LEAF RIVER – A love for old-fashioned items and agriculture has led a rural Leaf River family to open a new business that features both.

Gene and Vicki Miller opened Vintage Chicks & Feed, 700 E. state Route 72, on Sept. 6. They run it with their three grown children.

The store, about 3 miles west of Byron, sells livestock and pet food, along with what Vicki calls “rustic relics” – things such as Mason jars and barbed wire art.

It all started years ago, daughter Amy Kirchner explained, when her father started selling livestock feed from the store, which is just down the road and around the corner from the family farm where they raise Hereford cattle.

“We were in 4-H and had livestock projects, so Dad started selling feed,” she said.

They had hoped to expand the feed business, Vickie said, and decided to add some kind of country store.

“We didn’t want to sit here with just feed,” Amy added.

For a long time, Vicki, Amy, and a friend had scoured sales for rustic pieces and had amassed a good-sized collection.

“We just love old things. We love the memories the old things hold. We’re the Vintage Chicks,” Vicki said with a laugh.

The spaces inside the store are filled with artfully arranged rustic items and decorator pieces.

For more information, search for Vintage Chicks & Feed on Facebook.