Ohio Peanut Butter Company Has Been Roasting Nuts in Small Batches Since 1898
Peanuts are the only ingredient in the natural peanut butter made by an Ohio company whose history stretches back to 1898. No added sugar, salt, or preservatives are needed for...
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Pennsylvania Gift Shop Gives 10% of Every Sale to a Local Foundation
Every purchase at a newly opened Pennsylvania gift boutique supports more than the person receiving the present. The owners direct 10% of every sale to a foundation created in...
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Korean Immigrant Opened a California Home Goods Store in 1979, and His Grandson Is Still Carrying It Forward
Kimchi refrigerators, rice cookers, and thick Korean blankets fill a two-story home goods store that has served families for nearly five decades. Its founder arrived from Korea...
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Ohio Nature Center Hides Giant Wooden Trolls in the Forest, Turning a Walk Into a Treasure Hunt
Three enormous wooden trolls are waiting in an Ohio forest, turning an ordinary nature walk into a treasure hunt. Created from recycled materials by Danish artist Thomas Dambo,...
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Pennsylvania Five-and-Dime Store Still Has Its Original Soda Fountain and 200 Model Airplanes Hanging Over Shoppers
About 200 model airplanes hang from the ceiling of one small Pennsylvania variety store. Yes, you can shop for dish towels and old-fashioned candy under an entire squadron.
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Pedro Pascal Movie Helped Bring Back a California Ice Cream Shop Closed for Nearly Five Years
Pedro Pascal probably never expected one of his movies to become part of an ice cream shop's comeback story. Yet a historic California parlor that had been closed for nearly five...
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Pennsylvania Discount Warehouse Has 30,000 Square Feet of Unexpected Finds and Bargains
Burn barrels, old-time candy, couches, and flats of flowers can all end up on the same shopping trip here. That mix alone makes me curious.
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California Family Filled a Store With Creations From More Than 100 Artists and Unusual Collectibles
A tiny beetle-themed shop sells real insect displays, bird skulls, and fine jewelry, all under one roof. It runs on the vision of one family.
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Pennsylvania Mother Worried Her Autistic Son Would Never Find Work, Then Helped Build a Cafe Employing Over 60 People
When her autistic son approached adulthood, one Pennsylvania mother began worrying about what would happen after his school years ended. Would he find meaningful work, build friendships,...
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Ohio Woman Revived a Forgotten 1932 Brand and Turned It Into a Marketplace for Local Businesses
Nearly a century after a soda brand was founded in Ohio, a local entrepreneur brought its forgotten name back to life and turned it into an opportunity for dozens of small businesses....
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California Christmas Market Lights Up the Holidays With 3 Million Lights, German-Style Shopping and Santa Visits
More than three million Christmas lights transform a hillside on California's Central Coast into a holiday wonderland inspired by traditional German markets. Visitors walk through...
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California Restaurant Survived a Wildfire Only to Be Damaged by Mudslides Before Reopening
A beachfront California restaurant survived one of the most destructive wildfires in the region's history, only to face another disaster weeks later. After escaping the January...
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Pennsylvania Woman Lost Her Corporate Job, Started Baking at Home and Now Draws Lines Outside a Historic Market
Losing a corporate job led one Pennsylvania woman to turn her home-baking skills into a business that now draws customers into a historic market building dating back to 1888. Her...
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Pennsylvania Couple Spent Nine Years Reviving a Roadside Landmark That Had Been Closed Since 2010
For more than a decade, a roadside landmark stood empty while generations of former customers remembered its homemade treats and distinctive neon sign. Now a Pennsylvania couple...
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Pennsylvania Christmas Farm Brings Santa’s Reindeer and a Storybook Village to Life on Just Four Nights
Four nights. That is all the time families have to meet real reindeer and ride through a Christmas story at a small Pennsylvania farm this holiday season.
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Pennsylvania Restaurant Lets Guests Dine in Vintage Railcars While a Model Train Circles Overhead
Eating inside a historic railroad car is unusual enough, but one Pennsylvania restaurant adds something even more memorable: real steam trains passing through the countryside just...
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Hollywood Christmas Movie Props and a Giant Slide Fill Ohio’s 40,000-Square-Foot Holiday Wonderland
An enormous sleigh associated with the live-action Grinch movie is just one of the Christmas surprises waiting inside this Ohio attraction. Visitors also encounter a famous holiday...
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Pennsylvania Shoppers Can Find Brand-Name Baked Goods at Discount Prices at This Grocery Outlet
A grocery outlet where familiar bakery brands can cost far less than they do at a regular supermarket is already worth a second look. Add shelves of snacks, sweets, and everyday...
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Ohio’s 700-Foot Ice Chutes Send Riders Flying at Up to 50 MPH, Even Without Snow
Seven hundred feet of solid ice, a long toboggan, and speeds that can reach up to 50 miles per hour. That's the whole pitch, and honestly, it's a pretty great one.
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Pennsylvania Shoppers Can Buy Imperfect Versions of Famous Candies at This Factory Store
A Mallo Cup with a lopsided swirl tastes exactly like a perfect one. It just costs less, and it comes in bulk. That simple truth...
