Homely front porches sit under cozy canopies of trees and whimsical string lights. They swell with laughter, chatter and liveliness whether it’s a Friday night or a Tuesday morning. The surrounding wooded wonderland is a soothing slice of seclusion to break away from life’s hecticness, yet the warmth and presence of others lingers. Pass by one of these porches, and it’s not unusual to get a welcoming “Hello” and an invite to join the party.
This is the spirit of Mt. Gretna, Pennsylvania's only Chautauqua community. It was founded on the Chautauqua movement of introducing art, culture and recreation into the community, aiming to inspire and unify people.
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The core of Mt. Gretna is quite literally to gather (hence, the front-facing porches, encouraging conversation with passersby). And few things embody a quintessential Mt. Gretna get-together like snacking on a charcuterie spread, savoring homemade cocktails and swapping nostalgia of summers spent by the lake and in the ice cream parlor.
Tanya Mann has come to know this vibrant and neighborly spirit well. Six years ago, she bought a house with her husband in Mt. Gretna with no initial intentions to live in the town full time.
“At first, I was like, ‘This is not what I want at all.’ … We lived in a condo in Philadelphia … and I wanted a place out of the city, and I wanted to have like three acres, no neighbors … nothing,” she says. “My husband fell in love with the house we ended up buying, and it was the best decision ever because we have the most wonderful neighbors and a million friends. It was like one of those examples of not getting what you wanted was way better than what you thought you wanted.”
Now, Mann has fallen so in love with her community that she recently opened MG Mercantile. Located right in the heart of the town, she says the “village shop” is meant to encapsulate the same inviting and hospitable vibe of Mt. Gretna.
“The whole history of Mt. Gretna has been people coming together to enjoy being together, and I think that spirit just lives on for over the last 100 years,” she says.
In Mann’s “shoppable cottage,” guests enter through a garden followed by a front porch. The rooms inside replicate a foyer, pantry, kitchen, dining room, library and snug (a den-like room inspired by a pub that holds alcoholic and non-alcoholic spirits, unique garnishes and sweet rim sugars the mercantile offers for a DIY high-end cocktail).
Artisan Chesapeake Bay-seasoned linguine and health-conscious organic tomato sauces are found in the pantry. Locally farmed mango fire cheddar cheese and a selection of charcuterie meats are in the kitchen. Try allergen-friendly oat milk chocolate and a fifth-generation family-run Pennsylvania brand of candy in the dining room.
“For me, it’s like, ‘What are the curated items that would be a part of a nicely stocked pantry? What would be the hard goods I’d want in my kitchen? What would be the things I’d want on my dining room table?’ That’s how I select things,” Mann says.
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There’s also Swedish dishcloths (which she got from Sweden herself while visiting her mother there), coconut husk cleaning brushes (inspired by a trip to Sri Lanka), and French sea salt.
Having moved around the world various times, with roots in places like Sweden, England (specifically London, her birthplace) and the United States, Mann says her travels have given her the privilege to see how communities all over the world live and shop.
“I think in the U.S., we have these really big shops that have so much variety, which is wonderful … but you also end up overwhelmed sometimes with choosing between hundreds of cereals,” she says. “Most of the world is not like that. I feel like I’ve been really influenced by visits around the world to just the little shop down the lane, down the street, that somehow has like everything you need and not more.”
Though the goods in each room are ever changing and cater to the season, Mann says their commonality is that they are high quality, sustainable and useful for any occasion.
“People like stories behind their products. If I buy a tea towel, I don’t necessarily want it to be from a big-box retailer. I want to know that it was like a British illustration turned into a tea towel,” she says. “We want [our goods] to be from a sustainable source, or hopefully they support a family or a good business … something that you care about. I think if you have prettier or nicer things, they are going to be reused and won’t be as disposable. It’s nice to know there’s more intentionality behind the products.”
A story lives in the literal walls of MG Mercantile, too. The building was formerly a bank, a real estate office and someone’s unfinished home project. Mann says people best remember the building as the former bank and love reminiscing every time they stop in. They remember where they got lollipops, opened their first safe-deposit box or even where they signed for the cottage they bought decades earlier.
“I think Mt. Gretna holds a lot of nostalgia and sentimentality for so many people, and people from Central PA, who have really fun memories of being here,” she adds.
Whether shoppers are year-round Mt. Gretna residents, short-term renters or day-trippers, Mann believes the mercantile can appeal to everyone, and there’s something to be said about a Chautauqua community and a life of gathering.
“Gretna is a convivial, social place, and it’s nice to gather and go to your neighbor’s house and bring a present,” she says. “Everyone who comes here has some story of why they came to Gretna, and I think that just makes it a special place. … And they want to bring home a little piece of Gretna with them, too. Everyone wants to have a little moment of feeling special.”
MG Mercantile
501 PA Route 117, Mt. Gretna, PA
717-675-9730
IG: @mgmercantile FB: MG-Mercantile
