ANTIQUES IN THE VILLAGE WILL SOON BE HISTORY

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Customer Appreciation Day June 2; store closes June30

By Miriam Raftery

June 1, 2016 (La Mesa) – For the past 18 years, Antiques in the Village has been a fixture in La Mesa’s downtown village, offering a delightful mix of antiques and collectibles.  But owners Larry and Francis Settle are retiring—and the shop will be closing its doors permanently on June 30th.

On June 2nd, the couple is hosting a Customer Appreciation Day.  “Everything will be 30 to 50 percent off,” says Larry, adding that refreshments will be served up along with bargain prices. Discounts will continue to be offered until the final day at month’s end.

“My wife got me into this,” recalls Larry, who was an independent living skills instructor.  Francis, inspired by a friend, opened a booth at another antique store but soon started up a shop of her own.  She needed help – so she asked Larry to join her. The rest, as they say, is history.

“I love it,” he says of the business.  “We have a very eclectic group of things. We always try to be very customer friendly and enjoyable.”   

There are still many treasures left for nostalgia-minded shoppers to discover, such as elegant and ornate antique furnishings, vintage jewelry, antique sleds, a stuffed pheasant, crystal glassware, figurines, period hats, paintings, elegant light fixtures, and much more.

For the future, Larry says he looks forward to traveling and taking time to “stop to smell the roses.”  He reflects, ““It’s been a fun ride, and I am grateful to our customers.”


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Comments

Thank you!

Thank you!
I like that idea, Miriam. At your convenience.

A real shame. Nice shops like

A real shame. Nice shops like this one are disappearing and being replaced by mortgage broker and real estate offices. People wonder, why visit the Village?--there's nothing there.

The village should be for the people, not lawyers, brokers, etc,

I agree, and I've heard that same complaint from a lot of people who really miss the unique mix of shops that are vanishing such as other antique stores now gone, the children's book shore, the pottery place, the music store, Shannon's art gallery, the British shop, etc.  I would love to see the city do a lot more to court and attract the kind of specialty retailers that are unique to East County for the historic village area.  A lawyer or dentist office could go anywhere -- but we only have one historic district.

There are a few bright spots -- the winery tasting room that recently came in, the second Cohn restaurant about to open, your wonderful bookstore, Craig, etc.

If anyone in the city reads this and cares about attracting more specialty retailers to fill up those vacancies, please reach out to us. Let's do an interview for the website (150,000 visits a month) and radio show so we can publicize the effort and help you.  If El Cajon can fill up all of its vacancies without turning into a professional area, surely La Mesa, a very desirable city in many ways, can do so too and enhance/retain the charm of its historic roots!