Polo’s ‘Gateway’ stores celebrate 1-year anniversaries

Downtown resale, antique shops hosted ribbon-cutting

By ALEXA ZOELLNER azoellner@shawmedia.com

POLO – Things have gone very well in the year since Jodi Horner and Shannan Haenitsch opened their stores in downtown Polo.

The pair co-own Gateway Big Box Resale and Kim’s Gateway Antiques, located at 104 and 108 W. Mason St., respectively. The two stores are connected internally and are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

“We are quite pleased with everything,” said Horner, of Oregon.

“Generally, talking to people, I can’t count on my hands the number of peo- ple who have said, ‘Thank you. It’s so neat to drive through town now and see some lights on at night,’ ” said Haenitsch, of Polo. “We leave the front windows lit up.”

Horner, Haenitsch, Polo Chamber of Commerce members and city officials celebrated the stores’ one-year anniversary with a ribbon-cutting April 28.

The resale shop sells new items bought as overstock from stores such as Target, Amazon, Home Depot and Walmart, Horner said. All items are tested and checked to make sure all parts are there, she said.

When people ask what kind of things are sold at the store, Haenitsch said his answer is, “We don’t have any in particular.” That’s because the inventory constantly is changing, he said.

“I always tell people, if you need something [nonspecific] for somebody, you can probably come in and we’ll have it,” Haenitsch said. “But if you want something particular for somebody, we may not have it. But we have something for everybody.”

Furniture is 50% off the lowest retail price they can find, and everything else is 25% off the lowest retail price, Horner said. Even if they get a product from one company, if another company is selling the same product for less, they’ll use the lower price as a starting point, she said.

“If somebody can find it cheaper, then we honor that as well,” Horner said.

Kim’s Gateway Antiques is named after Horner’s friend, Kim Meyer, who died eight years ago.

“When she passed, I kinda took it pretty hard, but I knew she wouldn’t want me to not continue,” Horner said. “I mean, we both had it in our blood. I knew that, as I got older, I would like to have a store, and I love to do estate sales. “So I thought, ‘What better way to go back and honor her than to name it after her?’”

The antique store sells vintage- and retro-oriented items, about 90% of which are hers, Horner said. There are six dealers whose products are being sold, she said, noting people can rent booth space or do consignment.

“Moving forward, I want to get more into taking the old furniture, flipping it, repurposing it,” Horner said. “I’ve been trying to find time to do that.”

Both stores have “gateway” in their names to celebrate the Polo community. The city of Polo’s motto is “Gateway to the Pines,” Haenitsch said.