Downtown Hopkinsville is now home to Hudson’s Antiques Depot and More, a vendor mall with a wide variety of merchandise, and on Wednesday, community members celebrated the store’s opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The depot is owned by Kristine Ben Cheikh, who named it after her son. Before the store opened, it was called the Bluegrass Vendor Mall, and Ben Cheickh says she originally came to the mall to be a vendor, but ended up becoming the owner. The store owners were based in Lexington, and Ben Cheikh says she would help them run the store while they were out of town. Eventually, they asked if she was interested in taking over ownership.
The store currently has over 70 vendors, and Ben Cheikh says their expansive inventory includes wall décor, antique furniture, lamps, china hutches, books, jewelry and much more.
The store is at capacity with vendors, and Ben Cheikh says they have a waiting list. Looking toward the future, she says they plan to expand into the building’s upstairs area, and are also working on adding a cafe to the store to make it more of an experience for shoppers.
Now that the depot is open, Ben Cheikh calls it a dream come true and says she and her staff worked some long days to make it all happen.
Hudson’s Antiques Depot and More is located at 323 East 9th Street and is open from Wednesday to Monday.
