Antiques mall opens in St. Jacobs in same location as former antiques market

A new antiques mall in St. Jacobs has opened one month after a former antiques market at the same location closed its doors. CTV’s Colton Wiens explains.

One month after the doors closed at the St. Jacobs Antiques Market, a new store, known as the St. Jacobs Antiques Mall, has reopened in its place.

The mall offers a similar experience to what customers were used to at the market, but it’s a brand new company operated by a different owner.

“It feels really good to be open,” Bert Flaming, owner of the St. Jacobs Antiques Mall, told CTV News during the grand opening on Wednesday.

“It’s all fixed up. Brand new,” Sal Volpini, a customer enthused.

“It looks really good. Really good vendors,” Gail Gates, another patron, said.

What happened to the St. Jacobs Antiques Market?

The former St. Jacobs Antiques Market on King Street North paused all sales on March 1. The owner said they were facing financial difficulties and the company’s bank account had been frozen. At the time, they said paying vendors was a priority and the market would remain closed until those issues were resolved.

CTV News spoke to one vendor who did not want to appear on camera. He said he is still owed money from sales made under the previous management. CTV News reached out to the previous owner for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.

At the time of the market’s closure, CTV News was told the business was going through restructuring and renegotiation.

The owner of the new antiques mall, Flaming, didn’t say specifically what caused the former company to shut down, but he wanted to ensure there was still a place for vendors to sell their goods.

“I just love it! I’ve been selling books for 20 years – 25 years, and doing the antique mall,” Flaming explained. “When we learned that it was going to be not going forward, my partner Nicole and I said, ‘You know what? We gotta step in and see what we can do.’ So, we just, for ourselves and also for all of the other vendors and for the customers, we said, ‘We gotta get this and we gotta keep it going.’”

“We’ve cleaned and made it shine”

Flaming said the vendors and customers have formed a special kind of community.

“We’ve been coming here for many, many years. It was shame to see it go and we’re happy that it’s staying,” Martin Woudenberg, a vendor, said.

“We were just all hoping that it would reopen. It’s awesome,” Anne Boehm, another vendor, said.

There are approximately 100 vendors working at the St. Jacobs Antiques Mall. Most of them are familiar faces, but there are about a dozen new vendors.

“People have really spruced up,” Flaming said. “Vendors have brought their A-game too. We’ve cleaned and made it shine,” Flaming said.

Customers stopping by on Wednesday appreciated the effort.

“Fresh, clean. A lot of new dealers with a lot of new merchandise,” Volpini said. “There’s some old dealers that are really great.”

As vehicles packed the parking lot for the grand opening, it was clear enthusiasm for “the hunt” hasn’t dulled as antiques lovers were eager to search for treasures once more.

“I love antiques. I love the collectibles. I just love everything about this,” Boehm said. “I like all the things I do at home to prepare to come here. I just love it,” Boehm said.

The St. Jacobs Antiques Mall is open daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.