Variety store opens in Flora
By Jennifer Archibald Staff writer

Sandy's Variety Mart has a large variety of greeting cards

Sandy's Variety Mart has opened in Flora at 39 South Center Street.

Owners are Sandy Sterling and Flora Roudebush.

They said their idea in opening the store was to offer local people a wider range of merchandise than is now available, and at a discounted price.

As their store name indicates, they offer a wide variety of items, including radios, stereos, small appliances, greeting cards, housewares, clothing and baby items, tools, cleaning, paper, and food products, and much more. Everything in their store is new.

"We purchases greeting cards from a subsidiary of Hallmark," Roudebush said. "We purchased 3,000 cards to begin with."

All their cards are 45 cents each.

One thing you might not expect to find at a discount store is fine jewelry.

"We have 10k, 14k, and 18k gold," Roudebush said. "We have genuine gold and genuine jewels. They come with a certificate of authenticity."

The owners say they will pay particular attention to seasonal items. So far, for spring and summer, they have plant stands and pots, bird feeders, bird baths, grill accessories, and fishing poles.

Three-piece bistro set and other spring and summer items are offered at Sandy's Variety Mart

"We're able to offer at a discount price because we buy from liquidations, overstocks, and in bulk s a l e s , " Roudebush said.

In trying to seek out advice from other smalltown locallyo w n e d v a r i e t y stores, they found out there aren't many. They said most variety and discount stores these days are chain stores.

They said their success will depend on the support from the community.

They're also looking for input from the community on the type of merchandise that people would like for them to carry.

The owners said as they find new distributors, they expect their inventory to change quite a bit from week to week.