“You’ll know it when you see it” is the right attitude to have when shopping at Salvage Candy. T.J. and Tammy Trem opened the shop at 3500 S. Weinbach Ave. in 2015 as a space for Tammy to sell her mosaic artwork and salvage furniture. T.J. brought in car parts and metal works, and the store became a home for anything that could find a new purpose.
“I had the idea for a long time from watching home improvement shows,” Tammy says. “I’m amazed at the things that have stood the test of time, how they were made.”
“We started from scratch just to see how it would go, and it just kept going,” T.J. adds. “Anything salvageable, we tried to give it new life.”
Like other historic renovators, Lucas Neuffer has worked with the Trems, using the store to source items for his business Evansville Historic Homes. When the Trems realized it was time to step back, Neuffer bought Salvage Candy on July 31.
“I’ve got the equipment and interest to deal with items at Salvage Candy … and we came up with a deal,” says Neuffer, whose upbringing in New Harmony, Indiana, drove his interest in historic properties.
“It worked out perfectly for both of us,” T.J. says. Although she’ll miss customers, “Lucas is the perfect person to take over,” Tammy says.
Two months before Neuffer bought the salvage store, he purchased an 8-by-5-foot mirror original to the Ragon Mansion, connected to the Charles Kellogg Mansion that was occupied by Italian restaurant Sauced before it was destroyed by fire on Christmas Day 2024 and demolished in April. Salvage Candy has displayed Sauced’s elegant chandelier, wood mantels, and signature red front doors. What other Evansville relics are on display? The original Roca Bar sign from South Kentucky Avenue and light-up bingo boards from the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
“It’s cool just to see and have it,” Neuffer says.
Some of the inventory that excites Neuffer includes unique trim work and a visibly uncomfortable 1900s dentist chair. As he describes it, stocking items that bring a “wow” factor will be key to keeping customers coming back to Salvage Candy. His vision is to steer more toward providing architectural elements, with less of a focus on metalworks and cars. He plans to manage the store alongside his business partner of four years, Brooke Stevenson, who will handle day-to-day operations.
“We’re going to focus more on home decor, unique pieces, and historic furniture. We’ll also use stuff we find from our own renovations we do.” Nueffer says. “We want older antiques and architectural items you cannot find in a retail store.”
Neuffer also finds the appeal in being a part of something that directly connects to his current business.
“It puts me in a very unique position for the Evansville market. I am the only person and business in Evansville that not only works on historic buildings, but also now has a location and source to buy and sell materials for historic buildings as well,” he says.
