ORWIGSBURG -- A small local business in Schuylkill County is looking into possibly expanding and in a big way.
The owner of Shakey's Gun Shop in Orwigsburg purchased a nearly 20-acre plot of land just outside the borough right off busy Route 61.
Inside Shakey's Gun Shop in Orwigsburg, Emily Noecker is buying her very first gun, but she's no stranger to the store that sits on the main road in the borough's downtown.
She's been here several times over the years with both her parents and husband and she enjoys what the small local business provides.
“The people are always nice. They're always attentive and answer any questions that I have quickly,” said Noecker.
“There's 20 acres, well 19.62 acres. It's a very wide open commercial property,” said 33-year-old Josh Shamonsky, Shakey’s owner. as he points to a large field where he hopes to expand his 11-year-old business.
Shamonsky hopes to expand his 11-year-old business. He closed on the nearly 20-acre property just a mile outside Orwigsburg on busy Route 61 after paying a little less than $400,000 last month.
Shamonsky says now that he has the land, he can take time to consider what his business will do here, but right now there's no definite plan.
“I still have to come up with a plan, so there's nothing set in stone,” said Shamonsky. “We're just at the beginning stages. The main goal was to get the property and then build from there.”
People in the downtown say this is very good news.
“That's very exciting. I'm excited to see that we're starting to have some growth in our area. Some new businesses and new developments are cropping up and that's wonderful for a small town,” said Shaunna Crossen.
“We're all local businesses. We all like to stick together and obviously, we want to make Orwigsburg great again. That's what we always say around here and we love it,” said Anthea Allar, owner of Zebbidee Salon.
One thing Shakey's owner says he'll need to decide is whether to keep his downtown shop open once a new facility is finished.
