By Thomas Sellers Jr.
Officially opening September 1, 2020, Abandoned Antiques has been on a roller coaster ride sufficient for a business more than a decade old.
Navigating a couple of bumps in the road, Abandoned Antiques has carved out a niche in the Millington community that is attracting patrons from across Shelby County, West Tennessee and in neighboring states Arkansas and Mississippi.
Once their doors at 8323 reopened early in 2021, Abandoned Antiques enjoyed a successful year of events, regular vendors and selling trademark items to be voted the 2022 Millington Star Readers’ Choice Business of the Year.
“It’s a blessing,” Abandoned Antiques manager Judi Peerey said. “It’s humbling how the community has come together and seen us as Business of the Year. It’s hard to put into words. It’s just a big honor.”
Owner Jim Williams has invested into the 75,000 square-foot facility that is home to classic paraphernalia, fresh bouquet of flowers, designer purses, sports memorabilia and professional photos made.
The management team of Peerey, Lisa Hailer and Patricia Pruitt are a common site at the front desk and throughout the building assisting customers.
“I love to see those smiling faces coming and going,” Pruitt said. “They come in with a smile and when they leave, they leave with an even bigger smile. Because they leave with something they have been looking for or a childhood memory. It’s a need they want to get back or that they have lost. They come in to find it and get it back.”
The rest of the team at Abandoned Antiques is made up of cashiers and staff members Tommy Pruitt, Mary Boyer, Marsha Blackwood, Lynn Dobbins, Penny Franks, Lisa Mosier, Cheryl Joyner, Sandy Springer, Anna Watson, Abby Mills, Kim and Mark Winn and Bubba Mills.
“We worked hard to bring people in and they love it here,” Hailer said. “A lot of our customers feel like our family. A lot of customers call this place their happy place.”
The ‘happy place’ was temporarily closed at the beginning of 2021 because of COVID-19 regulations. Last Feb. 2, the Shelby County Health Department gave Peerey a notice that it would shut down the operations because of a health code violation.
The Department informed Peery that the business violated the mask policy throughout the County by posting a sign that didn’t mandate the wearing of a facial covering once entering their establishment.
The sudden closure was a shock to vendors and employees of Abandon Antiques and the customers.
“It was stressful like I am sure it was for every business,” Peerey recalled. “Do you wear a mask or not wear a mask? Are we allowed to be open or not allowed to be open? At the end of it, it was a challenging way for us to be creative and still provide for the community.”
With the room and high ceilings, Peerey and the team provided sanitizers, increased the cleaning of the facility and enforced social distancing to give their loyal customer base an outlet during the peak of the pandemic.
“People came just to get out of the house,” she said. “They had somewhere to go. And it was amazing where all the customers were coming from. It wasn’t just local Millington. Don’t get me wrong, Millington is our hometown. And the phrase was passed around that we are home grown. We came from Millington. The Millington family has been great. We’ve been able to reach out past that like lots of folks come from Mississippi and surrounding areas.”
As regulations relaxed, Williams, Peerey and other staff members’ vision for Abandoned Antiques came to fruition.
The foundation of the business is vintage, antique, consignment, tailor made items for anyone in search of treasure. Abandoned Antiques is one of West Tennessee’s largest antique and consignment stores serving Shelby and Tipton County, along with those who travel or are passing through.
On Sept. 18, year one was celebrated with sales, events, food vendors, bounce houses and many more features.
“The events, seeing this parking lot full,” Pruitt said. “We had people waiting at the door. We had lines waiting for the doors to open for the events.”
More events are planned for 2022 for Abandoned Antiques starting Feb. 11 with a 1950s style sock hop including a best dress contest and music from the era. There is a $6 cover charge.
March and April the facility will feature outdoor events using the field next door with Living History and the Field of Honor in June. You can purchase flags for your honoree now for $35 and it flies from Memorial Day to the end of June.
Then the highlight of the year is scheduled for Sept. 22-25 with the traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall coming to Abandoned Antiques.
We’re in the middle of Flag City in the United States of America,” Peerey noted. “We are the city with that flag. We have the Navy base here and this town is veteran based. It carries over into here. We love them.”
The support of the local veterans, a devoted Millington base and becoming a destination spot for Mid-South, Abandon Antiques is proud to be a genuine-grown business.
“We just to be bigger than what we already are, to keep growing and thriving,” Pruitt said. “We want to serve the community.”
Peerey said the recipe that made Abandoned Antiques the 2022 Readers’ Choice Business of the Year will continue to serve their business model.
“I want to get back to the everybody hugging stage,” she concluded. “When they come in and say, ‘Hey Tricia, hey Lisa. Y’all remember where this is at. You remember the last time I came in…’ The family atmosphere, the friendships. We want to keep growing the friendship with the community.”
For more information, call 317-9137.
