Stay is opening a store at Hershey History Center

The Milk House, at Hershey History Center, is our future home.

When we approached the Hershey History Center about operating a holiday pop-up shop there in 2023, executive director Nikki Soliday was ever accommodating.

She was open to letting us use the cozy trolley building at the front of the property, at 40 Northeast Drive, Hershey.

But she would have been fine if we opted for the larger but less visible Milk House toward the rear of the property.

It being after Labor Day, with the holiday season bearing down (maybe already arrived if candy corn’s presence on grocery store shelves is your barometer), we went with the trolley building. What it lacked in size and mechanical amenities, it made up for in visibility and charm.

Longer term, however, the Milk House is the better option. It’s many times larger than the trolley building and has heating, air-conditioning and plumbing.

So as of June, Stay will be calling the Milk House our first permanent home. We’ll continue to participate in some pop-up events, but our focus will be on growing the store and our online presence.

Big-league neighbors

If you want to place the Hershey History Center on a map, think of a baseball diamond elongated from east to west.

At first base stands Troegs, the 27th largest craft brewery in the United States, per The Brewers Association trade group.

At second base is Tanger outlet center, including a Starbucks whose drive-up window traffic often backs up to the street.

At third base, it’s Hersheypark, the largest amusement park in Pennsylvania.

And at home plate, just a Lavender Oatmilk Latte’s throw (I don’t drink coffee) from Tanger, is the history center.

Since 1991, the nonprofit organization has been committed to a mission of preserving, promoting and interpreting the community’s heritage.

In 2003, the history center bought the Northeast Drive property, which began two centuries ago as a dairy farm and in the late 20th century was part of a Milton Hershey School student home.

The history center operates from the converted barn, which comprises its offices, museum, library, gift shop and event space.

In short, the history center is a community gem. To be associated with it and surrounded by Troegs, Tanger and Hersheypark feels like the big leagues to Stay.

Makers market

We’re still mulling days and hours of operation, but we’ve been hard at work on the layout, decor and expanded product offerings pretty much since the start of 2024.

We’re eager to build on our relationship with the history center to one another’s benefit.

One way we’ll do that is with a makers market, which Stay will host on the third Sunday of the month from February through November.

We’ll be outside, on the front lawn, from May through October, and inside the community room, in November, February, March and April. We’ll be off in December (we’re coordinating the third annual Englewood Makers Market on Dec. 8) and January.

The first Makers at the Museum, as we’re calling it, will be July 21. We’re aiming for 25 makers plus food and beer vendors from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the makers market will always be free to the public.

We’ll be sharing all of the details in the weeks ahead, here and on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

We have much work to do, but we’re rounding third and heading for home.