Dogwood General Store owner Mary Ball, right, chats with four-year-old Rosie Kessler and her mother, Mollie Van Lieu, of Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — After opening its doors at 119 West German Street two-and-a-half years ago, Dogwood General Store has announced plans to move to a new location, at 140 East German Street.

The decision to move to the location at the corner of Princess Street and German Street was made by the store’s owner, Mary Ball, after learning that her business could not remain in its current location any longer.

At first, after learning this news, she contemplated closing the business. She knew that she would miss her business, however, and so ultimately decided to search for a new location.

“I had heard the consensus that it would be hard to find another space for my store,” Ball said, mentioning she was grateful this proved to not be the case. “When we announced that we were closing, the current owner at The Collective came to me. She said that she wanted to do The Collective at some point in the future, but not right now, because she wants to spend time with her family. So she offered us her space for the time being. It was really kind of her, to want to pass the torch to us, as it were.”

The Collective Shepherdstown, which opened on May 1, was established to serve as a creative community wellness space. Although its drum circle and wellness events may have been temporarily put on pause, Ball noted that its positive, community-minded spirit will remain in the space. She may even, if there is enough community interest, add a food component into the space, since it contains a commercial kitchen from its many years as the home of The Green Pineapple cafe. But for the foreseeable future, Ball said her focus will be on seamlessly moving the business to its new location.

Dogwood General Store will be closing its doors at 119 West German Street on June 23. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“We’re planning on starting to move next month, with the goal of being open in the space by July 1,” Ball said, mentioning the store will likely close its current location on June 23, to ensure it is ready to open its doors by the time the crowds for the Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) arrive. “CATF is a great season for us. We try to keep a balance here, of having fun items for the tourists who are coming into town, but then also having items that are needed during the week by the people who live here, like birdseed and toilet paper and tooth paste and all of that.”

Although she will miss having her general store operating out of what historians believe to have been the location of the first general store in Shepherdstown, Ball said there will also be advantages to Dogwood General Store’s new location.

“I think there’s a lot of fresh energy that’s coming to Princess Street, and being located on a corner has many perks,” Ball said, adding that the floor space in her current and future store fronts are virtually the same.

As she looked back over the years since Dogwood General Store was first opened, Ball noted the many things that have changed since that time: she and her fiance, Jamie Byron, married; she gave birth to her now one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Willa; she was able to hire two staff members to help run the store; and she learned which items her customers found of use and interest. The new store’s merchandise will exhibit an even more honed attention to the tastes of both regular and seasonal customers.

“I appreciate all of the regulars who come here during the week and the relationships that we have made with each other,” Ball said. “I’m very grateful that we won’t have to leave or even take a break. It feels like a blessing that we will be able to make such a smooth transition.”

Customers look at the wares in Dogwood General Store on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

Dogwood General Store will open the doors to its new location, 140 East German Street, on July 1. Photo by Tabitha Johnston