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After a Retail Chain Collapsed, Ohio Vendors Found a Second Chance in a New Boutique Marketplace
Hundreds of small sellers lost their shop space when a big boutique marketplace chain shut its doors. Many of them did not give up.
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Since the 1930s, This California Roadside Bakery Has Been Drawing Customers With Apple Doughnuts
Cinnamon-sugar apple doughnuts are the reason so many drivers tap the brakes on one winding mountain highway in California. The stand selling them has been around since the 1930s.
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Thousands of Bees Live Behind Glass Inside This Pennsylvania Grocery Store
A working honeybee hive sits behind glass inside a grocery store, and the bees fly in and out through the roof. Yes, while you shop for apples and noodles, thousands of tiny workers...
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This Pennsylvania Pet Store Grew to 88,000 Square Feet, and Shopping There Feels Like Visiting an Aquarium
A giant shark head hangs over the front doors of a pet store. Inside, you can reach into a big pool and gently touch live stingrays.
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This Ohio Family Turned a Five-and-Dime Store Into Six Halloween Shops That Took Over an Entire Downtown Street
One family's old five-and-dime grew so obsessed with Halloween that it now fills six shops on a single downtown street. That's not a pop-up.
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A Pennsylvania Flea Market Took Over an Old Movie Theater and Now Fills 100,000 Square Feet
A weekend flea market now fills the shell of an old movie theater, and the shopping covers about 100,000 square feet. That's a lot of room for trinkets, toys, and treasures that...
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1,800 Cinnamon Sticks a Week Come From an Ohio Bakery Using a Recipe Nobody Wrote Down
About 1,800 cinnamon sticks leave one small bakery every single week. The recipe behind them was never written down. Somehow,...
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One Ohio Diner Has Been Serving Homemade Pies Since 1938, With a Retro Sign That Still Points Hungry Travelers Inside
Peanut butter pie, coconut cream pie, and black raspberry cream pie all share the same humble counter here. That alone might be enough to plan a road trip around.
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Friday’s $15 Finds Become $1 Thursday Bargains at This Ohio Store Where Shoppers Dig Through Retail Returns
Every item in the bins costs the same on Friday. By Thursday, whatever is left drops to the lowest price of the week, and then the whole thing starts over.
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An Ohio Woman Turned Her Love of Childhood Candy Into a Store Packed With Retro Sweets and Toys
A real car from the Wildcat roller coaster at the old Idora Park now sits inside a candy store. I can't imagine a better mascot for a shop built on childhood thrills.
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After 25 Years, This Ohio Vintage Shop Moved Into a Bigger Space Packed With Nostalgia
A full 1960s kitchen sits inside this shop, staged so well you half expect a casserole to come out of the oven. That alone made me want to know more.
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She Saved America’s Oldest Residential Street, and 92 Years Later Pennsylvania Honored Her With a Park
People have lived on one narrow Pennsylvania lane every year since 1702. That streak almost ended in the 1930s, when the old houses looked worn out and ready for the wrecking ball.
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An Ohio Family Started Selling Milk From a 10-Foot Room on the Honor System, and Now 1.2 Million People Visit Each Year
A family once sold milk from a tiny 10-foot room and trusted customers to leave their money on the honor system. That little room grew into a farm stop that now welcomes about...
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Hollywood Built a Fake Western Town in California, Then a Massive Wildfire Destroyed the Set Used by Famous TV Shows
A wildfire in 2018 burned down most of an Old West town that never actually existed. Its saloons and storefronts were built for cameras, not cowboys.
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The Great Depression Cost This Ohio Family Its Farm, but They Bought It Back and Built a Business That Now Draws Nearly a Million Visitors
The smell of fresh waffle cones drifting across a parking lot is enough to stop anyone in their tracks. I pulled in for a single scoop of ice cream and ended up staying most of...
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This Pennsylvania Candy Shop Lets You Fill a Box With Childhood Favorites You Thought Were Gone Forever
Rubber chickens hang from the ceiling of one candy shop, and a toy train circles right above them. That alone would earn a second look.
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Forget Fries, This California Restaurant Turns Giant Baked Potatoes Into Entire Meals
One woman runs this little potato shop by herself, and she might hand you a glass of Turkish tea while you wait. That detail alone made me stop scrolling.
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They Thought His Pennsylvania Grocery Store Would Fail, Then It Became One of America’s Top Nine
The parking lot makes electricity. Rows of solar panels sit on top of a covered carport, shading cars while they help power the store behind them.
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When a California Grocery Store Faced Closure After Nearly 50 Years, a Former Google CEO Stepped In
Oranges and neighborhood trust do not usually make headlines, but this California story did. A small market that had served its community for fifty years was about to lock its...
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A South Carolina Man Promised His Wife Their Move Was Temporary, Then Built a Restaurant That Lasted 80 Years
Tired and hungry, I left the interstate in South Carolina and walked into a small-town restaurant. Love story was waiting inside. Young...
