Tina Townsend, business owner and mother of four, says owning her own shop was not a lifelong plan, it just created itself over time.

Townsend recalls her father owning his own antique auction block and her mother owned a dollar store in Sidney. In time Townsend realized if she were to open a store, she wanted it to be her own style and she wanted to sell more unique goods.

Townsend says she worked various jobs in management before ending up at Mead Westvaco in Sidney for 13 years. “That job was a lot of fun and honestly I never thought I would leave it,” she said.

But following a serious personal injury which down the road would prevent her from returning to Mead. she explains she was at a crossroads in her life and was unsure where to go next.

Townsend and her husband Daryl, whom she met while at Mead, decided to try their luck, like many others, at the Turning Stone Casino in Oneida. As luck would have it, they won big enough to invest in what is now known as Townsend’s Variety on the downtown strip in Norwich.

Tina explains her brother was a wholesale seller and after seeing what he had to offer and getting in contact with the building owner, she was well on her way to entrepreneurship. Starting small, the store was only a quarter of the size it is today.