“What else should we have down here?” asks Doug Wermeskerch to all his customers. With a UPS shipping station, an eBay store and rented space for vendors selling everything from antiques to die-cast NASCAR models to gifts and local Iowa products including wild salmon, 15 varieties of honey and Emu products, it’s hard to imagine what else the store could add.

But the owner of Northland General Store, located at 621 Des Moines St., two blocks north of the State Historical Building, didn’t stop there. Next week, he’ll open a bakery that serves pastries, bagels and coffee in the morning and dishes out ice cream – Wermeskerch’s favorite treat – in the afternoons and evenings. A large rooftop area will offer a platform for free movies and events. A barkery (dog bakery) and Blaxican, an innovative Mexican and soul food restaurant, will open in front in the next couple months. The parking lot set below the building may eventually accommodate a stage and amenities for larger events.

“I never envisioned this,” said Wermeskerch, who opened his business’s doors six weeks ago. “It’s sort of taken a life of its own. But none of the things we are doing add a lot of expense. They just add more value to the building.”

Right now, Wermeskerch has nearly all the space on the main floor rented to “quality vendors,” some of which moved to his building after Metro Market closed. The main floor is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and 12 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Wermeskerch first began working on Northland General Store a year ago, inspired by the idea of offering more family-oriented services east of the Des Moines River, a place where residents could obtain the daily essentials and that would allow him to work with customers in person after selling collectible items from a home office for 10 years. The suggestions he received from potential vendors, customers and friends helped him expand his vision within a 9,000-square-foot store.

“People,” he said, “should have about six or seven different reasons to come here.”

The building Wermeskerch is renting for his store is one of the original Northland Dairy buildings, and clues such as the dark, planked floors, worn brick walls and a battered sign that says “Sleepy Joe Club” remind visitors of this past.

But Wermeskerch’s goal is to mix the old with the new, and renting space to the Blaxican restaurant is a testament to that effort.

Ignited when two cultures collided, Blaxican combines authentic Mexican food from owner Doris Alvarez’s Mexican heritage and soul food that pitmaster Phillip Wells learned to cook from his relatives in the South.

“You can’t describe it,” said Alvarez, referring to the type of food they created. “You have to taste some food so you understand what we’re going to bring out there. Once you have our food, you’ll be in love with it and want to keep coming back.”

The restaurant, tentatively set to open in July, will serve mostly grilled items, which the creators say fit the health-food craze. Menu items may include anything from ribs, potatoes and zucchini to tacos, beans and rice. Grilled fruit topped with honey, whipped cream and other sweet sauces also will be available for breakfast or dessert. A popular menu item will likely be catfish tostadas with pico de gallo (a mix of tomatoes, cilantro and onion).

“It’s new to Mexican and black folks,” said Alvarez. “It’s a new creation of food.”

During the lunch hour, Alvarez and Wells will offer a set selection of soul food and Mexican dishes that people can choose from, which will allow for a quick, cafeteria-style meal. During happy hour and dinner, the 1,000-square-foot space will hold up to 50 people at a time in a more formal setting. Alvarez and Wells also hope the rooftop patio will accommodate more seating.

Alvarez and Wells started out selling food as vendors at local events, including the World Food Festival, Latino Festival and Drake Relays. After receiving praise for their creations, including from such luminaries as Sen. Tom Harkin, they decided to open the restaurant. Investing their resources in renovating the place and taking business courses has been a challenge but worth it for the founders.

“We’re very optimistic,” said Wells. “I’m not trying to boast, but I believe we’re going to be very successful.”

The opening of the restaurant will allow the general store to expand its services into entertainment. Wermeskerch, Alvarez and Wells are considering regularly offering live music ranging from jazz to Latin music, single Saturdays and special events such as car shows and reunions.

“There’s lots of things we can do,” said Wermeskerch. “It’s just a matter of when.”

Although individual vendors are required to help advertise their products in the store, the restaurant’s opening, along with the bakery and ice cream shop, will ignite Wermeskerch’s efforts to advertise the business in the Des Moines area.

Already people have started taking notice of the large store, creating the potential that it may become a landmark on the East Village map.

“For East Village, it should help satisfy a few different needs – entertainment, market, shipping,” said Wermeskerch. “More variety will bring people back.”

He expects that once the store is completely up and running, anytime of day people will find “something new and exciting.”