Beloved Florida antique store to close after 50 years - but not before an epic sale

Vintage 21, a Tallahassee staple, is going retired of business aft a 50-year tally of trading antiques - but not earlier launching a occurrence waste to clear its inventory.

The Courtney family that near Findlay, Ohio, almost 5 decades agone dreaming astir opening a vintage resale shop. It was originally called Old Rose Boutique.

Barry Courtney is nan only 1 near aft his relative Bruce moved to Las Vegas. But now he has been forced to thrown successful nan towel - but only aft nan building proprietor said it was being sold.

'We ended up successful Atlantic Beach, because we had relatives there,' Courtney told the Tallahassee Democrat. 

'My relative came to schoolhouse complete present (in Tallahassee). We came to sojourn him, and that was it. We ne'er looked back.'

His landlords sent him a statement backmost successful January stating that if they sold nan property, he'd person 30 days to clear nan store.

Instead of waiting astir for a announcement to come, Courtney has decided that he's going to shutter his family-owned shop connected his ain terms.

This intends he's been moving to clear inventory truthful he tin decently unopen down.

He's still not judge precisely erstwhile business will genuinely travel to an end.

For now, Vintage 21 is doing a 40 percent disconnected waste to clear nan shelves of nan hundreds of unsocial antiques and creation pieces he's acquired complete nan past 8 years.

For Courtney, these items are arsenic adjacent to wealth arsenic you tin get. The shop is still brimming antique jewelry, clothing, furnishings and overmuch more.

He's moreover amassed his ain individual postulation of African masks, Chinese porcelains and American people creation that he won't beryllium selling. 

'I tin find things anyplace things are for sale,' Courtney said. 

'In fact, I prime things up that different group mightiness put down. I sometimes cannot judge they don't spot what's successful beforehand of them. But, that's conscionable nan quality of nan game.' 

Longtime customers took to Reddit to stock their thoughts connected nan ancient shop closing.

'That's a shame, I dislike to spot smaller businesses being bought out. And this shop particularly has immoderate awesome stuff! I recovered Christmas presents for a fewer family members present this past year,' 1 personification wrote.

Another commented that Courtney was 'always truthful bully and personable erstwhile I went in.'

Beverly Glazer, who utilized to ain adjacent Nomads Art Gallery, is simply a adjacent friend and customer of Courtney.

'People who cognize Barry, and for illustration what he offers, person followed him wherever he's gone,' Glazer told the Tallahassee Democrat. 

'At 1 time, he was moreover astatine nan flea market. That was years and years ago. He rented abstraction there. 

'Barry's sewage awesome creation from each complete nan world,' she added, explaining that he loves to explicate nan origins of pieces he's acquired to customers.

Next twelvemonth would person been 50 years for Courtney successful nan business of trading artifacts and vintage pieces, and though he's sad to fto spell of thing he's been doing for that long, he's besides welcoming retirement.

'A batch of group opportunity they're very sad I'm closing, because they travel successful a spot for illustration this and it's memories' Courtney said. 

'I'm astir apt nan slightest sad of each of them, because I've done this for truthful long. I'll ever beryllium buying things for myself, but it's clip to springiness up nan business.'