Part of the Le Hatchery Galleria group of shops in Easton, the Big Rooster Mall opened mid-November, in time for the Waterfowl Festival. (Photo by Sean Clougherty)
United by a love of antiques and collectibles, a team of artisan enthusiasts has created a new spot in Talbot County for shoppers to crow about.
The Big Rooster Mall, part of the Le Hatchery Galleria, opened last month on Kemp Lane in Easton, housing more than two dozen vendors of handmade works and antiques.
Catering to the small-scale creators and collectors, the 2,400-square-foot mall leases space to vendors and staffs it all for sales, which frees vendors from having to be at their booth whenever the mall is open.
Vendors can lease an entire booth, half a booth, a single display case or a portion of the wall; whatever fits their situation, says owner G.M. Bell.
Bell bought the building in 2020, initially to give him space to store items he was moving from his late father’s antique store in Maine. The purchase linked him up with Laurie Gaffney who was already renting space with a colleague for an antique shop in another part of the building.
“We all kind of bonded in our appreciation for the old, vintage, good stuff,” Gaffney said.
Over the summer, the idea of a collaboration germinated and with former owner, Bob Porter, who still operates his Sharper Signs and Graphics business in the building, the team went to work renovating the mall site into several store fronts and recruiting vendors. The range of items includes antique furniture, holiday decorations, advertising, nautical and seafood pieces, jewelry, and toys.
And that’s in addition to the existing marketplace of about a half dozen artisans and stores in the rest of the Le Hatchery Galleria.
“It’s a great group,” Gaffney said of vendors throughout the building. “It’s kind of a family feel to it almost.”
With vendor space in the mall at about 90 percent leased, they opened in time for the record crowds at this year’s Waterfowl Festival.
“It’s going really well,” Gaffney said. “We’ve had wonderful response.”
Bell said he hopes the mall can strengthen the town and county’s antique scene in general, attracting shoppers from farther away.
“It helps the whole community to have people come to the area and have a lot of places to go,” he said. “When we get done, it’s going to be around 40 different vendors here, probably.”
The Big Rooster Mall is open Thursday through Sunday from 10a.m. to 4 p.m. Located in Easton’s East End, it also coincides with efforts from the town to reinvigorate the area.
Easton’s East End Small Area Plan, expected by March of 2024, will update the town’s existing plan to reflect the area’s current needs, assets and opportunities. According to Easton’s planning and zoning department, planning in the East End includes three primary areas of focus; the Dover Road Corridor, the legacy industrial areas associated with the former railroad, and the site of the current Talbot County Health Department, which is scheduled to relocate to a different site in the near future.
“This is the focus now, this area here,” Porter said. “It’s exciting to see what’s happening,” Porter said. “It’s been amazing to watch, it really has.”
