Henderson’s Eclectic Emporium

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After operating as Judy’s Garden Center for more than 20 years, the shop on the corner of Main Street and Ashland Avenue has a new owner and new focus but will still keep many of the “neighborhood garden and vegetable stand” staples in its inventory. Photo by Mick Jeffries

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Growing up, Marie Henderson spent a lot of time at the venue where her new business is located, back when it was a gas station owned by her father. She’s excited to put her own mark on the space, which she has transformed into an eclectic neighborhood bazaar. Photo by Mick Jeffries

Fifty years ago, passersby might have seen a young Marie Henderson and her brother playing in stacks of tires at their family-owned gas station, Henderson’s American Oil, on the corner of East Main Street and South Ashland Avenue. Today, after more than 20 years of operating as a different business (Judy’s Garden Center), the location once again is under the management of the Henderson family – however, this time, Marie is running the business, instead of her late father.

Last summer, Henderson was helping Transylvania University’s theatre department costume designer, Missy Johnson, prepare outfits for a performance of “Marie Antoinette,” when she decided to swing by Judy’s for some local honey after work.

“[Missy and I] were joking about what we were going to do with our lives,” Henderson recalled. “I said, ‘Well, I’m going to stop by Judy’s to get some local honey and ask her if she’s ready to sell.” She had not stepped foot in the shop since her childhood.

Henderson was joking at the time – but it turns out the landlord was indeed looking for a new tenant.

“When I got here, the landlord was running the shop ... Judy had already given up her lease,” she explained. “It just seemed like it had called out to me in a way.”

Henderson’s Eclectic Emporium opened on June 26, just days after Judy’s closed its doors.

“I bought inventory from her and a few new things,”’ Henderson said. “It was like I was working for someone else because I just walked into her setup.”

For two decades, the Chevy Chase and Kenwick neighborhoods had relied on Judy’s for local produce and seasonal plants, so many local residents have been happy to hear the shop will continue to be a produce market.

“It’s [been] better than I thought it would be, traffic-wise,” she explained. “I thought I would have to work much harder to get people to come in.”

Although Henderson says she wasn’t a regular at Judy’s, she has worked to maintain much of the similar inventory. Though she admits flowers are not exactly her forte, and she doesn’t foresee them being a primary inventory item, she added that she’s willing to adjust her inventory to accommodate her customer’s needs.

“I only carried mums because one of my customers came in and asked if I was going to,” she said. “I went and bought 40 mums and I was terrified. I thought I’d thrown away all this money.”

As it turns out, Henderson said she sold more than 400 mums this fall, in her aptly named “Mumporium.”

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The inventory at Henderson’s Eclectic Emporium includes local produce, some plants and a growing “gallery” collection featuring jewelry, crafts and artwork by local artists. Photo by Mick Jeffries

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In addition to the produce, plants and seasonal inventory, Henderson’s features a local craft gallery in the room that once housed her father’s office. The gallery has a large selection of jewelry, pottery, needlework, paintings and more, all created by local artists. Henderson contacted some of the featured artists, while others reached out to her after hearing about the gallery.

“They’re really talented people who deserve exposure,” she said. “The neighborhood has been really excited about that because it’ll be something different for them to look at when they come in to buy bread and tomatoes.”

Crafter Paige Prewitt, jeweler Martha Campbell and painter Mike Farris are among the 14 artists currently represented at the emporium, but Henderson anticipates even more local artists’ involvement over the coming months. Henderson has also teamed up with James Massa, chief executive officer of Super Grow, a company that specializes in grow containers with lighting and air systems that can grow produce year-round. They are hoping to set up a grow container outside of the shop after the first of the year, but for now, Marie is growing tomato plants in the emporium’s back room.

Henderson plans to always provide her customers with fresh, local products when possible, much of which she gets from local and regional Amish suppliers. She has also added some new inventory the former shop didn’t provide – including fresh local bread from Bluegrass Baking Company, local eggs from the Mark Family Farm in Georgetown and a variety of “knick knacks,” which Henderson describes as basically just “things that [she] likes.”

“I wear bandanas every day, so I bought a bunch of bandanas – which are surprisingly good sellers,” she explained with a smile.

In addition to the local crafts and seasonal products – trick-or-treat baskets and Halloween decorations were stocked in October, while Santa hats and Christmas décor lined the shelves in December – the emporium also sells local honey, which is a neighborhood favorite.

And unlike Judy’s, Henderson’s Eclectic Emporium will remain open year-round.

“It doesn’t make sense to me to close when I have cheese, soup, bread and have to pay the rent,” she said with a laugh.

Ultimately, one of Henderson’s primary goals is saving the building that once housed her father’s gas station.

“If I won the lottery, I’d want to strip it down and make it just like it was in the ’60s,” she said.

For now, she wants her customers to know that she’s open to all inventory suggestions and hopes to be a friend to the neighborhood.

When asked what her late parents would think about her return to the corner of East Main and South Ashland after 50 years she said, “My dad would be over the moon.”

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