The Shoppes at Havana Trading Company in Havana, FL, is a fun place to spend a couple of hours. Around every corner one can find something to delight: candles, clothing, tea, antiques, and that’s just for starters.
When I visited yesterday I met Melba Ginsberg, the manager of Melba’s Cafe, and Karyn Burke, the owner of the “Broken Shell Boutique” a purveyor of beachy eclectica. The Broken Shell is just one of many wonderful shops inside The Shoppes at Havana Trading Company.
In her shop Karyn sells everything a displaced beach bum might need: sandals, beach towels, stationery, jewelry, fragrances for body and home, and candles among other things. Mermaids are welcome there, so I felt right at home.
The vivacious Karyn Burke. She’s a joy!
Obviously I wasn’t the only shopper yesterday, so rather than monopolize Karyn’s time I wandered about The Shoppes and snapped some photos.
i have a hankering for this accordion.This little three-drawer chest is gorgeous.
I hope these photos make you want to pay a visit to The Shoppes at Havana Trading Company. I’m ready to go back!
I discovered a gem of a cafe today– Melba’s Place inside The Shoppes of Havana Trading Company just down the road from Doright Manor in Havana, Florida.
The lovely and loquacious Melba. That’s her as a child in the picture on the wall.
Manager Melba Ginsberg mixes up a mean chicken salad. I had the “Dilly Dally” salad. Oh. My. Goodness. It was so fresh and delicious I darn near swooned.
I tried a sample of “The Coronation” and found it equally tasty, but I might have a an addiction to dill. I’d start looking for a Dill Anon group, but I’m not ready to give it up.
While I was making a fool of myself inhaling “Dilly Dally” Melba and I visited about her early life in Florida. She was born in South Georgianot far from Havana, but her family moved to the Lake Okeechobee area when she was a child. She grew up in a small town where she was a majorette in the marching band.
Melba told me that when she went to choose an instrument from the band room (everyone had to play an instrument) only the bass drum and baritone remained. Melba isn’t very tall and I giggled imagining her toting around the big bass drum. She chose the baritone, though, which isn’t that much smaller, and played it in concert band.
Melba now finds herself near the place of her birth having returned to the area to be close to her daughter. On a visit here Melba’s daughter fell in so in love with Havana that she opened a business here, The Shoppes at Havana Trading Company.
I took way too many photos of The Shoppes to put into one post, so I’ll continue this later, but check them out online in the meantime. And if you live anywhere near Havana, The Shoppes are well worth a trip.
If I held my breath just right and chanted in the proper key maybe this link will provide more information.
@ShoppesHTC
If not, here’s Melba’s card, charmingly posed on my denim covered thigh. This is a fancy blog, don’t you know.
Melba’s cafe features heavenly ice cream, too! I had a scoop of caramel sea salt. So much for my diet.
Praying for Eyebrowz 