Meet, Kate Traver, the owner and chief curator of The Mercantile at Mill + Grain, an Americana home goods and apparel store in Buda, TX. Kate started dreaming of owning her own store after her and her husband moved 20 minutes south of Austin, TX to the small town of Buda. Kate explained, “I was commuting over an hour each way everyday to downtown Austin and while spending weekends in small towns, it just hit me one day – that was my new dream, opening my own shop.” Working in retail for over 20 years prior and growing up spending summers in her grandmothers shop, Kate was more than prepared to open her own store! Traver explains, “I was so fortunate to find the Buda Mill & Grain Co. retail district, in the heart of Historic Main St. in Buda, TX and a space was coming up for lease. It was all too perfect.”

Kate’s inspiration for The Mercantile at Mill + Grain was her grandmother. Traver’s grandmother owned her own shop for nearly 40 years in the tiny town of Bishop, TX. Traver explains, “I spent my summers growing up on my grandparent’s farm and helping at the store.” Her grandmother cultivated her love for retail and inspired the classic Americana vibe which is seen in the products she sells including timeless kitchen items, carefully curated gifts, textiles and textures for homes and quality apparel.

Traver’s passion for merchandising shines through in her love for arranging displays and curating the shop! Traver said, “I love spending my days taking apart displays and receiving all the new stock and putting it all back together again.” She also loves retail because no two days are the same. Traver explains, “one day could be moving fixtures and floor-sets all over the shop, the next could be 12 hours of laptops and paperwork. One day could be dedicated to buying and orders, next could be an open to close shift on the sales floor with all my customers.”

Kate carefully curates and handpicks each item that is sold in her shop! Working in retail before, she was already familiar with the vendors she wanted to work with. The key to opening the store was scouting markets and meeting new vendors through previous connections. Traver explains, “since the opening, I have spent so much time researching and curating. Whether by visiting boutiques while on vacation, to countless hours online, or small local vendors who stop by the shop, I really have run the gamut.” Traver loves introducing her customs to unique items!

Traver was fortunate to have a seamless start when opening her business. She credits the good fortune to one of her previous retail positions because the job included traveling around the country and opening boutiques for a chain-store. Traver said, “ I had all the checklists, all the steps to open successfully.” The biggest challenge for the Mercantile at Mill + Grain was the store closures that Coronavirus brought. Traver explains, “It was a little over a year after I opened my doors, that Covid forced me to close my storefront. It was that experience that really pushed me and grew me in so many ways. Small business owners really had to pivot and come up with creative ways to stay afloat.”

Kate appreciates the simplicity and beauty of the Texas Hill Country! Traver said, “ever since my husband and I got married, we have always loved to hop in the car and visit the small towns around Texas. Whether it be towns we had been to before, or not, we love the small-town vibe of a little eatery, a new winery and just taking in the beautiful landscape that the Hill Country has to offer.” She particularly loves Buda for it’s proximity to Austin while also being a small town community.

Kate has many personal and professional plans to look forward to in the future! Traver said, “A big accomplishment for me recently was to hire and surround myself with a team that will allow me some additional time to grow the shop even more. At the start of the pandemic, I threw together an online store and I would really like to see 100% of our in-store inventory, available online. On the personal side, my husband and I are in the process of adopting and we believe we are in the final homestretch… so although a second location of The Mercantile will eventually come to fruition, my top focus right now is our adoption.”

We encourage you to take a trip to Buda and visit the Mercantile at Mill + Grain! If you cannot make it to Buda, you can find most of their items online! You can also purchase through Instagram by following @mercantileatmillandgrain or visiting the website at themercantile.shop