Wildwood Mercantile and Cafe Verte opens in Ronceverte

By Jenny Harnish, RealWV

RONCEVERTE, W.Va. — For years, Anna Stout-Tuckwiller and William Tuckwiller had talked about how they would like to have a retail space where they could make things and sell them.

In 2021, the husband-and-wife team bought a building in Ronceverte that had apartments and ground-floor retail spaces. They are both creative people born and raised in Greenbrier County and eventually decided to create a space where they could put their creative passions on display. 

 “We finally decided we wanted to create a space where we could do some creative things and work with other artists that we know,” Anna said. “Kind of combination of stuff that we like and stuff that we’ve made, and that others we know have made. This was the original vision, and the cafe came along as an addition.” 

Wildwood Mercantile and Cafe Verte was born of this vision and is now open in Ronceverte.

The bright cafe is decorated with handmade walnut tables, fresh flowers, and local artwork. The custom coffee is from Mountain Table, and fresh pastries are made by The Gallucci Family Farm and Fresh Flours. 

“I had a vision for a French cafe,” Anna said.

The space offers couches, a bar-style seating area for customers, and a patio is in the works. 

“Having a place where people could sit, hang out, and get out in the community was a big thing that we wanted,” Anna said. “To recreate some of the community people had before COVID that went away and never came back.” 

The trim that surrounds the space was cut, milled, dried, and surfaced by William, who also owns a tree service company. He said his goal is to have more time in his wood shop and more wood on display for sale. 

Anna’s block-printed T-shirts are for sale in the shop, as well as other locally made leather bags, belts, and stickers. The long-term goal is to continue to add original arts and crafts from area artisans. 

Anna said the business community has been extremely supportive of their endeavor. 

“We couldn’t have done this without all the people who helped us and taught us,” she said. “Everybody has been giving advice, information, help, and time.”

“Doing something completely different is just really challenging,” William said. “You get to grow, evolve, and build new skills.”