Exploring the Abandoned “Anything and Everything” Store in Ocala, Florida
Urban explorers looking for a visually immersive experience won’t want to miss the abandoned Anything and Everything Store in Ocala, Florida. Once a lively local business, this decaying structure now stands as a haunting reminder of time’s passage—its walls weathered, its silence echoing stories long forgotten. The site offers a glimpse into the everyday commerce of a small Florida town before it was left to the elements.
To fully appreciate the atmosphere, take a moment to view the stunning 360-degree panoramic virtual tour captured by our Abandoned in 360 URBEX team. From crumbling aisles to overgrown surroundings, the detailed imagery brings you closer to the eerie beauty of abandonment. Whether you’re planning your next Urbex trip or simply love exploring Florida’s forgotten places from home, this virtual tour is a must-see.
Click here to view it in fullscreen.
Florida is renowned for its intriguing abandoned spots, and the Anything and Everything Store in Ocala is no exception. Tucked alongside State Road 200, this once-bustling shop – officially known as the Anything & Everything Shoppe – now stands silent and forgotten. For fans of urban exploring in Florida, the site offers a captivating glimpse into a quirky local business frozen in time. Opened in May 2009 amid a trove of antiques and collectibles, the store served the community for several years before succumbing to closure. Today it remains an abandoned landmark, its faded façade and empty interior quietly chronicling the story of a small business’s rise and fall. In this blog post, we’ll delve into the history of the Anything and Everything Store, what it once offered, why it was abandoned, and what urban explorers can expect at this abandoned in Florida gem.
A One-Stop Shop for “Anything and Everything”
True to its name, the Anything and Everything Store was an eclectic emporium of goods. When it first opened in 2009, the shop focused on antiques and collectibles, soon expanding to sell a wide variety of items beyond its initial offerings. Long-time proprietor “Marty” prided himself on providing “reliable and trustworthy service” to Ocala shoppers. Walking into the store during its heyday was like embarking on a treasure hunt. The shelves and display cases held everything from vintage jewelry and rare coins to military memorabilia, furniture, tools, and odd curiosities – truly anything and everything a collector might desire. The Shoppe also doubled as a buy-and-sell hub; the owner was just as happy to purchase your old valuables as he was to sell you something new (or, rather, old) – “focusing on buying as much as selling,” as one description noted.
Operating a hybrid business model, the store bought, sold, traded, and consigned goods of all kinds. You could bring in gold or silver pieces, estate antiques, or dusty attic finds and walk out with cash in hand. Likewise, the Shoppe ran an eBay store to reach more customers, reportedly achieving over $58,000 in online sales at one point. This mix of in-person charm and online savvy made Anything and Everything a unique fixture in Ocala’s retail scene. Locals might stop by to browse old coins or rustic furniture, while savvy dealers hunted for underpriced treasures. The atmosphere was friendly and unpretentious – more like a community marketplace than a corporate store. In an era when big-box retailers and shopping malls dominated, this little shop on the outskirts of Ocala offered a refreshing throwback to old-school thrift and trade.
The Heyday: 2009 to the Mid-2010s
During its operating years, the Anything and Everything Store carved out a niche and developed a loyal following. Opening in 2009 was an ambitious move – the country was just emerging from a recession – but the store managed to thrive by tapping into people’s love for nostalgia and bargains. For over five years, and indeed well beyond, Marty and his shop served customers looking for unique finds. By around 2014, the business was still considered “ongoing [and] successful,” even being listed for sale as a turnkey operation, a sign that its owner was contemplating retirement or a change. At that time, the Shoppe was about 5 years old, which matches its 2009 opening date, and it had built up a broad inventory ranging from jewelry and coins to tools and collectibles of all kinds.
