Old Building With A New Life

It all started in 1908 when the DeMers Mercantile Co. was built. In the small community of Arlee, Montana it was the place to go for everything you needed. It remained the hub of the community for various goods until the 50s. Since that time it has been several different restaurants, a laundromat, a flower shop, several different kinds of offices and now, it is The Mere on 93. We love the history this building shows. It has the original ceiling, freight elevator, some windows and a pretty amazing, old safe door. Since we have taken it over, we removed the awning that was falling down, re-sided the front (the rest will be done now that spring is here!), painted some rooms, gave it a loving name and filled it with antiques, vintage and handmade items, rustic furniture, art, decor and just all around cool stuff from 26 different vendors!

This is what it looked like when we started the adventure. If you look closely you can see the main support beam coming up through the awning! We couldn't take it down any other way so we covered the windows and gave it a tug. It came down in three sections and with no problems! Now on to clean up and the siding.

We needed to brighten up the siding so you could see us better and we had to work fast and late to get it done before the snow.

As you can see we didn't quite beat the snow but it got it done before it we got more and just in time for Christmas break!

Today this is what the front of our store looks like. We have been waiting for this long winter to be over so we can finish all the little things like painting the trim. Soon we will have more to show you, but in the mean time stop in a check out all the treasures!