Tammie and Tim Sayler wanted to bring some nostalgia to downtown Princeton.

If you go to their store, Sayler’s General Store, you’ll find a Charleston Chew and an Abba-Zaba. For the ‘90s kids, does an Ooze Tube bring back memories?

“(People) love coming in ... just talking about getting (candy) as a kid. It’s been my favorite part of the store. People coming in and, ‘Oh, I remember this as a kid. I used to go to our general store and get this candy,” Tammie Sayler said.

Some of the products they sell are nostalgic, but the idea of a general store itself also brings back memories of yesteryear, Sayler said.

Her husband researched general stores and found they were often named after the owners’ family, hence the name of their store. The Saylers intend for their business to be a family venture.

“I’m always wanting my kids to be friendly to people, so now they’re trained when people walk in the door to say, ‘hello’ and ‘thank you for coming in,’” Sayler said. “I want my kids to learn those morals — just be friendly and nice to people.”

Their children, Logan, 17, Tavin, 8, Tessa, 6, and Tennyson, 4, each help out in the store by stocking shelves, greeting customers and running the cash register. Having candy around also helps create a more pleasant work environment, of course.

Building inventory for a general store allows them to carry a bevy of products, including candy, jams, jellies, salsas, popcorns, cheeses, jerkys, barbecue sauces, dips, crackers, pretzels, chocolate covered peanuts and raisins, espresso beans, malt balls, Jelly Belly jelly beans, nostalgic toys and candles.

Sayler worked for a downtown Princeton retail shop in the past and had thought about one day opening her own.

“We’ve been thinking about doing it for a few years and the building fell into place, the idea, the timing, so we went for it,” she said.

She feels lucky to have found 618 S. Main St., because it fit so well with her vision.

“The building used to be an old jewelry store and it has built-in cabinetry with shelving,” she said. “It worked perfect for the general store feeling we wanted. It just all fell into place — our vision of what we wanted for the store, the building just matched it perfectly.”

This past fall, they started making apple crisp donuts with hopes to offer other varieties in the future. They also hope to offer charcuterie boards.

“We hope to keep growing our inventory,” she said.

Sayler’s General Store is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is 815-872-3725 and they can be found on Facebook at fb.com/saylersgeneral.