After success in Moline, QC makers find second home at The Market II in LeClaire

The Market: A Journey to Joy just opened its second location Wednesday at 430 North Cody Road, LeClaire.

But the homey, comforting, absolutely beautiful merchandise on display in the two-story, historic house on the main drag, makes it seem like it’s been there forever. It fits the cozy charm of LeClaire like a glove.

Katie Thompson at The Market: A Journey to Joy in LeClaire on Thursday, March 17, 2022 (photo by Jonathan Turner).

Katie Thompson opened her first The Market: A Journey to Joy (showcasing the wonderful wares of Quad Cities makers, crafters and curators) in April 2019 at Moline’s Spotlight Theatre and Event Center, 1800 7th Ave. There are now 42 vendors there, and 40 small local businesses in the LeClaire store, across the street from Big River Antiques.

Thompson said Thursday that she was approached by a woman who wanted to operate a business out of the lovely LeClaire house, but was too big for her and asked Thompson to partner.

“I met the landlords who own the house and the woman said, ‘I’m not going to open the business’,” she said of building owners Rodney and Kim Collier (who used to own Grasshoppers down the street).

“They understood what I wanted to do,” Thompson said. “I love the house. That’s how I operate – if I love it, I do it.”

The Cody Road house was originally built in 1855 (photo by Jonathan Turner).

The two-story house was built in 1855 as a river pilot’s house and most recently used as a jewelry shop. “It’s perfect creaky wood floors,” she said.

Of the 40 small businesses that display and sell there, about 25 of the vendors also operate at The Market in Moline, and offer different products in LeClaire, Thompson said.

Differences between locations

“Both stores, you get two separate experiences,” she said, noting she added vendors who wanted to be in LeClaire, since it’s considered a popular destination.

“We filled up instantly; it didn’t take any time,” Thompson said.

“The difference between Moline and LeClaire is that — in Moline, it’s set up all individual booth style,” she said. “You shop one vendor at a time; you know exactly what vendor you’re looking at. That will remain our event center – where we have parties and get-togethers. It’s an easier walking space, lots of parking.”

In LeClaire, the products are more combined, with communal vendor spaces.

One of the first-floor displays at The Market in LeClaire (photo by Jonathan Turner).

“We only have four true solo vendors here, that they display their own room,” Thompson said. “The rest are communal; you get a different feel here.”

The first floor is more home decor, with art, antiques, candles, food, snacks and much more. The second level features the clothing, jewelry, bath and body products, and baby/toddler items.

“We do have a full kitchen, we’re looking at how we want to use that,” Thompson said. The hours are the same in both locations.

The Colliers sold Grasshoppers (208 N. Cody Road) to Monica Schons, and bought the 430 N. Cody Road house. Thompson didn’t have to do any renovations before moving in, she said.

Grasshoppers Gift Shop is just down the street from The Market on Cody Road.

“Rodney and Kim are great landlords,” she said. On Wednesday (their first soft opening day), they had tons of walk-in traffic, with about 110 customers coming through. “It was a good welcome to the town.”

“The city of LeClaire Tourism Center has been extremely supportive, too, and we had a lot of people come through yesterday saying, they live here; they’ve been looking forward to the new shop coming to town,” Thompson said. “It’s a very welcoming city.”

“What I love about this shop is that it’s a multi-generational shop,:” she said. “You can easily come as a mid-30-year-old woman, with your child, with your mother or even your grandmother, and everyone’s gonna find something to fit their tastes. We have modern decor, antiques, shabby chic, Victorian style. It’s nice that everyone can find something they like.”

Of course, Thompson can’t be in two places at once, and praised her strong staff, with a shop manager at each location.

Vendors are from all over the QC area, including a woodworker who makes beautiful charcuterie boards.

Recovering from COVID

The 2020 start of the pandemic was scary for the Moline store, which quickly flipped to online sales, Thompson said.

“We got particularly lucky that at the time of shutdown, there was such an emphasis on shopping local and supporting your neighbors,” she said. “We saw a pretty good outpouring to our online sales. People followed us heavily on our social media page, and supported us through that.”

Her father served as delivery driver, bringing sold items to people within a certain radius, Thompson said. “We did tons of gift packages to the hospitals.”

“When we were able o open shop doors back up, it didn’t stop,” she said of sales. “I think we were leery that that support would start to die down a little bit, but it didn’t. What we saw — especially that Christmas (2020) — was that a lot of families decided you have to buy local for Christmas. They were vocal with us and told us what what they were doing. They wanted to stay true to supporting local, and that hasn’t changed.”

The makers, crafters and curators have experienced delays with supply-chain issues of their own, especially with packaging (like bottles and containers), Thompson said. “They pivot and they make things work. Our customers are good about understanding that.”