How much fun would it be to run a dry cleaners and antique store in Italy, Texas? Well, the Spradling family thought this was a wonderful idea.

Ina Spradling and her husband Stephen had two little girls they were home schooling when they made the decision to purchase the business. Ina thought, “What a perfect fit for our family. The girls would do their schooling, while I did the laundry. This way we could all be together.” The two girls were nine and 12 at the time. Jessica, being the oldest and Samantha being the youngest.

The Spradlings had purchased a home and 50 acres of land out in the country of Italy, Texas. Stephen worked in Dallas as a Dallas policeman and wanted to live far from the rat race of the city. “We always called Italy, ‘Our Little Mayberry,’” said Ina. “Because for us it was like Mayberry, especially for our girls. The community just adopted our girls and made us feel like we always belonged.”

Following their love of antiques, the Spradlings decided to add a few antiques for sale in the dry cleaning store and were met with a pleasant response. Everyone loved the idea. So they bought more antiques and decided to add a few gifts. The customers were very pleased and enthused with the new items for sale.

“There just seemed to be a need here for a little gift shop. There was just nothing in town because this was before we even had a Dollar General or anything like that. It is a thrill to go out and pick out something for the store, you get it in the store and everyone likes what you bought,” explained Ina. "The highest compliment to me is when people will say, ‘You have the cutest little things in here, we just don’t see them everywhere’. I have some things that are like other stores but I try to find some things a ‘little bit of different’ for the store.

“We try to keep our prices low. I buy things thinking when I go to the store how much money would I like to spend. I try to keep things $20 or less. There are a few things for a little more but not much.”

The sign hanging in front of the Italy Dry Cleaners, Antiques and Gifts says Buy, Sell, Trade or Just Talk. "Sometimes people just come in to talk. We love it. When concerns are expressed to us and we tell them we will pray for them, we mean it. We look at this as a ministry.

“We are deeply appreciative of the citizens of Italy for taking us into their hearts, for just being such a wonderful community,” Ina said.

Store hours are:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday — 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Wednesday — 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday — 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Closed for lunch each day — 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

If you haven’t visited Italy Dry Cleaners, Antiques and Gifts do so. You might find a little bit of Mayberry deep in the heart of Texas.