THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 25, 1995 TAG: 9510240159
SECTION: ISLE OF WIGHT CITIZEN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Business
SOURCE: BY ALLISON T. WILLIAMS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
IF JIM ABICHT has his way, pork will soon have to share Smithfield's spotlight with antiques.
On Nov. 1, the Isle of Wight County entrepreneur plans to open his second antique consignment business, Antiques Emporium of Smithfield, in the former Peebles Department Store building at 108 Main St.
The new operation is almost directly across the street from Smithfield Antique Center, the thriving antique consignment shop and auctioning business that Abicht (pronounced Abbott) opened three years ago.
``Antiques are becoming a good calling card for Smithfield,'' Abicht says. ``To really make this a destination for antique shoppers, we have got to have enough antiques to offer them.
``And I think the opening of this business warrants Smithfield to be a destination for these shoppers.''
Abicht says he will lease 90 showcase and display spaces in the 5,000-square-foot showroom, on the order of a minimall. Business at his store across the street will not be impacted by the new operation, he says.
His rental charges will range from $55 to $75 for showcase space and $140 to $160 for display space.
The rental rates include the cost of hiring a manager, Trey Gwaltney, to oversee Antiques Emporium of Smithfield so vendors will not have to be present on a daily basis.
``I've always loved antiques, and this was a chance for me to go into the antique business without all the risks of opening my own business,'' says Gwaltney, 28. ``I'm excited about this.''
Smithfield Antique Center's success among tourists and locals alike makes Abicht confident his new emporium also will succeed. After all, the center is booked solid, he says, and his advertising in trade magazines throughout the Mid-Atlantic has drawn interest from both vendors and antique shoppers, he says.
``We've had 20 vendors' names on a waiting list over there since before we opened. In our three years open, we have only had a half dozen vendors leave.''
Already, 30 spaces have been rented in the new Antiques Emporium, Abicht says, and he thinks he can rent all of them within two months after opening.
Antiques are becoming big business, Abicht says; public antique malls similar to the one he is about to open in Smithfield have sprung up nationwide over the last decade.
In recent years, antiques have become the center of the economies in towns not much larger than Smithfield, including Adamstown, Pa., which is home to just 1,017 residents. A rural farming community on the outer edges of Lancaster County, Adamstown's reputation has grown to where the town now promotes itself as the Antiques Capital, U.S.A., says Lucinda Hampton, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Every weekend, the tiny town draws thousand of tourists searching for antiques and collectibles in the 19 antique markets that line Adamstown's main street.
Abicht, of course, would like to see Smithfield repeat Adamstown's success story.
``I definitely think it is possible.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by ALLISON T. WILLIAMS
Trey Gwaltney, left, will oversee Antiques Emporium of Smithfield
for Jim Abicht, who owns the business.
by CNB