It’s the one place on Main Street where you can find just about everything under one roof, and manager Tina Ditson and owner John Welk are proud to have been a Riley Park landmark since 2005. But those familiar with Welk’s General Store know the history of the shop goes back a lot further than 2005, tracing it back all the way to when John was a little boy.
“John’s father had started the original, Welk Mart it was called, and when John moved to the city he took the ideas of what he had learned growing up with his dad,” says Tina. “His dad’s store was a lot different, but he did learn the basics of retail – selling everything!”
It may sound like an exaggeration to say Welk’s sells everything, but it’s not. Within a few steps of each other, you can find French press coffee makers, garden rakes, poop-and-scoop doggie bags and hair ties, all of which makes wandering the aisles of Welk’s something you can easily spend an afternoon doing.
