The Demise of an Antique Mall

Back in January I wrote about the Middleton Antique Mall. I mentioned briefly that the mall was trying to save its lease. A greedy building owner (the mall was located in a historic barn in downtown Middleton), decided to put the building up for sale. The owner of the shop told me that the mall had never been late on rent. In fact, I learned recently that the local neighborhood association - the mall was in walking distance to many residential neighborhoods - tried to make up the difference between the old rent and new rent. The owner would have none of it. So, the antique mall was forced to close down. The mall did relocate, but not in Middleton, which now has left a great hole for antique lovers in the area. This is the second mall to shut down this year, earlier this year the Sherman Avenue Antique Mall in Madison shut its doors. Middleton's loss is Stoughton's gain. Stoughton will now have three antique malls, a haunted second hand shop and a buy and sell shop. It is setting itself up to be an antiquers haven much like Princeton, Wisconsin. With continually rising full prices, clustering shops is a smart idea. I know I have curtailed my antiquing because of gas prices. Anyway, get out there and visit your local shops - what better way to simulate your local economy!