Brandon native Karen McGinnis is thrilled to see her lifelong dream of owning an antique business come true.
This month, she will open the Florida Farmhouse Market in Seffner.
“I have always desired to one day open my own antique/vintage store,” McGinnis said. “You know, kind of just dreaming. I never thought the day would come that it would really come to fruition.”
McGinnis’ life has been quite a journey, and for her to get her dream to come true is a gift from God.
“I have had quite the journey to be where I am at today, and there were certain moments of my life I lost hope and didn’t know if I would survive,” McGinnis said. “I battled substance abuse for over two decades and finally, at 37 years old, with not much left—I had burnt all my bridges with family—I had one of two choices to make: go on the way I was living and end up dying prematurely, or find sobriety. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do for myself, but I did it.”
In November, McGinnis will be celebrating five years of recovery and she is thrilled to have her family back in my life. She now works in the field of substance abuse and mental health at Riverside Recovery of Tampa as a recovery support specialist, guiding others to find recovery.
“I let them know there is hope by sharing with them my own experience, strength and hope,” she said.
As a little girl, McGinnis always loved collecting old money, stamps and vintage toys like jack-in-the-boxes.
“As far back as I can remember, I had an eye and passion for vintage, collectibles and antiques,” McGinnis said. “My hopes for the Florida Farmhouse Market are to have fun being able to seek and find treasures all over the place and bring them back to the store to share with the community. I look forward to watching it evolve as new ideas come throughout time.”
The Florida Farmhouse Market will be open weekly, Thursday to Saturday. The store is located at 1020 U.S. Hwy. 92 in Seffner, which is the former site of Roosters’ Family Restaurant.
To learn more about the Florida Farmhouse Market, visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/thefloridafarmhousemarket.
