One of the oldest storefronts in Lenexa has kicked off a new chapter.
A plaque near the shop’s entrance at 13416 Santa Fe Trail Drive declares it the historic “Ann Huseman” building, standing since the 1870s. The county’s property records website says it was built in 1890. Regardless of which year it was built, the building is considered one of the oldest commercial buildings still standing in Lenexa.
Meanwhile, the general store inside, though new to Lenexa, has a decades-long history of its own.
But while the Peddler’s Daughter’s new storefront is a new chapter, many of the faces inside are not. In its first couple of weeks open, owner Tami Gochenour said, most of the customers that have stopped by for groceries and treats have been their loyal patrons for years, since the store’s beginnings in Kansas City, Kansas.
When the store picked up and moved from its Merriam Lane home in KCK to Johnson County in September, those customers happily followed them — along with some new faces too.
“Everyone’s been really welcoming,” she said. “We’re really excited about being here.”
The Peddler’s Daughter opened at 13416 Santa Fe Trail Drive
- The store took over a space just off Pflumm Road and Santa Fe Trail Drive in Old Town Lenexa.
- There, it operates near Jerry’s Bait Shop and Maps Coffee & Chocolate.
- The Peddler’s Daughter is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
The Peddler’s Daughter offers a variety of locally sourced goods
Since the new Lenexa space is not as large as its former space in Kansas City, Kansas, some features didn’t carry over — such as the shop’s garden and prepared foods sections. But otherwise, Gochenour said, customers will find the same items they typically come for.
The general store’s shelves house a variety of snacks and groceries, primarily sourced from nearby Amish and Mennonite communities, Gouchenour added.
That ranges from local seasonal produce, bread mixes and cheeses to canned pickled vegetables and sausages.
For those with a sweet tooth, the Peddler’s Daughter also offers treats like candy, pies, and cider and craft sodas from the nearby Louisburg Cider Mill.
This is the Peddler’s Daughter’s first foray into Johnson County
The Peddler’s Daughter originally opened on Merriam Lane roughly 20 years ago, near Nigro’s Western Store.
The idea for the store was sort of pre-destined for Gochenour, who comes from a line of “peddlers” of produce.
Both her father (hence the store’s name) and her grandfather sold produce themselves, joking with her as a child that she’d someday do the same. Her family’s photos line the walls behind the cash register inside the store, a nod to where things started.
“My dad was a self-made man, so I think that’s where me and my brothers get it from,” she said.
The store had moved five times to different spaces along Merriam Lane and been in their most recent one for 15 years, when the landlord said they needed use of the space back.
It was bittersweet, Gochenour said, saying goodbye to the neighborhood they’d been a staple of for so long.
“We’ve had a lot of loyal customers,” Gochenour said. “We (wouldn’t have) been there that long without all those people on Merriam Lane.”
Then on their last day open there, some customers from Lenexa came in and asked if that area was on the table. Gochenour had already considered Mission, Shawnee and downtown Overland Park — but something about Old Town Lenexa felt right.
“It’s not a busy part of Lenexa, but it’s in the middle of everything,” Gochenour said.
That instinct so far, she said, has proven true. Customers have stopped in to shop and chat while sipping lattes from nearby Maps, and kids have grabbed treats after riding their bikes over. (One group of neighborhood kids has already sent a handwritten note welcoming the Peddler’s Daughter to the area.)
“Everybody’s been wonderful,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s customers, if it’s people that work for the city, the people in the offices over there — they’ve all been super cool.”
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