Follow the herd to Hurd Mercantile

It’s one thing to stumble upon a really great home and garden store in Spokane. We’re the second-biggest city in the state (most of the time), so we should have good places to shop. And we do!

It’s another thing, though, to find a top-notch shop in the town of Rockford, population 512.

Hurd Mercantile & Co. , at 30 S. First St., is a gem. I’d say it’s “worth the drive,” but that implies that the drive to Rockford is a burden, which it’s not. It’s lovely and quiet, so get in the car and go.

Jill Townsend opened the store 10 years ago, but the original store started in 1896 in the same 8,000-square-foot brick building by the Hurd family. It was a general store that carried “everything from shoes to sour cream,” Townsend says.

The general store closed 12 years ago, after the family patriarch passed away.

Townsend had opened a small home decor shop nearby and approached the Hurd family about taking over the large retail space that sits in the heart of Rockford’s downtown.

“Mrs. Hurd was very particular about what came in here,” Townsend says. “There were a lot of offers for tire stores (and other similar concepts), but she didn’t want to see that.”

Townsend invited Mrs. Hurd to her small shop, which was called the Vintage Blossom. She met Mrs. Hurd’s daughters and got the family’s blessing to open Hurd Mercantile.

The store offers an eclectic mix of dinnerware, furniture, kitchen gadgets, jewelry, wine, garden art, children’s gifts and general home decor. A lot of the merchandise is new, but many items are vintage treasures that Townsend and Carbone find at estate sales throughout eastern Washington.

Before opening her own shops, Townsend worked as the manager of Nordstrom’s home department in downtown Spokane and as a trainer in the district offices of Rite Aid. She grew up in Sprague and now lives in Spangle with her husband and their 3-year-old son.

Townsend used to run Hurd Mercantile as a vendor mall, but she now only partners with Teresa Carbone and Henry Mayer. The move enabled the three to have more control over the look and feel of the store and its merchandise displays, Townsend says.

Carbone grew up in Mexico, was a Montessori teacher, then raised her two sons in California before moving to the Spokane area. She first approached Townsend as a hopeful vendor who wanted to sell her handmade pillows at Hurd Mercantile. Carbone was so shy at the time, though, that her husband had to do all the talking.

Townsend says Carbone has come out of her shell now, and not only is she outspoken but her personality comes through in the merchandise she selects, especially in the store’s children’s section and in a department that carries humorous gifts for women.

Mayer’s specialty at Hurd Mercantile is metal garden art. He previously owned a shop in Spokane called Metropolitan Interiors, which carried plaster busts and other figures.

Despite being located 28 miles from Spokane’s city center, Hurd Mercantile is thriving, Townsend says. She credits several things for the shop’s success, including its faithful customers.

“We realize there are a lot of choices for them in Spokane, so we embrace them when they take the time to drive down,” Townsend says, adding that many customers bring out-of-town guests to Hurd Mercantile as a destination at the end of a scenic country drive.

She says it also doesn’t hurt that most Spokanites driving to Lake Coeur d’Alene or the Coeur d’Alene Casino have to pass through Rockford.

“Traffic wise, it’s a great location, even though it feels like, ‘what is this shop doing in a tiny farming community?’” Townsend says.

Also deserving credit, she says, is the building itself.

“It has so much history and charm,” Townsend says. “The building is so magical for me.”

Hurd Mercantile is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (509) 291-4077.

The store will hold a holiday open house on Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be special markdowns, a barbershop quartet singing Christmas songs and free lattes and other treats.