Shoppers recount how diverse the selection was. One day you might find a Victorian-era necklace or a Civil War medal; on another visit, the highlight could be a mid-century furniture piece or a box of vintage vinyl records. The store truly embodied the “anything and everything” spirit – part antique store, part thrift shop, part pawn shop. Its proprietor’s decades of experience (over 13 years serving the Ocala area by one account) showed in the curated chaos of the store. Regulars learned that if you didn’t grab a cool item when you saw it, it might be gone the next time – either sold to another customer or posted to eBay for an online buyer. The mix of local foot traffic and global internet sales gave the Shoppe multiple lifelines. In a way, it was ahead of its time, blending brick-and-mortar retail with e-commerce before “omnichannel” became a buzzword.
Located at in Ocala, the store occupied a small building on a large parcel of land. Interestingly, the structure itself dated back to 1928 – an old Florida building that had seen various lives. This gave the shop a rustic character: a single-story building with a gabled roof and perhaps a homey, cracker-style architecture (it may even have been a farmhouse or roadside general store in the distant past). Such an old building added to the charm – creaking wood floors, a cozy porch, and the sense that the walls had stories to tell. For many customers, a trip to Anything and Everything felt like stepping back in time.
Signs of Struggle and the Road to Abandonment
No small business lasts forever, and by the mid-2010s the Anything and Everything Store began to show signs of struggle. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact closing date (even the owner hadn’t publicly announced one, and available records don’t list a formal closure), but evidence suggests the shop closed its doors sometime in the latter half of the 2010s. A business-for-sale listing in 2014 indicates the owner was already exploring an exit strategy. Perhaps Marty was ready to retire after years of appraising heirlooms and haggling over prices. It’s also possible that maintaining such a broad inventory became difficult over time, or that foot traffic declined as shopping habits changed. The rise of online marketplaces may have cut both ways – helping sales reach faraway buyers, but also giving local sellers new alternatives to consignment shops.
Another major factor was the underlying property value. The store sat on a sizable piece of land (over 7 acres zoned for business, with more adjacent land available) along a booming commercial corridor. As Ocala grew, the land became more valuable for redevelopment than for an old-fashioned shop. In fact, public records show that by 2016 the entire 13.3-acre tract (which included the store’s parcel and surrounding land) sold for around $1.33 million, reflecting the intense interest in that location. It appears the land was acquired by an investment or development group with plans to build something much larger. Once that sale happened, the fate of the humble Anything and Everything Shoppe was sealed. The beloved store was vacated, and its inventory likely liquidated. Longtime customers who swung by after that were greeted not by the familiar open sign, but by a vacant building and a “For Sale” sign out front – a disappointing end to an Ocala icon.
The reasons for its abandonment, therefore, seem to be a combination of owner transition, economic shifts, and redevelopment pressure. In a sense, the store became a victim of its own location’s success. State Road 200 (SW College Road) in southwest Ocala transformed rapidly in the 2010s, with new shopping centers, a large national retail presence, and even the nearby World Equestrian Center boosting the area’s profile. The small Shoppe, which once enjoyed “heavy traffic flow” and great visibility, was now dwarfed by the prospect of “big box retail” and mixed-use developments slated for its property. Rather than continue operating in the shadow of big development plans, it made sense to close up and hand the land over to the next chapter of growth.
The Abandoned Store Today
Today, the Anything and Everything Store sits abandoned, a quiet relic on a busy highway. Drivers along SR 200 might barely notice the modest building set back on the parcel – many are focused on the new brewery, strip mall, or CVS pharmacy nearby. Yet for those who slow down and look closely, the site is evocative. The building remains, still bearing the scars of time: faded paint, perhaps remnants of old signage, and the general wear-and-tear you’d expect from a 95-year-old structure left to the elements. The property around it, once an open lot where customers parked and overflow merchandise might have been displayed, is likely overgrown in patches, with the pavement cracking under Florida’s sun and rain. A chain-link fence might be up in places, and that realtor’s sign (or a weather-beaten “available for development” notice) stands as one of the only markers of activity.
