If the walls could talk at 250 East Second Street in Orchard, Nebraska, they’d have more than 100 years worth of stories to share.
Built in 1910, the building has housed a cafe, a liquor store, a Gambles retail store, and many things in between. Most of its life, it’s been a general/hardware store of some kind.
With some help from friends, the previous owners, and the Center for Rural Affairs, Heather Blackmore opened Corner Hardware and More Orchard Fudge & Candy Shop in October 2022. Getting to that point was an interesting journey for the first-time business owner.
Paying homage while paving a new path
Although Heather owns the building now, she has taken much inspiration from the proprietors who cared for the historic structure the longest.
“Clifford and Shirley Erb owned the business starting in the late 1960s or early ‘70s,” said Heather. “They brought in the now-famous fudge in 1992. They called it Orchard Fudge and Candy Kitchen, but it has since been renamed Orchard Fudge & Candy Shop, which is how I market the fudge now.”
In January 2020, the Erbs sold the store after Clifford was diagnosed with ALS. Another Orchard couple, Glen and Tammy Cheatum, stepped up to buy the store to keep it open. A year later, Heather learned that her corporate job would be outsourced, and she had just a few months–until August 2021–to make big decisions.
“I had to decide what my next career path would be, and while I looked at corporate jobs, I kept coming back to the idea of buying this store,” Heather said.
She asked the Cheatums in March 2021 if they’d have any interest in selling. Their answer was no, but a few weeks later she got a call saying they’d changed their minds.
“We settled on a price at the end of the year, and since I had started working for River Mill Coffee Company in Neligh when they opened in September 2021, I phased myself out of working there in early 2022 so that I could shift all my focus on getting through the loan process,” Heather said.
Friends with connections
River Mill Coffee owners Rachael Barlow and Heather Veik had worked with the Center for Rural Affairs to get funding, and they encouraged Heather to reach out to staff for help.
“My time working with my friends at River Mill Coffee Company really helped solidify my confidence that I could do this,” Heather said. “Seeing Heather and Rachael, who is a childhood best friend, start a business from the ground up and do it so well, I knew I could take over an existing business and succeed too. I’m forever grateful for Heather and Rachael being there on this journey.”
Lori Schrader, senior loan specialist with the Center had helped with the loan process for the coffee shop, and was happy to offer her expertise and guidance to Heather.
“Working with Heather was great; her mind is always going a mile a minute to come up with new ideas,” Lori said. “She wanted to make sure she was doing everything correctly with taking over the business, and was always asking questions and looking for suggestions. Heather knew very little about running a hardware store, but worked closely with the previous owners to help educate herself.”
With Lori’s assistance, Heather applied for and got a loan through the Center to cover the cost of the business, minus a down payment she was able to provide with her own funds.
“The loan was everything I needed to be able to pursue this purchase, which included the building, inventory, all of it,” Heather said. “Being able to get the funds needed all in one place was so helpful. The continued service after the loan was done has been a huge help; the Center’s guidance and support is so appreciated.”
Lori also informed Heather of a grant available through Grow Nebraska. With the help of the Center, Heather was able to obtain the grant and has since used the funds to update the HVAC system in the store.
Oh, fudge!
The “and more” part of the store’s name tells a large part of its story. Heather carries hardware merchandise, plus toys, home decor, party supplies, bereavement gift items, balloons, and, last but not least, fudge.
At the beginning of Heather’s journey, one of the previous owners, Tammy Cheatum, helped her make the fudge. After a handful of practice attempts, Tammy let her try it alone and was a phone call away if she got stuck. Through some trial and error, Heather figured out the best fudge-making schedule and has stuck with it.
“It took some time to learn all the techniques to make the fudge look cute, like swirling flavors together,” she said. “I've gotten more comfortable putting my own spin on the way the recipes are written, adding more flavor to some I think needed more punch or decorating it differently.”
Heather likes to experiment with different combinations to create flavors as well as replicate flavors she’s tasted before.
“I just remade one of my creations the other day, Orange Tootsie Pop, which is chocolate fudge flavored with orange, which tastes just like the sucker,” Heather said. “Recently, I was missing this cherry almond muffin I used to get from a restaurant when I lived in Omaha, so I set out to create that in a pan of fudge. It was a success and sold out pretty quickly.”
She makes the fudge as needed. In November and December, that’s once a week during the peak holiday season. January through March, she may only prepare fudge every three to four weeks. This summer, she’s listed on the Nebraska Passport program, and will probably bring out fresh batches every week or two as new customers come through.
