'Remembrance is the thing': Owners of vintage, antique stores report big business

The rapid growth of Yesterday’s RAVE in Greensburg has been a surprise to co-owner Patty Wolfe.

The store that specializes in antique and vintage items with 15 vendors in a renovated space at the former Schaller’s Bakery building on Highland Avenue opened in November 2021. As more sections of the building opened in the ensuing months, the number of vendors quickly increased.

“We went from 15 dealers to 115 dealers in one year,” she said.

Now, Wolfe shares a commonality with other similar stores around the area: a waiting list for vendors to get in.

The popularity of antique and vintage stores that provide space to vendors to sell their unique items seems to have been growing in recent years. An annual survey conducted by the Asheford Institute of Antiques found that in 2021 anything art deco style had strong sales among buyers between 20 and 40 years old.

Young people or couples has been an increasing age group visiting Diamond Antiques and Gifts in Tarentum, owner Dianna Roney said.

“We’re not stuffy old grandma stuff,” she said.

Textiles, such as clothing, scarves and bags, and mid-century modern pieces have been popular as well for the same age group, as well as those 40 to 60. Once in-person shopping resumed during the coronavirus pandemic, furniture pieces were hot items.

The Los Angeles Times reported in March 2021 that younger people were discovering estate sales and pre-owned, vintage or antique items while a January 2022 Washington Post article indicates that supply chain issues prompted an increase in secondhand furniture sales.

Ellie Christopher of Hempfield, who has several booths at L&L Fleatique off Route 30 in Adamsburg, saw it firsthand.

“When we opened back up, it has been nonstop since then,” she said, adding that customers lamented a lack of inventory at big retailers and supply chain issues. “Covid was bad but I think it helped these types of businesses.”

Vendors rent booths in the buildings and make money off their sales. They have a wide variety, square foot after square foot of anything you can think of — vintage jewelry, coins, decor, furniture, memorabilia, dolls, clothing and collectibles, among numerous other items. It’s the type of stuff that has been popularized by television shows that thrive by finding something unique or obscure.

“Once most (vendors) get in here … they do well and want to stay,” said Melva Ginther, manager of L&L where there are about 160 vendors. “Word of mouth is the best advertising you can have.”

The stores repurpose old buildings. L&L has been in its current location for 23 years in a building that once was home to Davis Furniture. The new life means added vibrancy for the area surrounding the shop, bringing in customers who might explore more parts of town or grab a bite to eat.

There are more than 100 vendors each at Miller’s Crossing Fleatique in Irwin and Beechview, which opened in 2015 and 2018, respectively. The Irwin location at one time was a market and more recently a used furniture store.

“Irwin filled up really fast when we opened,” said Jim Miller, who owns the businesses with his wife, Kristin Miller.

At the Millers’ locations, sales have increased by about 15% annually for the past couple of years.

The owners reported seeing a younger crowd of customers coming in recently, and vendors are getting younger, too, offering items that appeal to a different generation. Visiting such a store results in a nostalgic feeling, regardless of what decade has a special place in a customer’s heart.

“Remembrance is the thing with an antique store,” Ginther said.

The customers are looking for things that remind them of their childhood — a record with favorite tunes or things they saw at a grandparent’s house, she and the Millers agreed.

“They’re buying older utensils our grandmothers had,” Ginther said. “Because it’s better made. It’s still around. So much stuff now you’re lucky if it lasts a year.”

The East Sixth Avenue building where Diamond Antiques is previously housed a wallpaper and paint store. Roney said the multivendor style allows people who might have collections or a crafty hobby an outlet to connect with customers.

“There are many, many women out there … who always dreamed of being a shop owner” but it can be difficult to do on your own, she said.

One customer at Yesterday’s RAVE was thrilled recently to take home a rooster cookie jar — an item for which she had been looking. Wolfe, who owns the business with her husband, Rick Wolfe, said customers have been coming from out of town, and the parking lot is typically full.

The business has become a passion for the pair.

“It’s been great,” Patty Wolfe said. “We enjoy what we’re doing now.”