SHELBY — When the teenager Jessica Albert knew teacher Cheryl Cronbaugh at Shelby Middle School, she never thought Cronbaugh would later become her business partner.

However, the two will open a repurposed furniture and home décor store, The Fancy Chicken, in downtown Shelby Saturday, June 24.

While Cronbaugh, 64, never taught Albert, 32, in class, the young-at-heart women later met at Shelby Alliance Church. They worked together to decorate for church-associated events, including one wedding.

Despite the age gap, they’ve found shared interests and developed a strong friendship. Both energetic go-getters love interior design projects and tackled quite a few before deciding to open The Fancy Chicken.

“The Fancy Chicken may push our creativity to the limit but we are excited to share our passions with you, our customers,” wrote Cronbaugh on the store’s website.

The new owners have handcrafted some items and collected hundreds of other things. All are displayed and are for sale at the store, 38 E. Main St.

“We will constantly have new things in the store, so it makes coming back an adventure,” Cronbaugh said.

For crafty people, a loom sits in one corner of the room. The owners hope people will use it to make rugs and other linens.

She and Albert went to Georgia to pick up furniture earlier this year after Cronbaugh’s mother passed away in January.

“​One piece I was excited to get was the antique loom because I thought we might use it in the store,” Cronbaugh said in a blog.

It had to be disassembled, but it’s now intact at The Fancy Chicken.

The new store owners also plan to help customers with other custom items. If people come to the store with an idea, the owners will do their best to build the item. They’ve got all the tools they need in the store’s backrooms, where a light sawdust coating already covers the floor.

“Show us a picture. Tell us measurements. And we’ll tell you if it’s possible,” Cronbaugh said.

She paused briefly and stood up mid-interview. She picked up a small pig figurine.

“And we have this … When pigs fly,” she said, pointing out that they are not superhuman.

But the women’s handiwork speaks for itself. The checkout desk, where that pig figurine is displayed, was made by the owners from barn wood. They also built an end table and made several signs that are available for sale.

One of their earliest projects together involved designing the interior of Albert’s home. When she and her husband, Jeff built their own house about a year and a half ago, they recruited Cronbaugh’s help.

“That kind of triggered things,” Albert said. “I went through and decorated with great-grandpa and grandma’s stuff.”

Currently, they are designing a wooden sign for the store window. And they’ll soon be starting larger projects, where they transform an organ and a piano into repurposed furniture.  

The idea to start a home décor shop was later Albert’s suggestion.

“The idea just kept coming to my mind, and I knew I wanted to try it,” she said. “So, then I sat down with Cheryl … and she said she’d help me get started and run it.”

The rest unfolded quickly as they began the search for a downtown Shelby location. They began renting their store space in March.

“We were supposed to be visiting another store front, and we came, saw this one and fell in love with the building,” Cronbaugh said.

With the help of the Shelby History Museum, Cronbaugh later found out the structure was built between 1896 and 1899 as a jewelry store. She became curious when she found a window in the store that looked like one in her home. The museum discovered that Cronbaugh’s house was built in 1896.

Now the building is more likely known as the former DeVito Photography Studio.

The name came later, at Cronbaugh’s suggestion. The women were talking on the phone as Cronbaugh scrolled through Pinterest.

“There was a picture of a table with stuff all over it, and in the middle, was a fancy-looking chicken,” Cronbaugh recalls. “And, I just said to her, ‘How about The Fancy Chicken?’”

Albert recalls giggling.

“I love it,” she said.

They believe the unique name might draw some attention. While Cronbaugh says a few people first think it’s a restaurant, everyone seems to remember the name.

A retired educator and mother of three adult children, Cronbaugh always stays busy.  

After her career at Shelby Middle School, she worked for the North Central Ohio Computer Cooperative (NCOCC). She later retired after serving as Director of Education for the Mid-Ohio Educational Services Center (ESC).

Since then, she hasn’t slowed down.

“They used to tease me when I worked at the middle school, wondering where the bed was in my (class)room,” she said. “I’ve always worked hard.”

On the website, she jokes that her nonstop energy keeps her husband, Brian’s head “spinning.”

In addition to co-owning The Fancy Chicken, she works part-time as Shelby Alliance Church secretary, edits courses for Notre Dame College and builds websites.

“She is super busy,” said Albert, who keeps packed schedule, too.

The mother of two school-aged children works at Shelby Middle School cafeteria, serves as a 4H advisor while tending to the family’s small farm. It consists of two dogs, two goats, two feeder calves, four hogs, nine chickens and a horse.

She says she couldn’t do it without the support of her parents and husband.

Eventually, the owners want to offer crafting classes, bible studies or other events at The Fancy Chicken.

To learn more about The Fancy Chicken, visit its website or Facebook page. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.