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Thousands of Nickels and Pennies Decorate a Pennsylvania Restaurant Inside a Former 1891 Bank
Shiny nickels and bright copper pennies cover the bar counter and the vault floor inside an old bank building in Pennsylvania. The structure dates to 1891, and the original vault...
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A Pennsylvania Restaurant Turned an Old Bank Vault Into Its Kitchen, and the Original Vault Door Still Stands
Steel vault doors usually guard money, not pasta. In Pennsylvania, one old bank building has traded cash for carbonara, and the vault now watches over a kitchen instead of a fortune.
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One Woman Asked for a Hot Dog in 1922, and a Pennsylvania Shop Built a Century-Long Business Around It
I still grin when I think about my first hot dog at a small Pennsylvania shop, eaten at a little table with chili sauce dripping onto a paper wrapper. The whole thing cost less...
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A Pennsylvania Cave Is Linked to a Group That Expected the End of the World in 1694
Stone doorways carved into hillsides are not what most people expect to find on a quiet walk, but one in Pennsylvania stopped me in my tracks. The story behind it goes back to...
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A California Pizzeria Hides One of the Last Traces of a Town-Wide Tunnel Network
Pizza and hidden tunnels do not usually share the same address, but California has a way of surprising you. This pizzeria looks like any other friendly hometown spot, with palm...
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South Carolina’s Giant Granite Quarry Looks Like a Piece of the Earth Was Carved Away
Stone walls, foundations, and old mill buildings all share the same cool blue-gray granite, a rock that came out of the ground beneath the town itself. Workers cut that stone along...
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This Pennsylvania Candy Shop Has Been Making Sweets at the Same Address Since 1863
Warm chocolate drifts half a block before the door comes into view, an invitation impossible to refuse. Candy has been made and sold at this exact address since 1863, which means...
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Four Generations of One South Carolina Family Have Kept This Old-School Butcher Tradition Alive
Hickory smoke drifts across the parking lot, a soft signal that something good is happening inside. In South Carolina, a family butcher shop has been cutting every steak by hand...
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Two Georgia Cemeteries Still Sit Between Runways at the World’s Busiest Airport
Graves rest just beyond the runway lights at one Georgia airport, a fact that surprises even frequent fliers. The busiest airport on the planet roars with constant motion, yet...
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A South Carolina Mill Flipped a Switch in 1894 and Became the World’s First Textile Mill Run Entirely by Electricity
Brick buildings usually do not give me goosebumps, but one in South Carolina did exactly that. Long before it held dinosaurs and telescopes, this place was a cotton mill that made...
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Workers Found Prehistoric Human Figures Carved Into a South Carolina Rock That Had Been Buried Beneath a Road
Old mills dot the South Carolina landscape, but few hold a secret buried under a dirt road for nearly two centuries. In South Carolina, a big gray boulder carries stick-like human...
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A Georgia Man Started Turning Trash Found in the Woods Into a Trail Filled With Doll Heads and Strange Art
Plastic faces peeking out of tree hollows are not what anyone expects on a quiet nature walk, but Georgia has a trail where doll heads stare down from the branches. A few miles...
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A Yogi Bear Fried Chicken Chain Once Had Locations Across the U.S., Now Only This South Carolina Restaurant Is Left
Roadside places with a story hold a special appeal, and this one has a great one. Glowing neon still shines in South Carolina, where a bear holds a chicken drumstick like a trophy,...
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One Ohio Man Collected Thousands of Pencil Sharpeners, Then His Wife Donated Them All
Pencil sharpeners shaped like cars, cats, globes, and the Eiffel Tower fill a small Ohio building beside a parking lot. The collection began with two little metal cars his wife...
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This Pennsylvania Museum Keeps Vampire-Hunting Kits and a Chair Once Used in Exorcisms
Peacocks strutting past like they own the place are not the first thing you expect at a roadside stop, but that is exactly what happened when a giant T-Rex greeted me instead....
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This North Carolina Restaurant Goes Through 8,000 Pounds of Pork and 6,000 Pounds of Chicken Every Week
Smell of chopped pork and fried chicken reaches the parking lot before the car door opens. This North Carolina barbecue spot has been feeding hungry travelers and locals since...
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A Pulitzer Prize Winner Left Hollywood Behind and Built an Ohio Farm Where Humphrey Bogart Later Got Married
Rolling hills striped with corn and hay kept popping up around every bend, and the car slowed just to stare. Then a big white farmhouse appeared, and the story waiting inside turned...
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One Pennsylvania Collection Has Nearly a Million Objects, Including a 20-Foot Gumby and the World’s Longest Slinky
Player pianos erupting in a wall of sound is not something most museums offer. The tram rolls forward, and the building seems to say hello.
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The Presidential Train Car That Carried Warren G. Harding’s Body Across America Ended Up in Georgia
Presidential history rides on steel wheels inside a Georgia museum, where one train car still holds the story of a cross-country funeral in 1923. Rusty cabooses and shiny locomotives...
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Walt Disney Ate at This California Restaurant So Often That His Favorite Table Is Still Marked Today
Crooked, storybook rooflines on a Los Angeles boulevard make you grin like a kid, and this building looks like a cottage pulled straight out of a fairy tale. In a way, it kind...
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