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Agate bookends for sale at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Gold Hill Stone and Gem Shop in Gold Hill. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop offers a wide selection of geodes, rocks and gemstones. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Offerings at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop include celestite and amethyst crystal complexes and agate. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Agate and mineral lamps at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Petrified wood at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

A selection of rocks and minerals at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

A box of tumbled stones at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Flower agate, quartz and amethyst points at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

A collection of native copper at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

A selection of quartz points and agate nodules at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Various crystal clusters at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Customers browse the inventory at the Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop in Gold Hill. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

A selection of agates at Gold Hill Rock and Gem Shop. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

Brad Setzer, owner of a Gold Hill Rock and Gem store, talks with a customer. Photo by Andy Mooney, Salisbury Post.

GOLD HILL – Gemstone lovers and casual rockers alike have a new way to get their questions answered.

Gold Hill Rock and Gem has been open for a few months now. With the opening of the restaurant, owner Brad Setzer turned his lifelong passion into a business.

“I started (collecting rocks) when I was a kid,” Setzer said. “Mom and Dad were always so nice and took us up into the mountains. We looked at a lot of the old mining areas and dug. This was in the ’70s when you could still find something in a lot of the old places.”

Setzer did not like the idea of ​​there being no stone shop in Gold Hill, a town with a long mining tradition.

“It always seemed odd to me that a town with such a rich mining history didn’t have a rock shop,” Setzer said. “I thought there was no better place to settle and have a connection to the village itself, and I just felt like this would be a good fit.”

After the store opened, Setzer was encouraged by visitors.

“I’m surprised at how many people have come to us from out of town or even out of state,” he said.

He wants to make sure that visitors who come from out of state or out of town go home with something, be it an object or information.

“Most people I meet come into the store and enjoy looking at everything,” Setzer said. “They learn something. I love getting people involved. I educate them as best I can. That’s part of the fun.”

Setzer offers everything from rough stones to polished, honed and tumbled stones. His prices range from $1 to about $300.

“I want something that when people come in with their kids and the kids want something, they can walk out for a dollar,” Setzer said. “I have a wide selection of everything from decorative stone lamps to individual tumbled stones to necklaces.”

Not only was there no stone shop in Gold Hill, but Rowan County also lacked one.

“There’s nothing like this anywhere else in Rowan County,” Setzer said. “We haven’t had a rock shop in Rowan County for quite some time. When I was growing up, there was one on East Innes Street. It was actually called The Rock Shop.”

Before Setzer opened his stone shop, he took his goods to concerts and trade fairs, but due to the different working hours, this has become a bit difficult.

“Not at the moment. It’s pretty difficult because it’s only on the weekend and it’s difficult to do a rock show,” Setzer said.

His shop is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“Those are pretty much the opening hours of the village down here,” he said.

He plans to create a website in the future so that he can publish this inventory online.

“I will,” he said. “I’ve just been taking it slow and steady.”

However, this presents an interesting opportunity because, as he said, “When you come into the store, you will see me.”

For Setzer, who enjoys interacting with people of all ages and geological interests, the experience is rewarding.

“I like the kids, but there are also adults who say, ‘Oh man, I didn’t realize that,'” Setzer said. “I think part of it is educating people about rocks and minerals that they may not know about, but that I know a whole lot about.”

Sometimes latent geological knowledge from a long-ago college course surfaces and comes up in conversations at his shop.

“It’s great because in situations like this I can learn something from them and they can learn something from me,” Setzer said. “It’s cool. It’s always fun to tell someone who likes similar things to you.”

Setzer sources a large portion of his inventory from abroad, but ensures that the companies he does business with are fair trade partners.

“The companies I work with use ethically sourced materials,” Setzer said.

While he said it would be tempting to collect rocks on his hikes, many places have rules prohibiting mineral mining.

“I like to hike,” Setzer said. “I like to camp. When I’m in the mountains, it’s a beautiful day no matter what’s going on, but that’s one thing to keep in mind. I mean, it’s just like here in Gold Hill Village and Park. As far as you know, you’re not allowed to take anything off the property. If you find a piece of gold or something, you’re not allowed to dig or anything like that. So, yeah, you have to follow those rules everywhere.”

To begin your rock adventure or to write the latest chapter of your own story, visit Setzer’s shop, located at 840 St. Stephen’s Church Road in Gold Hill.