5 Stop Shop: A hidden gem in the hamlet of McLean

If you have passed through the hamlet of McLean in the past 10 years, you may have noticed a small, eclectic-looking shop nestled between the McLean Fire Department and The Elm Tree Inn. If you never stopped in, you may have wondered what the establishment might be. Well, wonder no more — it is a specialized antique shop.

Aptly named “McLean’s 5 Stop Shop,” the store sits right in the center of McLean, where five different stretches of road require vehicles to stop at the respective stop signs. The shop’s owner, Tom Ludgate, laughingly said, “It was too easy to name.”

Tom grew up with his parents, Ann and the late Richard Ludgate, in the Ellis Hollow area of Ithaca, and Tom is a 1980 Ithaca High School alumnus. He said he spent his weekends and summers throughout his high school years working for his uncle, the late Paul Ludgate, at Ludgate Farms on Hanshaw Road in Ithaca. Tom helped with planting and harvesting vegetables and fruits; he also worked in the store that was a destination for many in the area for many years.

“I went to TC3 [Tompkins Cortland Community College] for a semester after high school, but it wasn’t for me,” Tom said. “I still continued working for my uncle, but I also did food prep at What’s Your Beef at the East Hill Plaza and worked the night crew at P&C Ithaca for a while. Then I started doing self-taught body work for about 16 years before I bought this [store] in December 2014.”

Tom said he purchased the building from a friend, but proudly noted, “It has always been a store of some sort for the past 220 years,” and he is glad to have recently celebrated his 10th year in business. He describes his shop as one in which he buys, sells, trades and barters antiques.

The main items featured in the shop are rock-n-roll records, vintage metal toys, 100-year-old post cards and vintage cookware such as Pyrex, but there are many other treasures within its walls.

“I just like old stuff, and I like talking to people,” Tom said. “I often have a brief love affair with certain items. I enjoy them while they’re here until they get purchased. I also like to think about the hundreds of people who have come through that door in all the years it’s been a store — maybe even Millard Fillmore could have been here! You never know who’s going to walk through that door.”

Tom enjoys his home right in the 5 Stop Shop building, but he is open for business only from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Perhaps he spends some of the rest of his time wondering who his next visitor might be, or what new treasures he might have the pleasure of hosting for a while.

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas toeditorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Pancake breakfast in McLean

The McLean Fire Department Auxiliary will host a breakfast buffet at the McLean Fire Station from 7:30 to 11 a.m. or until gone, Sunday, Feb. 16. On the menu will be three different kinds of pancakes with real maple syrup, French toast, scrambled eggs, home-fried potatoes, sausage links, ham, sausage gravy with biscuits, assorted desserts, an assortment of juices, white and chocolate milk and coffee. The cost for adults is $13. For senior citizens, the cost is $10, and for children ages 5 to 12, the cost is $8. Children under four years old may eat free of charge.

GPL Book Club

The Groton Public Library Book Club will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20. February’s book is “The Notebook” by bestselling author Nicholas Sparks. For more information

email director@grotonpubliclibrary.org or call 607-898-5055.

Free food at the library

Did you know that the Groton Public Library is not only a hub for books and learning, but you can also get free food there? The “Free Food Day” takes place the first Saturday of every month. Bread, pastries and more from Ithaca Bakery and a delivery of assorted items from Tops are available. While various breads and pastries are almost always part of the delivery, sometimes other goodies such as candy, juices, packaged veggies and fruit and more might also be found.

Every Tuesday from 12:30 to 2 p.m. is “Free Healthy Food to Go” day. There is a selection spread out in the great room for you to choose from. If you are unable to come, call the library at 607-898-5055 and they can set a box of food aside for you to pick up later.