It all started with 6 pigs and 7 cows …

Yesterday a caller said he stumbled upon our Web page while doing an Internet search for flea markets. Apparently the small town he is from has an unimpressive flea market.  He said he is impressed by the quality of Shipshewana Flea Market and amazed by the enormity of it. I explained the other facets of our business and he wondered how we grew to be so large and successful.

So here’s the story:

In 1922 a man named George Curtis sold six pigs, seven cows and several head of young cattle at his home. His auction business grew so quickly that four years later he built a barn at the same location. He saw a need for a restaurant, so in 1930 he opened one in his garage.

George sold the business in 1946 to Fred Lambright, who, a year later, built a new sale barn (where we are presently located). At that time people sold flea market items out of their car trunks, so a roof was built for the flea market. In 1950, Fred built an Auction Restaurant on the premises, which seated 50-60 people.

Fred’s nephew, Walter Schrock, bought the auction in 1961 and expanded the flea market grounds in 1968.

1960s Flea Market (photo by Leonard Haarer)

The market grew from 100 to 400 vendors, and the antique auction increased from 4 to 10 auctioneers. In 1978, a 200’ x 80’ building was built for the antique auction and then was enclosed in the fall of 1980 and included a snack bar.

Fred Lambright’s son and grandsons, Robert, Keith and Kevin, purchased the auction in 1981. In 1984, they expanded the flea market to 1000 spaces and the restaurant to seat 110 people. Four years later they built a new restaurant (our current one, which seats 250). The old restaurant was renovated into the corporate offices.

In 1992, Robert Lambright lost a battle with cancer, leaving Keith and Kevin to run the business.

In 1997, the Lambrights expanded the business to include an 85-room hotel,  the Farmstead Inn, which was built across the street from the auction. A year later, the 31,000 sq. ft. Antique Gallery was built next door to the Farmstead Inn. Then in 2004, 69 rooms and a 15,000 sq. ft. Conference Center were added to the Farmstead Inn.

In 2008, an RV Park with 70 full hook-up sites opened on the south side of the flea market.

In 2010, the corporate office building was torn down (old restaurant building) and a section of the Livestock Auction building was rebuilt into the corporate offices. Looking around, it’s hard to believe that our offices were once pig pens!

Finally, in the early spring of 2012, the 9300 sq. ft. Trading Place Pavilion was built on the lawn in front of the Antique Gallery. The Pavilion quickly became home to a summer Farmer’s Market and our Antique Markets and was also rented for a Gospel Music Jam concert. This year we are excited it will be used for upcoming concerts and weddings.

A lot has changed in 90 years!

Some things are easy to predict …

A few weeks ago temperatures here reached the upper 50s.

Last week the temps dipped below 10 degrees. But then a few days later we had some heavy rain which was useful in washing my car. Unfortunately, this week it snowed again and you can’t tell my car was ever clean from all the salt.

The weather has been so confusing lately that one of our vendors mentioned his crocuses started to push their way up through the ground during the warm week. Too bad they are buried by snow again.

Welcome to the unpredictability of Northern Indiana weather!

Thank goodness some things are easy to predict. I know that in any given week I can walk over to the Shipshewana Auction Restaurant, order a slice of pie, and it will be good – better than good, to say the least.

I can say this because just last week I bought an entire peanut butter chocolate pie to share at a social gathering. My teenage son wasn’t too thrilled about sharing it but my friends were happy he did!

I can also say out of the about 2 dozen varieties of pie offered at the Auction Restaurant, I have tried almost a dozen of them (by the slice that is)! And I haven’t tasted a bad one yet.

Just tried a slice of Butterscotch recently. Wow!

Chocolate peanut butter is like gold in my family …

Pecan is a favorite for many!

Dutch Apple … this week’s Pie-of-the-week!

Strawberry is another customer favorite… you can see why!

Coconut creme is next on my list to try …

But don’t take my word for it. Come taste for yourself.

