Bellefonte couple to open indoor market in Mattress World building
The Mattress World building at 135 S. Spring St. in Bellefonte sat empty since November 2017, but Andrea Skirpan and her husband Brian Bonner saw potential in the run-down warehouse.
The couple, who has lived in Bellefonte for 20 years, plans to open an indoor marketplace come late spring called Belle Mercantile and fill it with vendors selling handmade, locally grown and locally sourced products.
“We want to attract up-and-coming business owners and online sellers to the tough, but rewarding, world of the retail marketplace,” said Skirpan. “We are confident that it will be a marketplace where customers are excited to come it, get a taste of small-town hospitality and enjoy shopping small in downtown Bellefonte.”
Skirpan and Bonner, both makers themselves, feel passionately about making Bellefonte a better place, and are inspired by the downtown’s revitalization and thriving business community. They also see areas where the town can improve and add attractions otherwise found in State College.
“If you want to keep that small-town walkability and have a place to go, we’re there,” said Bonner. “Around the holidays, if you want to get a gift basket with a bunch of local flair, you have to go to the (Nittany) mall or you have to go to State College. I don’t think, in (Bellefonte), that something like that is available.”
Bonner and Skirpan envision a collective, modern merchant marketplace, where products are artisan, authentic and preferably handmade, they said. They also eventually hope to host workshops and events in the space.
Under the collective model, “everybody shares in the operation of the store,” said Skirpan. “We would cover the expenses of running the building and utilities ... and then just charge rent and a small commission to cover all that stuff. And whoever comes into the store would just pay for their square footage.”
That model enables the couple to make back their start-up costs and cover building operations while attracting vendors who might want more exposure but not at the level of a full storefront.
Bonner said he wants Belle Mercantile to be a place where community members and tourists alike can get handmade goods, baked goods, small quantities of fresh food and a coffee on a Saturday, with “a unique mix of vendors.” He redeveloped the front of the building to be used as a patio for people to sit outside and enjoy beverages and food.
Since purchasing the Mattress World building in 2018, Bonner and Skirpan logged many hours scraping carpet, ripping out and putting in new floors, hauling tons of debris and material, pouring concrete, doing electrical and structural work, fireproofing windows and replacing rotted walls and painting them.
“It’s been a long process, but we’re nearing the end of the first-floor renovations,” said Skirpan. With two young children, she said, the renovations have been a learning experience. Once the market opens, the couple plans to start renovating the second floor of the building.
They also worked with the Penn State Small Business Development Center, SCORE, Bellefonte Springboard and Happy Valley LaunchBox in developing a business plan, acquiring a loan, purchasing the commercial property and registering the business.
Belle Mercantile is currently accepting applications for vendors. Vendor leases will be for six months initially, and then go to a month-to-month basis, said Skirpan.
The couple also plans to offer short-term, “pop-up” spaces for vendors with seasonal goods. Depending on the space needs of vendors, they said, the space could hold between 30-100 vendors.
“It’s a community-oriented place,” said Skirpan. “The people that have the businesses are the ones that want to make Bellefonte better. They live (here), they’re invested in the community. ... I don’t like to leave Bellefonte. I want everything I need in Bellefonte to be in Bellefonte. We’re trying to help with that.”
For more information and vendor applications, visit bellemercantile.com.
.jpg)