Downtown Browsery will add second site in Albion
File photo by Tom Rivers – The Downtown Browsery includes 15 vendors on East Bank Street, including, from left: Linda Hollenbeck, antiques and collectibles; Susie Gaylard, hand-crafted purses; and Maureen Bennett, antiques and collectibles. The Browsery is added more vendors with its move to a second location.
ALBION – The Downtown Browsery is expanding after eight years, adding a second location in the Albion historic downtown business district.
On Feb. 15, the Uptown Browsery will open at 118 North Main St., a site last used by the Golden Gourd.
The Downtown Browsery currently has 15 vendors. Some of them will go to the Uptown site, which will also include several new vendors.
“We were turning people down,” said Browsery President Maureen Bennett. “Now we have more room for new people.”
The Browsery includes a variety of items, with the vendors also specializing in their own niches, Bennett said. She sells vintage collectibles.
Bennett believes the two Browsery sites can be part of a resurgence in the downtown business district. In September she pushed for several businesses to stay open to 7 p.m. on Thursdays.
The Uptown Browsery has room for more vendors. It will have a soft opening on Feb. 15 and a grand opening on March 1.
“We’re trying to get downtown moving,” Bennett said.