Urban explorers who visit (respectfully and within the law) have reported an eerie stillness about the place. Peer through the dusty front windows and you’ll see empty rooms that were once brimming with treasures. There’s an imprint on the floor where heavy display cases stood and discoloration on the walls that outlines where shelves used to hang. In the corners, maybe a stray price tag or a bit of debris hints at the former use. The air smells of old wood and mildew – the byproduct of Florida humidity seeping into an un-air-conditioned building.
One intriguing aspect is the history embedded in the building itself. Since it was built in 1928, the structure has been part of Marion County for nearly a century. Exploring it now, you are literally touching history – the same door frame that 1930s Floridians passed through, the same wooden beams that survived hurricanes and countless summers. In its abandoned state, the store has essentially reverted to a time capsule. Without the racks of merchandise and modern signage, you can almost imagine it in an earlier era. Was it once a farmhouse or a roadside fruit stand long ago? Did the original owners in the 1920s ever envision it becoming an antique shop? These questions swirl as you stand in the silence.
However, explorers should be cautious and courteous. The property is privately owned (awaiting development under the name “Jasmine Heritage Park” in real estate listings) and likely posted with No Trespassing signs. Any urban exploration should be done from public vantage points unless permission is obtained. The structure may also be unstable – after years of neglect, who knows if the floorboards are weakened or what critters might have moved in? Safety is paramount. Those who have an opportunity to legally explore or photograph the site do so for the love of history and decay, capturing images of peeling paint or an old “Now Open” banner that, improbably, might still be tacked to the porch. (A photograph from the store’s opening days showed a proud “NOW OPEN” sign draped across the entrance – a stark contrast to its current shuttered state.)
Despite the decay, there’s something beautiful about the solitude of the abandoned store. The hectic sounds of traffic on the highway fade just a bit when you step closer, and you can almost hear the echoes of friendly bartering and conversation that once filled the air. Florida’s bright sun casts sharp shadows through the empty window frames, highlighting motes of dust swirling inside. For an urban explorer, these moments are gold – they offer a direct, unfiltered connection to the past. The Anything and Everything Store may not be grand or infamous like some other abandoned places, but it has an intimate, local story that’s palpable when you’re there in person.
Legacy and Reflections
What is the legacy of the Anything and Everything Store? In many ways, it’s a microcosm of Florida’s changing landscape. Ocala, known as the Horse Capital of the World, has been growing and modernizing, and small independent businesses often struggle to keep up or find their place in the new order. This little shop represents all the mom-and-pop establishments that boomed for a while thanks to a passionate owner and a niche market, but eventually yielded to larger forces – whether those be economic downturns, competition, or urban development.
For local residents, the Shoppe’s closure was a loss of a charming destination. No longer could they spend a Saturday morning casually browsing oddities or bringing in grandpa’s watch to see what it was worth. As one might imagine, there were likely folks who drove up to the store after it had closed, unaware of its fate, only to find the doors locked and the lights off. “Waste of gas,” one Yelp reviewer lamented upon discovering it shut down – a blunt epitaph for what had been a beloved spot.
Yet, the story doesn’t end on a purely sad note. The memory of the Anything and Everything Store lives on in the tales locals share (“Remember that place on 200 where you could find anything?”) and in the photographs and documentation by those who value abandoned places. Urban explorers in Florida have catalogued countless sites, from old hotels to derelict theme parks, and while a small antique shop might not make headlines, it resonates on a personal level. It reminds us that history isn’t only in big events – it’s also in everyday businesses and buildings. Each abandoned store like this has its own narrative of dreams, hard work, community, and eventually an end, which is worth preserving in memory if not in physical form.
Moreover, the presence of this abandoned store right amid a bustling area is a poignant contrast. It stands as a ghost of Ocala’s past in the middle of Ocala’s rapidly developing present. With new commercial projects on the horizon for the property, one day soon the old building will likely be demolished to make way for something new – perhaps a hotel, a shopping center, or apartments. When that happens, a piece of local character will disappear physically, but blog posts like this one ensure it won’t be forgotten. For now, the Anything and Everything Store endures in limbo, offering a last chance for those who care to witness a fragment of old Florida before it vanishes.
