Church Bazaar in Verona expected to close by the end of year

A longstanding Verona business is expected to close its doors for good by the end of the year.

Everything must go at the Church Bazaar near the corner of South Avenue and Allegheny River Boulevard.

It might be a tough task, as nearly every square inch of the place is covered with thousands upon thousands of collectibles, antiques, dolls, crafts, clocks and a plethora of wooden and metallic gifts.

The shop is owned by Nancee and Fred Federici of Oakmont, who started their expedition into the world of collectibles and crafts in 1977.

“It’s time,” said Fred Federici. “You have to decide it’s time to hang it up.”

Fred Federici spent about 43 years in educational sales with several companies ending with Simon & Schuster distributing textbooks and related items before joining the collectible industry. Nancee was a painter and plans to rekindle her artistic passion once the business is done.

The couple hopes to be out of stock in December, but an official closing date has not been set.

The business started in a choir loft a few buildings down from its current location. Many of the items at the time were on consignment from local artists.

“We felt that we opened the door for antiques because they were never here,” said Nancee Federici. “We’ve had a lot of people helping us and many mentors.”

The business would grow and move into an apartment on the second floor of the current building, which was the Liberto Grocery Store. The grocer specialized in dry goods and Italian imports. The Federicis purchased it from the Liberto family in 1983 and eventually moved operations downstairs.

They renovated the nearly 3,000-square-foot space with the help of family and friends.

One of their first vendors was New England-based Wee Forest Folk, which made miniatures of hand-sculpted and hand-painted mice.

Nancee Federici said the shop was the first in the state to carry the line, and it’s still popular with collectors.

The Federicis’ favorite pieces also include Department 56’s Snow Village Series, a set depicting Christmas in America during the 1950s, and the Dickens’ Village Series, which features architecture from Victorian England.

“If it’s generally something you can find in a mall store, we won’t have it,” Fred Federici said. “We want to have things that you cannot go into Macy’s and the others and find. We want to be unique, and it’s always been that way.”

There’s also a large collection of wreaths, books and Ty Beanie Babies, which were wildly popular in the 1990s.

“The thrill of it is when you’re purchasing anything, whether it’s consignment or from a company, you’re looking for your customer,” Nancee Federici said.

The shop not only offered products, but a warm, homey atmosphere and a safe place to talk, which is what folks needed when terrorists attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001.

“That’s when things stopped,” Nancee Federici said. “It was a terrible feeling. People came in and wanted to talk about it and felt sad.”

The Federicis originally had planned to clean house by the end of July in order to spend more time with family and pursue other interests, but the pandemic postponed those efforts.

The couple has three sons, seven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

Friends, family and other clients have been coming in to say their goodbyes for weeks.

Patti Tumminello of Verona helped out at the shop for about 15 years starting in the late 1990s.

“Everybody knows Nancee and Fred, terrific people,” Tumminello said. “There will be a lot of people sad to see them go. I’ve got tears in my eyes just thinking about it.”

“People come with flowers. They come with cakes. They come with tears in their eyes,” Fred Federici said. “They don’t want us to leave. It’s generations (of people). We’ll miss them as much as they miss us. It’s been a good ride, but it’s got to come to an end.”