Local Business Focus Wide Variety of Items Available at The Treasure Barn in Middleburgh

MIDDLEBURGH - The Treasure Barn Gift & Thrift Shop at 3956 State Route 30 in Middleburgh.

Owner Lacey Haskin at her Treasure Barn Gift & Thrift Shop at 3956 State Route 30 in Middleburgh.

MIDDLEBURGH — A patron's first thought upon entering The Treasure Barn Gift & Thrift Shop at 3956 State Route 30 in Middleburgh might very well be "Wow, this place has a little bit of everything."

And that's pretty much the reaction owner Lacey Haskin is looking for.

"It's an old barn, so that's where part of the name comes from," she said in a recent interview at the store. "The other is there's so much here, hopefully, you can come in and find a treasure for somebody."

Haskin bought the property a little more than a year ago. It had been an antique shop before she acquired it and was originally part of a dairy farm. Since making the purchase, the Gilboa native and 2012 graduate of Gilboa-Conesville High School has filled the place with a wide variety of food and non-food items.

To name just a few, there is Amish popcorn and pie filling, coffee, canned goods, peanuts, honey, maple syrup, salsa, old-fashioned candies and licorice, fudge, and pickles. The non-food inventory features handmade clothing designed by Haskin and other locals, including knitted sweaters, baby dresses, mittens, blankets, and other items. A local man makes signs, including those of towns throughout Schoharie County, and supplies them to the store.

There are also wind chimes, birdhouses, pillows, home decor handmade soaps, and body scrubs. The thrift part of the store is in the back, where Haskin can bargain with customers on the prices of second-hand clothes and other items. Prices in the front part, the gift shop, are not negotiable, she said.

Haskin grew up on a dairy farm in Gilboa and always envisioned a future with her being her own boss.

"I wanted to be self-employed," she said. "I owned a gift shop in Grand Gorge for a while that ended up not working out but I still loved the idea of owning my own business. When this place went up for sale, I got it in my head I wanted to open another gift shop and things just went from there."

Inventory at The Treasure Barn comes from an array of sources.

"I do estate cleanouts and take unwanted items (in good condition) and get some items from auctions," Haskin explained. "I love crafts and craft fairs and stuff. I make some of my own crafts and I buy from locals, and then I get the rest from the wholesale website."

So far, so good, said Haskin of the business.

"It's going well," she noted. "We do a lot of business during the summer and then of course it picks up during Christmas time. We get a lot of tourists in from the foodstands and everything. Our Amish-made goods do well and the second-hand items move pretty well too."

Part of the allure of The Treasure Barn is the building itself, Haskin added.

"The old barn draws people in," she said. "They want to see what's in here because of the building, and the stained glass windows. That catches peoples' eyes."

Haskin is encouraged enough by how the business is doing that she is thinking about expansion.

"I would love to put in like a coffee bar and a bakery," she said. "That would be a couple years down the road but I would love to see that somewhere in the future, to be able to put in a certified kitchen and sell some coffee and ready-to-eat food and other stuff.

"It's exciting. I love owning my own business, knowing that this is all mine and that I worked hard for this. I love meeting the people and the new vendors, and working with the community."

The Treasure Barn Gift & Thrift Shop is located on Route 30 roughly a mile and a half outside the Village of Middleburgh. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sundays. It's closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Haskin said she reduces hours slightly during the winter after the holidays.

For more information, call The Treasure Barn at 518-827-3956 or visit its Facebook page at facebook.com/treasurebarn3956.