Then Is Now’s building was previously used as an office, and we quickly realized that the cubicle-style desk that was left here wouldn’t work for our type of store.
Watch the embedded video here for a deeper look at our current checkout counter.
Chronological history of Then Is Now’s front counter:
- Hahn’s Bakery in downtown Millington (a small town – packed with antique shops – south-east of Frankenmuth) closed in the 1950’s. They used this large table for kneading dough.
- It was taken from there to the bakery in the Millington IGA, which used it for decades before it also closed.
- Dwight, a local farmer, saved it from going to the landfill and kept it in his barn for a couple more decades.
- When we mentioned needing an interesting cashwrap for our new store, Dwight told us he had an idea and offered the sturdy vintage table he’d been storing for so long.
- We cut a wedge out of the table to give it a better shape for use as a store counter, then cleaned it, painted it, and replaced the casters. We chose not to sand the top, so the patina from years of use as a bakery table would remain. Sometimes you can still find pieces of old dough in the grooves in our counter.
Then Is Now 