BELLEFONTE — The husband-and-wife team of David and Staci Egan have moved their gift shop, Smith and Front, to the become the latest business to find a home in the renovated Gamble Mill.
The store held a well-attended grand opening event on Aug. 28 with several local vendors on hand and other area businesses pitching in to provide gifts for first-come shoppers. Staci said the community support has been “great.”
“They have been pretty wonderful about being a part of the community,” said Staci.
The move comes after the store had been open in Philipsburg for two years. Staci said the Gamble Mill is an ideal location for the business after the extensive work put into it by owners, Christopher and Jonathan Virgilio, who purchased the old mill in 2019.
The building is also home to a new restaurant, Creekside at the Gamble Mill; a craft cocktail bar, The Republic; and an inn. From the beginning, Staci said she liked the Virgilios’ “vision” for the building and said she is excited to offer something new to the historic building, located at 160 Dunlop Street in Bellefonte.
“I thought it would be pretty wonderful to start something from nothing, since there was never a retail space like this at the Gamble Mill. So, there is no history. Now we are making the history,” said Staci.
Smith and Front focuses on locally made gifts, from home decoration, jewelry and paper and novelty items, including Staci’s handmade jewelry and David’s reconstructed wood art.
“Personally, I really appreciate hand-made and local because I feel like when you shop here, you are also supporting others in the community,” Staci said. She added that while there are other stores that sell handmade and local items, Smith and Front, “will be going a little edgier with it … a little more industrial.”
As the Egans get acclimated to their new space this year, the store will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 10 a.m. 5 p.m. on Saturday; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.
This story appears in the Sept. 2-8 edition of the Centre County Gazette.
