Our History

Every great venture starts with an idea, and the Lancaster County Showcase is no exception. Shortly after John Day and Ben Stoltzfus Jr. formed the Amish Oak Direct partnership in the summer of 2004, Ben, his dad, and brothers visited a showcase in Holmes County, Ohio. The idea of having a similar showcase in Lancaster immediately formed in Ben’s mind. There were booths of various sizes displaying the furniture made by Amish manufacturers in Ohio. It was situated in a converted chicken house, with another chicken house nearby serving as a warehouse. The latter building was used for a consolidation point as stores received items from various manufacturers.

Ben shared his vision with John, and the two began to look for a suitable place to start the Lancaster County Showcase. One possibility failed to receive the township supervisors’ approval; others were rejected by them for various reasons. Some were too out-of-the-way, others too costly to rent, and a few were not conducive to their needs. Finally, on a lark, they stopped in to see Ray Ranck on Strasburg Road east of Strasburg. There were three chicken houses in a row, and it turned out that Ray was ready to get out of the chicken business.

Renovation on the first house began that fall.  Many local furniture manufacturers helped in changing the building from a chicken house to a showcase. The entire 500 square feet was given a concrete floor. An office and a restroom were built toward the front, along with an overhead garage door, an extra outside door, and some windows. The landlord spent a good deal of time trying to eliminate the chicken aroma. He succeeded in this, though one customer months later said he could still smell a hint of chicken.

The Lancaster County Showcase officially opened January 1, 2005. The main purpose of the Showcase was to be a place where store owners (wholesale only) could easily connect with the manufacturers. From the beginning, we handled only American-made items, produced by vendors from the Anabaptist community. Although it was our original desire for the vendors to be located in Lancaster County, we soon realized we needed to expand our vision if we were to be able to balance our budget. As of now, most of the vendors come from Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, although we have had some manufacturers from states like Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Delaware, New York, and Minnesota.

Ten manufacturers displayed their products that first month. We deeply appreciated those original vendors who had the same belief that this would be good for the furniture community. Through a steady marketing effort, store owners began stopping at the Showcase. The first month we had an average of two to three customers a day. That is the same number the Ohio Showcase had after a couple of years. Eventually, Ben and John grew the business to where there were over fifty (50) vendors in the Showcase and three to five customers came each day. Currently there are over a hundred and twenty-five (125) vendors with eight to nine customers per day.

The primary goal for the Showcase is for customers to deal directly with the manufacturers.  However, right away the wholesale Buyers wanted us to sell directly to them.  To offset the labor costs to restock, rearrange the booths, and to assist with the loading of the bought items, as well as do all the necessary paperwork, we instituted a 10% brokerage fee. The stores gladly paid for the convenience of being able to load their truck with one stop.  As of July of 2021, we were forced to increase the brokerage fee to 15%.  This was to help offset the cost of hiring an additional team member to handle the increased product flow into and out of the Showcase.  The pandemic has caused the vendors’ lead times to increase dramatically, so more and more Buyers are purchasing out of the Showcase.  As of July, 2022, with the lead times being reduced, we have dropped the brokerage fee back to 10%.

During the first year we had one Open House in June, where we supplied food for the customers, the brokerage fee was waived for that day, and most of the vendors manned their own booths.  The following year the Open House was moved to the fall, as this was more in line with the customers’ schedule. A few years after that, we added one in the spring to accommodate the outdoor furniture manufacturers.

John and Ben sold the Showcase to Andy Stoltzfus in the summer of 2010. He recruited his brother, Davy, to co-own the Showcase with him. A few years later, Omar Esh from Countryside Rustic Log Furniture and Joe Fisher from Kirkwood Wheels, bought some shares in the Showcase.

In the last 10 years, with the help of Dan Henry and later Daniel Stoltzfus, they grew the Showcase to the point where a larger facility was needed.  This vision was realized in March of 2021.  The new facility, located in  the Houston Run industrial complex near Gap, has been a hit with both Vendors and Buyers, according to the surveys we collected at both the Grand Opening in March and the initial Fall Lancaster Expo this past September.

In July of 2022, Steve Esh came on board, primarily as a contact with the Vendors.  Through his efforts, the Showcase is now full, and the Waiting List is growing.  By the 2023 Spring Expo, they plan on having an outdoor section with poly and wood furniture, gazebos, playground items, & accessories.