“I like to think I’ve brought the state of Iowa onto our Main Street,” Nichole Lundquist says of her shop in Cherokee. “Art, food, nostalgia. There’s something for everyone here.”

The Mother Hen features antiques and collectibles, and an impressive array of Iowa foods. It also offers shoppers a way to give back to their community.

The Mother Hen occupies the building formerly home to Main Street Antiques, the business that served as Lundquist’s inspiration, and also includes a custom framing business. “Over 20 years ago, I told the former owners to call me if they ever decided to retire, and they did,” says Lundquist. Her family operated Lundquist...