A Look Inside 3 Different Amish Stores (22 Photos)

Don Burke shares photos from three businesses in the Clark, Missouri Amish community. This is the state’s second-largest Amish settlement, of around 10 churches and 1,500 people, and one of the three oldest in the state. We previously saw this community in Don’s photo post from 2015, “A Thanksgiving Visit to The Amish of Clark, Missouri“.

So today we have a look inside some of the community’s stores. These are all stores that would be heavily-patronized by the local Amish, and no doubt by some non-Amish customers as well.

Just because a store looks very “Amish”, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have non-Amish customers. And in some cases the non-Amish contingent can make up a good chunk of the business in little stores like these, such as in the example of the bent-n-dent store I recently visited in Kentucky.

Here we have photos from South Side Sales, Lakeview Salvage Grocery, and Vernies. Let’s start with Lakeview.

Favorites

Three Head-Scratching Amish Myths

Lakeview Salvage Grocery Store

No pets please.

Front counter. An adding machine rests on the tabletop.

Looks like we found the sweet tooth aisle.

Some bulk packaged items. One of the big bags on the lower right says “Pastry Flour”. Do I see slabs of baking chocolate above it?

Outside, the horse of an Amish customer patiently waits.

This looks like a child’s horse swing, but I’m not exactly sure what I’m seeing. Looks like it’s attached to the post right where you’d stand/sit.

South Side Sales

Now a look inside South Side Sales.

Favorites

The 10 Biggest Amish Communities (2023)

This looks like a more conventional food store. Rather than selling outdated or package-damaged products like a salvage store does.

Many Amish stores sell the Jake & Amos brand of canned goods.

I remember these old-time scales being in “English” supermarkets when I was growing up. Pretty much everything is electronic now, it seems.

This one has a musical clock that looks to be for sale behind the counter.

Vernie’s

Finally, we look at Vernie’s, a variety store.

Favorites

10 Unexpected Things I Saw In An Amish Home (20 Photos)

As the name suggests, variety stores have a bit of everything.

Some clothing accessories. My friend Daniel used to own the company that sells the “Lizzie Ann” headscarf that you see in the upper left (Weaver’s Apparel). An “Edna” might be happy to find what’s at the bottom of the photo. I’m not exactly sure what that is from this cropped view and angle. My first guess would be that it’s mean to be hung on the wall and has hooks for hanging clothing. But, maybe not.

The large supply of Unker’s Salve suggests it is a well-used form of pain relief in this community. Amish life entails more physical labor than much of society is accustomed to.

I can’t make out everything in this photo, but on the top right I see some sort of juices, and below that, foot powder.

Dish sets. Though the colors are vibrant, they also feel “plain” in that the style seems like something from the 1950s.

So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this look inside three different Amish stores. And I hope you have a chance to visit stores like these if you haven’t already. Thanks to Don for sharing with us. You can find his full catalog of Amish photos here.