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 When you visit us at Riegsecker Marketplace you enter the world
of master craftsman, Mel Riegsecker. A native of Northern Indiana
Amish Country, Mel’s father was an Amish harness maker, who
taught Mel every detail of this ethnic skill. In 1970, for his own
enjoyment, Mel created the first of his miniature wagons and six
horse hitches with everything from manes to bridles authentically
detailed. Mel’s father displayed the handsome miniature in
his shop for all to enjoy. To the surprise of father and son, the
miniature was quickly purchased!
To accommodate the demand for his miniatures that followed, Mel
continued to make more of the finely crafted horse and carriage
miniatures, which were sold as quickly as they were finished. Eventually
a buyer from a large department store in Chicago discovered Mel’s
work, and the rest is history!
As his reputation grew, Mel found that visitors enjoyed watching
the crafters in his workshop, adjacent to his country home. However,
due to a lack of space that wasn’t always possible. So in
1984, Mel and June purchased and renovated an old factory building
conveniently located at the 4 way stop in Shipshewana. They called
it the Shipshewana Craft Barn. That was the beginning of Riegsecker
Marketplace. As the Riegsecker’s vision has evolved, additional
shops, restaurants and a theatre have become a part of the marketplace.
Today when you come for a visit, you can enjoy some of the best
Amish\Mennonite cooking around, finely crafted oak and cherry furniture,
copperware and much more.
The Marketplace is now a group of 4 retail stores, a restaurant,
bakery, and furniture factory. The retail stores offer some of the
highest quality home décor in the country, many items made
locally. They also carry the Riegsecker’s own line of furniture
created at the factory, Riegsecker Hardwoods, located 3 miles north.
Riegsecker Hardwoods handcrafts oak & cherry furniture for
superior quality. They also specialize in custom kitchen cabinets
and are known for their custom built-in entertainment centers, fireplaces,
and unique specialty jobs. The furniture and cabinets are mainly
displayed at the Craft Barn & Farm House, and there is also
an extra cabinet showroom at the factory with specialists if anyone
needs a little help planning. Tours are available of the furniture
factory daily Mon-Fri, May - December.
At Dad’s Toys, another Marketplace store, the shelves are
lined with literally hundreds of die-cast farm toys, banks, cars,
trucks, and semis from ERTL, Spec Cast, First Gear, and others as
well as Peter Stone and Breyer Model Horses. The store is also unique
because it usually has a full size antique car and tractor for sale
on its floor, as well as a miniature horse for the kids to see.
As the Marketplace continues to grow, the fastest growing part
has been the Blue Gate Restaurant. When Mel first opened in the
mid 80’s the Blue Gate, formerly Der Strudel Haus, had 50
seats and one dining room. Over the years it grew to 105 seats and
two dining rooms, but it was never big enough to accommodate the
number of people who wanted to eat there. Now after 20 years the
old Blue Gate has been torn down and a new state-of-the-art facility
has been erected, it will have 1200 seats, 9 dining rooms, a fully
functioning Bakery, and coming Spring 2003 a theater. As the Marketplace
continues to grow the Blue Gate will be an integral key to its success.
The Marketplace is located solely in the Shipshewana area, but
sells the Riegsecker line of furniture nationwide under the name
Amish Workbench Furniture Co. Due to its location in the middle
of Northern Indiana Amish Country and its proximity to the Flea
Market, the largest in the Midwest, the Marketplace has become an
enterprise that mainly serves the tourism industry. The Marketplace
has become a draw for the Midwest and three of its largest markets:
Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis. To better serve this industry
the Marketplace has grown and evolved. The Riegsecker Carriage Co,
Blue Gate Theater, and Riegsecker Tours are just some of the services
the Marketplace has added in response to this need. Carriages run
daily to give visitors a taste of old-world transportation, and
are also available for special occasions such as weddings, proms,
and other events. The Blue Gate Theater, set to reopen in spring
2003 will provide the much asked for evening entertainment to Shipshewana.
Riegsecker Tours is the newest addition to the Riegsecker family
of offerings. It provides daily tours of the Riegsecker Hardwoods
Factory, giving visitors a unique perspective
on the quality furniture and other merchandise they find in the
stores downtown.
As the Marketplace continues to grow it will continue to play
an important role in the growth and development of the community,
as it has in the past. Currently a significant number of the staff
comes from the community, which helps the Marketplace reflect
the culture and values of the area. There is also a number of
staff involved in local government and town development.
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