The Shipshewana Auction Restaurant is open Wednesdays, 7am to 7pm; and Fridays, 7am to 2pm; November through April. May through October it’s open Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 6am to 7pm; and Fridays, 7am to 2pm.

Shipshewana Shimmer Walk and other happenings…

So it’s definitely Christmas in Shipshewana.

If the huge colorfully lit tree and beautiful lights downtown didn’t give it away, then the streets filled with shoppers determined to take advantage of the many sales might …

… or some interesting stories:

Today is “Wana Night Out!” with sales that began at 2pm today continuing through 8pm at participating stores.

One excited shopper who stopped in our office on another matter told me how he sleepily dialed the number of a local radio station and was the winning caller during the morning show. So he’s using the gift certificate he won combined with the sales to buy a really good snow shovel.

Smart guy.

And I just heard a story about the Shipshewana Auction Restaurant Christmas tree. Apparently, our restaurant manager’s young grandson took a bite out of one of the homemade ornaments. No worries – it was made of something edible! The bonus is if you come to the restaurant and look for the “bitten” ornament on the tree, you can win some pie as part of the “Shipshewana Shimmer” Christmas Tree Walk now through Dec. 31. Grab a map of Shimmer Walk participants and discover all the beautiful, unique trees throughout town, as well as discounts and some free items.

Finally, if you come to town this Friday or Saturday night, you can see the true Christmas story played live at the Trading Place Pavilion in front of the Antique Gallery. Members of New Life Fellowship Church will perform a Live Nativity at 6:30, 7 and 7:30 pm. If you’ve never seen a camel up close, now’s your chance! Cookies and hot chocolate will be provided for everyone and kids get goody bags.

So come enjoy Christmas in Shipshewana.

All that’s missing now is the snow…

Some Memorial Day fun!

The Flea Market will be open Monday for Memorial Day!

So if you’ve returned from your Memorial Day ceremonies or just need something different and fun to do, stop in and experience all the interesting and colorful merchandise. And plenty of vendors are offering a colorful variety of beautiful plants for your flower beds or landscaping.

Also, don’t forget the array of delicious food offered at the Carry Out buildings, Auction Restaurant and food vendors!

The weatherman is forecasting high 80s for Memorial Day so come prepared and maybe cool down with some homemade ice cream freshly churned right on the flea market grounds (near the Main entrance).

Come check it out!

Bringing in Spring!

Last weekend’s 2012 Shipshewana May Fest Celebration  brought a lot of color and fun into town … and kept us busy!

Our beautiful parade float entry (left), created by Rene, our Marketing Director, won the trophy for best theme, “Under One Umbrella!”

Shipshewana Trading Place co-owner Kevin Lambright (below) was honored as Grand Marshall of the parade. He and his wife, Carrie, were looking good!

 

 

We also had a “blast” with the children’s games, especially the finger rocket blast (below), that proved somewhat challenging for some and brought out  the competitor in others.

And what’s a celebration without a pie-eating contest? This young contestant proved you’re never too young to stick your face in some delicious Shipshewana Auction Restaurant pie!

An extra day of thanks!

Hooray! Wednesday is Leap Day!

Okay, so I’m guessing for most people it’s just another day.

But for those who follow the 5^th century tradition of Ireland, it’s the day women can propose to men. That can be exciting, right?

For those born on it, it’s the day they finally get to celebrate their birthday on the actual day. That can be exciting, too!

For our customers, it’s one extra day to participate in the Wednesday livestock and antique auctions and to sample the excellent Amish cooking and pie of the Shipshewana Auction Restaurant.  It’s an extra day to browse the beautiful antique gallery and experience the hospitality of the Farmstead Inn.

Most importantly, it is an extra day to thank our wonderful customers.

So thank you for being a part of our family. We appreciate you more than you know!

We decreed a new day!

