By CHRISTY JOHNSON
Staff Writer

As the leaves change from green to orange, red and yellow in Berlin, the streets fill up with tourists from all across Ohio and beyond.

And for good reason.

Visitors find spending an entire day in the area easy, as picturesque views lend way to plenty of specialty shops.

One of those shops, Sol's in Berlin, will be celebrating it's 15th anniversary on Nov. 4, said store manager Jamie Swartzentruber.

The store, which Swartzentruber's parents, Junior and Susie Stutzman, opened in 1993, has grown from one shop to three side-by-side shops: Sol's Palace, Sol's Exchange, and Sol's Kit-N-Kaboodle. It also went from having 30 crafters in store to now housing more than 400 crafters.

"The store will definitely stay in the family, me and my brother, Joe, work here, and my grandma works here three days a week," Jamie Swartzentruber said. "Our crafters appreciate it being family-owned, too. They know our whole family and feel included. We grew up in Berlin, and we plan on staying."

Sol's in Berlin offers a wide array of crafts, including handmade dolls, wood crafts, candles and ceramics. And, it continues to add to their collection of crafters, Jamie Swartzentruber said.

"Our business strives on handmade items, which are hard to find anymore," Jamie Swartzentruber said. "One thing our customers enjoy is actually being able to shop at a place where they know a person made it themselves and took them time to do so, instead of it being made thousands of miles away by machines."

Jamie Swartzentruber said the store sees a lot of tourists, and recently she has noticed more locals coming through the store.

"With the economy being the way it is today and everything, more Ohioans are traveling to our store than before," Swartzentruber said. "But, we see people from throughout the world. We had someone come in from Scotland a week ago. It is neat to see the places people come from to visit our area."

Another unique specialty shop located in the heart of Berlin is Berlin Chile Traders.

The brainchild of owner Jane Baker, since 1996 Berlin Chile Traders has offered several gourmet salsas, sauces and dips. It also has southwest kitchenware and ceramics.

Baker got the idea for the shop while visiting a similar store in Dallas, she said.

"I just thought it was a great idea for a store and went from there," Baker said.

A little more than 12 years later, the store is still supplying the Berlin area with the same high quality products and hometown service which they have come to expect, Baker said.

"We have a lot of repeat customers," Baker said. "It is a unique shop which draws people in, especially those who like hot sauce."

Many customers also look forward to sampling items in the store.

"A lot of our items are gourmet, and it costs a little more to purchase them," Baker said. "We find that customers are looking for a specific taste, so they want to make sure they get the right product before they buy it."

Like other businesses in Berlin and the surrounding areas, Baker said October is the busiest time of year for Berlin Chile Traders.

"People seem to like it here when the leaves are out and people are sightseeing and buying for Christmas," Baker said.

Reporter Christy Johnson can be reached at 330-287-1638 or cjohnson@the-daily-record.com.