In the 1930s, Mike Renck purchased the store from the Gibson family and continued operation into the 1980s, giving the store the name most area residents associate with the building today. For those many years, residents of a growing community came to Renck’s Store for groceries, gasoline, hardware, and candies. Even after it went out of the family’s ownership, the store remained known locally as “Renck’s” through the 1990s and early 2000s during a period of shifting uses including housing apartments, a florist shop, gun shop, and Knigga’s Barbershop.

When Jay and June Tucker purchased the property in 2023, they envisioned rejoining the first and second stories, as the building had been historically, with plans to adapt the former store for use a coffeehouse with event space in the upper story and office space—housed in historic additions to the main structure—accessible from the sides and rear.

To preserve the store’s historic integrity, the Tuckers collaborated with Indiana Landmarks’ Southeast Field Office Director Mitchell Knigga for technical advice on replacement materials and building treatments appropriate for the structure. Today, the building’s exterior boasts a revitalized historic aesthetic with thermally-modified poplar siding in place of the store’s formerly aluminum and vinyl exterior, a repaired and reused historic entry door, and reproduction windows mimicking the originals, including a plate glass storefront window recapturing the building’s historic streetside appearance. The façade also features renewed storefront signage, inspired by a historic sign that once hung in the same location and handsomely illuminated from above by gooseneck lamps.

The Tuckers’ historically sympathetic treatments continue inside the building, where multiple layers of paint were stripped from the second story’s stamped-tin ceilings and walls, remnants of the 1921 addition. Taking inspiration from the ceiling’s stylized fleur-de-lis design, the Tuckers applied the pattern to exterior stair railings. On the ground floor, historic interior doors have been repurposed, while milk glass pendants hang from uncovered beadboard ceilings. The store’s original Coca-Cola chest cooler was donated back to the couple, now tucked near the coffee counter.

When choosing a name for the revitalized space, which opened in October 2025, the Tuckers chose to honor the landmark’s long history, calling the new business “Historic Renck’s Store.” A vintage glowing neon sign proclaiming “Renck Store Hardware” hangs in the storefront and an enlarged photo of a smiling Mike Renck in his storekeeping garb greets visitors to Bright on the side of the store facing Stateline Road. The establishment has quickly gained a local following for breakfast and lunch, fresh coffee—hot and iced— and their signature “Renck’s Refreshers.”

On the business’s website, the Tuckers share their motivation for reviving this piece of Indiana history, “We believe places like Renck’s Store are not owned so much as they are stewarded. Responsible care is the only way a place like this can remain part of the community for generations to come.”

Learn more about Historic Renck’s Store on their website.