Coshocton Antique mall doubles vendors under new ownership

Leonard L. Hayhurst, Coshocton Tribune
·3 min read

COSHOCTON − A long time staple of Main Street is under new ownership.

Manager Katie Williard and owner Pam Chaney stand inside the Coshocton Antique Mall. Chaney recently took ownership from Jean Darr. Since that time, they've doubled vendors and have tried to give the store a more open and brighter look. Both women said business has picked up and there's an energy among customers and vendors.
Manager Katie Williard and owner Pam Chaney stand inside the Coshocton Antique Mall. Chaney recently took ownership from Jean Darr. Since that time, they've doubled vendors and have tried to give the store a more open and brighter look. Both women said business has picked up and there's an energy among customers and vendors.

Pam Chaney recently took over the Coshocton Antique Mall at 315 Main St. Chaney bought the emporium from Jean Darr, along with her inventory of items for sale. The building was once Fashions to Furnishings and Montgomery Ward department store before that.

Chaney had a booth and sold items in the antique mall off and on for more than 20 years. Last fall she was looking for something new to do and knew that Darr was contemplating selling for health reasons.

"Jean was a friend and a mentor, really. I would come down, mainly on Saturdays, and spend the day with her here. We didn't really like the same things, but I learned a lot from her," Chaney said.

Pam Chaney, new owner of the Coshocton Antique Mall, said they've tried to make the store more open and brighter with booths feeling like mini-stores. Vendors have about doubled to 50 since Chaney took over.
Pam Chaney, new owner of the Coshocton Antique Mall, said they've tried to make the store more open and brighter with booths feeling like mini-stores. Vendors have about doubled to 50 since Chaney took over.

The antique mall has more than 50 vendors. This includes locals and those from Newark, New Philadelphia, Utica and elsewhere. Chaney said they have a lot of out of town customers as well. Vendors have about doubled she since she took over and there is room for more. They've also added more in the realm of home décor, military memorabilia, Pyrex kitchenware and items a bit newer than typical antique store fare.

The goal for Chaney and manager Katie Williard was not only to add vendors with new and different items, but to give the antique mall a brighter and more modern look with booths seeming like its own mini-store.

"It's an entirely different kind of place now. If you had been here a year ago and come in today, you probably wouldn't recognize it," Chaney said.

Chaney and Williard credit word of mouth and a push on social media to an increase they've seen in business.

"The vendors are different than they were before. They'd come in once a month and hope they have a check. Now, they come in quite a bit. It's more of a social thing," Chaney said. "People move their things around. It's not always in the same place and that makes a difference."

The Coshocton Antique Mall at 315 Main St. is under the ownership of Pam Chaney. It has about 50 vendors offering a variety of items from home décor to military memorabilia, to glassware and much more.
The Coshocton Antique Mall at 315 Main St. is under the ownership of Pam Chaney. It has about 50 vendors offering a variety of items from home décor to military memorabilia, to glassware and much more.

Williard was the manager before, a role her father previously held and he's still a vendor. Williard said the antique mall feels vibrant and alive again.

"With Pam taking over, it was exciting to keep us going. We didn't want to see another shop close. We wanted to keep this block lively," Williard said. "The new vendors coming in, the interest we had in just the first couple weeks, it just exploded."

The Coshocton Antique Mall is part of a Shop the Block event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday that also includes Bexley Ann's Boutique, Mercantile on Main, Coshocton Antique Mall and Rust Décor. All are women-owned businesses. Chaney said they want to do more of those types of events in the future.

"Now that we have extra people on our block, hopefully that will be good for all of us," Chaney said of the stores working together.

Coshocton Antique Mall at 315 Main St.
Coshocton Antique Mall at 315 Main St.

The Coshocton Antique Mall is open from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday, closed Sundays. It can be found on Facebook and called at 220-235-0742.

Leonard Hayhurst is a community content coordinator and general news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune with more than 15 years of local journalism experience and multiple awards from the Ohio Associated Press. He can be reached at 740-295-3417 or llhayhur@coshoctontribune.com. Follow him on Twitter at @llhayhurst.

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: Coshocton Antique mall doubles vendors under new ownership