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Leandro Hernandez stands outside his LH Trading Post on Route 130 HANDCR AFTED Register online.
NE W JERSE Y ’S
F IR S T FA R M D IS T IL L E RY
in Bordentown. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.) SINCE PROHIBITION ™ www.SourlandSpirits.com
SOURLANDOURLAND
By SaMantha Sciarrotta up, and I was like, ‘I can’t let this go.’ It’s S
a business that I already know how it
MOUNTAINUNTAIN
What started out as a part-time job works and how to run it.”
appraising jewelry turned into a full-time Hernandez has been involved with MO GLUTEN-FREE
business for Leandro Hernandez. martial arts his whole life and teaches 90 PROOF | 45% ALC/VOL | 750 ML
Hernandez, who owns the LH Trading at Ricardo Almeida Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
Post on Route 130, started as an employee in Robbinsville. He teaches boxing pri-
at Clockwork Gold next door to the former vately at a gym in Trenton, too.
Barracks Trading Post, where LH is now. He likes owning his own business
He worked under Clockwork owner David because it gives him the freedom to bal-
Mammon, who taught him everything he ance work with teaching and training.
knows about jewelry, gold, diamond and “You can have a flexible schedule,”
watch appraisal on the spot. Hernandez he said. “You can be as successful as
had no prior jewelry experience. you want depending on how much work
A couple of years ago, he said, Mam- you put in. You have a job, you go there
mon took over the Trading Post and for eight hours, you make $10 and hour.
combined it with the jewelry store. Here, the more hours I put in, the more
“Because [Barracks] had been here for time I spend working, the more money I
30 years, customers would come in, ask make. That’s one of the pluses.”
if he was closed and we’d say, ‘Oh yeah, He’s certainly put a lot of hours into
what have you got?’” Hernandez said. learning his trade from scratch. He started (609) 333-8575
“We started seeing that all these people out practicing how to determine the purity
kept coming in. We had an eBay account, of a piece of gold and how to differentiate
so we’d say, ‘Maybe we’ll buy it from you.’ between a real and a fake Rolex—“A fake Find Us On Facebook
We only knew jewelry and watches. We Rolex still says Rolex on it,” he says—and & Follow us at
learned on our own. Dave decided to take is now able to price anything, sometimes
over this place and put it all together, so we with help from friends in other industries. @SourlandSpirits
would do the gold and jewelry and what- Sometimes, he has to wing it, like when a
ever came through the door.” customer brought in a perfectly preserved 130 Hopewell-Rocky
Hernandez, 33, worked for Mammon alligator head to sell. That just speaks to the Hill Road
for three years before purchasing the busi- variety of products he likes to offer.
ness from him about nine months ago. LH “We have quality items, and we can Hopewell, NJ 08525
Trading Post offers new and gently used save [customers] sometimes $200,” Her-
audio equipment, electronics, video games, nandez said. “If you went to the store,
power tools, auto parts, toys and more. you pay a lot more money. I’m one of the
The store also pays cash for gift cards, only places that after you use your TV for
replaces watch batteries while custom- two years, you can go and get cash right
ers wait and has a jewelry expert who away without the hassle of having to meet
comes in once a week for repairs. a stranger in a parking lot, having to go
“I learned from Dave the jewelry and through scams on websites. This is a
the watches, and also how to run a busi- secure place that you can come in and get
ness,” he said. “I had no intention to run cash and top dollar for your items.”
a business. I teach martial arts. This was LH Trading Post, 178 Route 130, Bor-
my part-time job so I could train and dentown. Phone: (609) 298-6565. On the
teach all the time. The opportunity came web: ebay.com/lhtradingpost
August 2017 | Bordentown Current15