Chele Meisenbach is the owner of Refind and Refresh located at 104 W. Second St. in Wayne.  

Refind and Refresh is a thrift and consignment store. Meisenbach found the need to open a shop after Rustic Treasures in town closed. “It has been about four years and that was a really big deficit in Wayne,” Meisenbach said. “I worked there just very part-time doing displays and things like that and I loved it.”  

“I saw the need for it and this was kind of my year to pull the trigger and start something new and kind of live more of a passion, so that is kind of why I started it,” Meisenbach said.  

In the last year, Meisenbach went through a challenging divorce in her life, which inspired the name of her store. Meisenbach said “it’s very painful and I figured out that I had to rediscover myself. I had to figure out who I now was going to be and I had to re-purpose myself. “I’ve always been kind of an upcyclier anyway and I love making junk art,” Meisenbach said.  “It was about re-finding myself but it’s also about people re-finding other things so when I say refind, it’s not spelled with the E in it, it’s re-finding something that maybe someone else didn’t want but maybe you want.”  

Luke Virgil, the executive director of the Wayne Area Economic Development Chamber, focuses on building the community of Wayne. Many businesses reached out to the chamber, including Meisenbach.  

“A lot of the times we are the first call that potential business owners will make, or an existing owner will make when they say that they want to do an addition to their business, or if they wanna bring a new business to the community,” Virgil said. “We serve as a connector throughout the community so we help them connect the financing options to traditional sources like banks, and we help them with other professional services.”  

One of the chamber’s services includes loans. “We also have some low-interest loan programs that we have through the office,” Virgil said. “We have a 0% loan that we do here through the chamber office, and we also have a low-interest loan program that we administrate on behalf of the city of Wayne, and beyond that, we just provide general advice.”   

Meisenbach is not a first-time business owner. In fact, she operates two other businesses in Wayne aside from her thrift and confinement store. “I actually own an Airbnb as well in town and I have a craft studio in town too so I kind of really bought into Wayne,” she said.  

Refind and Refresh had a soft opening at the end of May around Memorial Day. “I had planned for June, but my dad and I really booked it and got the space done and was able to open it just a little bit early,” Meisenbach said. “I was about two weeks earlier than I expected.”  

She was specific in not wanting to be located on Main Street. Meisenbach said “I really love the idea of not just selling Main Street. I love the idea of selling Wayne. For me, I own businesses here. I own a place to stay here. For me, it was about making Wayne a destination.” 

Meisenbach’s studio is utilized for many purposes including creating products for her store. “A lot of signs you’ll see are maybe signs that came in damaged or had something that I was like I don’t know if that is really marketable, so I have the tendency to upcycle things,” she said.  

For the fall season, one of the biggest focuses is her doilie frames. “Those are kind of a big thing,” Meisenbach said. “I get tons of those in, but I’ve been making pumpkin pictures out of it. I made a new one the other day and those don’t even stay in stock. I can’t keep them in stock.” 

Aside from Meisenbach’s crafts, her store also includes handmade items for other individuals. “The wooden spoons that I sell are from a man who lived in Hastings for a long time,” Meisenbach said. “He made them for years and years and he is now in a nursing home and I have everything left that he ever mad. Those spoons are like art you know. He’s a friend of my dad’s, and so I got those in. The jewelry is from a girl who lives in Bloomfield. The jams are from Hilda, who lives in Wakefield. I like anything different I can offer.”  

“This gives the consumer a lot more choices and when we see a consumer with more choices they are able to better spend their dollar,” Virgil said. “It keeps prices competitive. It keeps the store owners honest as far as what their prices and their services actually are because they always have to provide the highest quality service and the highest quality product, to guarantee that the customers always come back.”  

Refind and Refresh is not just a shop, but it is a place to experience quality time. “You can almost guarantee every day you’re going to see Bailey and Hazel who are my office managers,” Meisenbach said. “Bailey is my German Shepherd who is six, and Hazel is my Golden Doodle who is just twelve weeks old. You’re always welcome to come in and see the babies and hang out. It doesn’t have to just be a shopping experience. I just like people coming in and just immersing themselves and having a good time.”