OLIVESBURG — Gary McQuate used to bring his daughter, Tia Sponsler, to his daily coffee meeting with friends at the Olivesburg General Store when she was young.
She said she wanted to own the store someday, McQuate said.
Now that she does, Sponsler continues to pour into it. Most recently, she did that with a series of remodels that closed the store for three weeks.
“It’s been open and running for 184 years, so we just wanted to love on her,” Sponsler said.
In its 184-year history, the Olivesburg General Store has gone from selling diamonds and dynamite to focusing on bringing people together in the small township.
The store received a rearrangement in its most recent remodel. A backroom turned into a seating area to allow for a more open event space.
There is now a bathroom on the main floor, and resurfaced concrete floors look like wood.
“One of the biggest things I feel like we’re being called to do now is community,” Sponsler said.
Her parents, Gary and Kathy McQuate, said that Sponsler excels at that calling. She brings people together, whether that’s with music in the store or helping people through her Christian faith.
While Gary said he thinks there’s some pressure that comes along with keeping the Olivesburg hallmark alive, he takes pride in his daughter’s work.
“We’re just very proud of her,” he said. “We’re glad to see that she’s helping and keeping on the tradition of the store.”
Sponsler celebrated the store’s remodel with a ribbon cutting with the Ashland Area Chamber of Commerce Monday afternoon.