Flavors found year-round are chocolate, chocolate mint, chocolate amaretto, chocolate pecan, chocolate walnut, peanut butter chocolate, salted nut roll, maple toffee, raspberry chocolate dream, and cherry Bing. Heather also rotates through chewy praline, cookies and cream, Butterfinger, cookie dough, birthday cake, and butterscotch, and she generally keeps a coconut flavor in stock.
Building off a strong foundation to stand on her own two feet
The previous owners played a big part in building up the store’s inventory by bringing in home decor and expanding the hardware selection to accommodate the needs of today’s farmers. Heather is grateful for their hard work and dedication.
“I get the fun task of building off of their great foundation,” she said. “I’ve been coming to this store my whole life. My best friends are the granddaughters of the previous owners, Clifford and Shirley Erb. We lost Clifford just a few short months after Cheatums bought the store in 2020. He was a big part of this community, and he was like a grandfather figure to me. I just hope to continue what he and Shirley created in this building.”
Heather is not only continuing their legacy, she’s creating her own. With an unofficial motto of “if we don’t have it, you don’t need it,” Heather goes above and beyond to provide for her customers and the community.
“You can find everything you need and didn’t know you needed,” she said. “And if we don’t have it, we’ll order it for you. I know some of the elderly community members don’t have access to Amazon or places like that. So, even if I can’t get it from my own vendors, I take the time to find it for them from places online.”
Beyond exceptional customer service, Heather says the unique variety of items available to her customers makes the store stand out.
“I feel like the fudge is the main draw, but when a person can shop locally for hand tools, home maintenance and garden items, birthday gifts, sweet treats, office supplies, or home decor, you know you’re in a special store,” Heather said.
She also makes a point to showcase and sell items from local makers and artisans, including candles, pottery, wooden signs, and more.
“I carry a variety of Nebraska-based merchandise from local people,” she said. “I love getting to feature community members in my store.”
The ups and downs of being a business owner
Heather is the only full-time employee and works almost every day alongside a few part-timers. Aside from being overdue for a long vacation, she says the unknown aspects of the future can be difficult.
“My biggest challenge is everything going on in the world at the moment and knowing that people aren’t spending like they used to,” Heather said. “I’m just having to get more creative on helping drive the foot traffic needed to keep the business going day to day. Will I be able to sustain this business for decades when I can’t compete with chains that can offer similar goods for cheaper? I can’t know that for sure, but I do know I’m able to adapt and pivot at any time to keep up with the needs of the community.”
And it’s because of her community that Heather continues to work as hard as she does.
“I love getting to be a part of the community in a more established way; seeing the regular customers come in and support me each week and chatting about life with them,” she said. “I worked from home from 2014 to 2021, so it's been a big change for the better to have this store to interact with others daily. I loved my old job, but there is such a feeling of excitement even on a Sunday when I start thinking about the week ahead and what needs to be done at the store for the week.”
Heather puts a lot of effort into bringing in new customers and keeping her regulars excited. From social media to radio to conversations with friends, she feels that every little bit of advertising makes a difference.
“I’ve had a feature on Pure Nebraska that has drawn in some new customers since it aired, and good, old-fashioned word of mouth has been great for the fudge business,” she said. “And ever since I put up a new sign last fall, just people seeing the word ‘fudge’ has made a handful of passersby stop. This prime location on busy Highway 20 is wonderful.”
Continued collaboration and support
Heather also plans to sell her fudge wholesale to other shops across Nebraska. She encourages business owners to reach out if that partnership might fit in with their operations. Fudge fundraisers for organizations are a welcome collaboration, too.
And if anyone has a new flavor idea, Heather is all ears.
“I love to get creative,” she said. “I can also do sample platters for holidays and weddings or special gatherings.”
Looking back to the beginning of her journey, Heather says the loan process wasn’t easy, but having resources and guidance from the Center made it much simpler.
“Working with Lori and the others at the Center has been wonderful; everyone is so nice,” she said. “Knowing you have a whole support team behind you that wants to see you succeed just as much as you want to means so much. Buying a business is scary, especially when it's just been me in this endeavor. They helped me feel like I wasn’t alone.”
Are you in need of financing to purchase or upgrade a business? Contact your regional loan specialist. Find yours at cfra.org/lending-staff.
At a glance
Corner Hardware and More Orchard Fudge & Candy Shop
Heather Blackmore
250 E. Second St., Orchard, NE
402.893.3111
Hours of operation: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Facebook
Instagram
