Stagestop Marketplace is welcoming a new business where you’ll find everything from vintage toys and dusty books to thrifty clothing and fine china. Each item in the shop has its own story.

Sorrento couple Jennifer Waite and Mathew Cecil are preparing for the soft opening of Apple Dumplin’s Variety Store tomorrow. The idea was born during a long road trip from West Virgina to Arizona.

The shop’s walls are lined with knickknacks and curios — bourbon ads, Ouija boards, picture frames and shelves stocked with sleds, glassware and Western décor. Every piece will eventually make way for new finds, each with its own history. 

Waite sources most of her stock from estate sales, garage sales and donations. Some locals sell homemade quilts through her store. She cleans up the donated furniture and goods until they look as good as new. 

“Everybody has a story, and I love to hear the stories,” Waite said. “It’s been so much fun.” 

The store’s name is a nod to the 1975 Disney movie The Apple Dumpling Gang, crafted during that same road trip. In the film, gambler Russell Donovan becomes a reluctant hero who ends up “giving back to his community,” Waite explained, adding he found it inspiring. 

“I have some contacts with the shelters in town … because if I can’t sell it here, I want to pass it on and bless people that are in need,” she said. 

Eventually, Waite hopes to hire women in need, giving them work experience to help build their résumés and future. 

“That’s the goal,” she said. “That’s the end goal.”