Inspiring Conversations with Danielle Armbruster of The Shops at Main and McGrew

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Armbruster.

Hi Danielle, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Danielle Armbruster. I moved to Nashville in 2014 from a small town outside of Cleveland, OH so that I could attend Belmont University. At Belmont, I studied graphic design and fast-tracked my degree, graduating in three years. Then came the “what’s next” portion of my life. I knew I didn’t want to move back to Ohio, I love middle TN too much! My family was looking to start a business and I was really excited for us all to go on that journey together.

We’ve always had a love for antiques and new that an antique store was in our future—but the details were still a bit hazy. That is until we found the perfect building for sale in Shelbyville. The historic post office building that we now own was built in 1914. It was renovated in the mid 1960s and turned into a public library. Then, in 2016 they built a new library and vacated the magnificent brick building that we now own. After about a full year of renovations, we were finally able to open our shop in 2018.

Our business is entirely family run and I act as the store manager. The Shops at Main and McGrew is an antique store like you’ve never seen before. We are super picky about what we bring in, selecting every item by hand—no big bulk buyouts happening here! We want to make sure we have the best quality, real Midwest antiques for our customers at the most reasonable prices around middle TN. We are also home to Alex’s Rock Shop that houses an incredible selection of rocks, fossils, crystals, minerals, and so much more. We even sell ice cream for only $1.00 per scoop!

Our focus has always been on people. We want to make sure that everyone who comes through the front door of our shop feels like a part of our family. And we are pretty sure we’re successful at that!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest challenges we faced was doubt. When the store first opened, our only employees were me, my brother, and my now husband. We were 20, 18, and 20 respectively. A lot of people viewed us as “kids” who were “just messing around”. They didn’t understand that we were and still are very serious and extremely business minded people. We have worked very hard to dispel those doubts and set a great example in our community of how to run a business that welcomes all and inspires others.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
We sell high quality, genuine antiques that are sourced throughout the Midwest—mostly Ohio. We always try to offer something that you may have never seen before. One of our favorite things to do is teach people. If you can come into our store and learn something new, I feel like I’ve done something right that day! Of course, if you end up buying something, that’s great too haha.

What does success mean to you?
For me, I think a huge component of success is joy. If you are accomplishing something that you put your heart and soul into, and it makes you genuinely happy, then you are successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Mainandmcgrew.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/mainandmcgrew
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/mainandmcgrew
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/mainandmcgrew