Tips for Urban Explorers
If you’re an urban explorer or photographer considering a visit to the Anything and Everything Store site (or any abandoned place in Florida), here are some friendly tips to keep in mind:
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Respect Private Property: As tempting as it is to wander inside, remember this location is privately owned and likely slated for development. Trespassing could get you in legal trouble. Observe from a distance unless you have explicit permission. The best practice is to take exterior photos from public right-of-way (like the roadside) and not attempt entry if signs forbid it.
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Safety First: Old structures can be dangerous. The building here is nearly a century old and has been exposed to Florida’s harsh weather for years without upkeep. Roof collapses, weak floors, broken glass, and wildlife (think snakes or wasps) are all possible hazards. If you do get a chance to go inside, wear sturdy shoes and be extremely cautious of where you step and what you touch.
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Timing and Lighting: For the best experience, consider visiting in daylight when you can see details and avoid hazards. Early morning or late afternoon light can cast a nice glow on the weathered wood and give your photos an atmospheric quality. Night exploration is not advised here (both for safety and because it could draw unwanted attention from authorities or neighbors).
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Documentation: Bring a camera or even just your smartphone to document what you see. As with any abandoned site, things can change quickly – today’s peeling sign or remaining fixture could be gone tomorrow if demolition or vandalism occurs. Photograph architectural details, any leftover artifacts, and the building in its context (for instance, capture the old shop with the modern highway or businesses in the background for contrast).
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Leave No Trace: Urban explorers follow a code of ethics – take only pictures, leave only footprints. Do not remove anything from the site (no matter how tempting a cool antique shard might be) and absolutely do not deface or damage anything. The goal is to preserve the scene as found, so the next person can experience the same “time capsule” effect that drew you there.
By following these guidelines, you help ensure that urban exploring in Florida remains a respectful hobby that doesn’t hasten the destruction of the very places we cherish. The Anything and Everything Store may be just a small deserted shop, but it deserves the same respect as a museum – in fact, it is a sort of museum of itself, preserved by neglect.
Conclusion
The abandoned Anything and Everything Store in Ocala stands as a quiet testament to the passage of time – a once lively business now overtaken by Florida’s relentless growth and change. In its life, it brought joy to treasure hunters and offered a gathering place for the community. In its afterlife, it offers lessons about economic realities and stirs the imagination of urban explorers. Visiting this site (even just through stories and photographs) is a reminder that every building has a backstory. This unassuming store opened in 2009 with high hopes, thrived by trading on nostalgia and community spirit, and ultimately closed as the world moved on around it. Yet, its story continues to captivate those who stumble upon it.
For Floridians and travelers alike, there’s an allure in places like this – they are the forgotten chapters of our communities, waiting to be read by those curious enough. Whether you’re into urban exploration or just local history, the Anything and Everything Store invites you to reflect on how quickly things change. Today it’s an artifact of a bygone era of Ocala retail; tomorrow it might be gone entirely, living on only in articles such as this.
So, if you find yourself driving down SR 200 west of Ocala, keep an eye out for a little old building standing bravely in the shadow of progress. That’s the Anything and Everything Store, an abandoned Florida treasure hiding in plain sight. It may no longer have “anything and everything,” but it certainly has a story – one that’s well worth telling and remembering.
If you liked this blog post, you might be interested in reading about the SS Ayrfield, the Korona House, or the White Duck Taco Shop in North Carolina.
A 360-degree panoramic image captured inside the Anything and Everything Shop in Central Florida. Photograph by the Abandoned in 360 URBEX Team.
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Equipment used to capture the 360-degree panoramic images:
- Canon DSLR camera
- Canon 8-15mm fisheye
- Manfrotto tripod
- Custom rotating tripod head
Do you have 360-degree panoramic images captured in an abandoned location? Send your images to Abandonedin360@gmail.com. If you choose to go out and do some urban exploring in your town, here are some safety tips before you head out on your Urbex adventure. If you want to start shooting 360-degree panoramic images, you might want to look onto one-click 360-degree action cameras.
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