Imagine some creamy chocolate pudding blended with homemade peanut butter.
Imagine it nested in a light, perfectly flaky crust.
Imagine it topped with some dreamy, old-fashioned whipped cream.
Imagine a large, thick slice of this heavenly creation.
Imagine saying, “Wow! I don’t think I can eat all this.”
Imagine taking a big bite and it melting in your mouth.
Imagine eating (rather enthusiastically!) every tantalizing bite.
Then imagine saying, “Wow! I guess I can.”

Don’t feel bad.

We didn’t!

In fact, we love it so much we decreed a new day:

FRIDAY PIE DAY!

Come in to the Shipshewana Auction Restaurant every Friday and enjoy 50 cents off a slice of the Pie-of-the-Week. This week’s Pie-of-the-Week is chocolate pecan. If you don’t prefer the pie of the week, you can still order from a large variety of pies. And you can still enjoy some Shipshewana Auction Restaurant pie any day of the week.

Either way we’d love to serve you a slice of pie… maybe even two!
It’s worth the calories.

Really, it’s that good.

 

 

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the holidays can be a bit stressful for me.

Just the other day I hosted a small Christmas gathering at my home. The holidays seemed like a good excuse to get everyone together and just cut loose and catch up with my friends.

I always have the best intentions of being organized. You know, have a small menu planned a week beforehand, the ingredients bought and all the food prepared the night before. But somehow I always end up buying everything the night before or, (gasp!) the hours before the party! Inevitably, while nursing a burnt finger or assessing my post-party kitchen mess, I wonder why I just didn’t buy something already prepared.

My procrastination carries through to Christmas shopping as well. Every year I vow I will get it all done at least by the end of November. But every year I am running around trying to pull off some last minute “Twas-the-night-before-Christmas” shopping!

A little help, please!

Then I remembered one of my friends had purchased several pies from the Shipshewana Auction Restaurant for Thanksgiving. She didn’t have to slave in a hot kitchen, and her fingers were burn-free! And she raved about her chocolate-peanut butter, pumpkin and butterscotch pies.

Wow, why didn’t I think of that?

It’s too late for my party, but Christmas dinner is just around the corner. I could be the envy of my family and walk in with a decadent, Old Fashioned Crème pie or delight my diabetic uncle with a sugar-free apple pie.
Come to think of it, I could do some holiday gift shopping as well. A lot of people on my list like pie. I could give them a gift that keeps on giving all year round: a Pie-A-Month card.

Thanks, Shipshewana Auction Restaurant, for making my holidays just a little less stressful!

Beyond Expectations

It’s not often when a place goes beyond your expectations, but when something does, you just have to tell somebody.

I’m talking about The Auction Restaurant.

My expectations were not real high since this is one of the busiest days of the Flea Market  My family and I  decided to brave the crowds and have us some good old-fashioned cooking for lunch. We expected to have to wait to be seated, but even though the line was long, we were seated in less than 15 minutes. We expected to have a rushed waitress who wouldn’t refill our iced tea glasses, but she not only refilled them, she brought us more ice! That never happens at other restaurants even on a normal day! We expected to be served food that was maybe lukewarm at best, but our food was hot and delicious. We expected to feel pressured to hurry up and move on so they could have the table back, but we were encouraged to enjoy our pie.  When we exclaimed over how delicious it was, we were invited to stay and enjoy some more! We reluctantly declined, but were already looking forward to the next time we could indulge our pie cravings.

Though the restaurant was packed and the staff was all stretched to their limits, everyone was pleasant and helpful. The food was delicious and delivered to our table hot and on time. What could have been a frustrating experience of merely getting the family fed, turned out to be a pleasant and enjoyable meal together.

It’s not often when a place goes beyond your expectations. Because of today’s economy, it seems many areas of service are falling short. Disappointments are becoming more common. Expectations for good service and quality product are lowered.

The Auction Restaurant went above and beyond, and I’m planning my next visit! Pie anyone?