Street’s other businesses to help encourage them to stay on Main Street longer and visit the other retailers.
Originally from Illinois, Garner said she and her husband have dreamed of opening a shop like this for years.
“We just love to travel. Little towns like this are just, I don’t know—I love them. I’m in love with them. We’re very old school,” she said.
She said that when they visit small towns, they prefer to park, walk, and explore local businesses.
“It’s something that we love to do. We’re retired, so for the past eight years we travel back and forth (to Illinois), and it’s just always been our thing to do. We always said, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a little shop like that?’”
Garner initially considered Danbury, North Carolina, but ultimately felt that Stuart was the right fit.
“We’re on North Main Street a lot, and coming by this place—it just spoke to me one day,” she said.
She added that she would park in front of the building and pray over it, feeling drawn to the space.
“I was just like, ‘God, is this where you want us to be? Is this the spot?’ And I really felt like it was. I just really felt like this was where God wanted us to be and to add to this community that we have fallen in love with,” she said.
Harvest House Emporium is open Tuesday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. It’s closed on Sundays and Mondays
For more information, visit Facebook.com/HarvestHouseEmporium.
