Courtesy Megan Mertz
After standing empty for nearly 10 years, a St. Ann building has taken on new life with the opening of Manhattan Antique Marketplace (10431 St. Charles Rock Road, 314-733-5285). The business celebrated its grand opening during the weekend of December 8.
Greater Missouri Builders, which owns the strip mall, tried to sell or lease the former National Supermarket property for many years before launching Manhattan Antique Marketplace earlier this year as a “multi-faceted concept,” says Lindsey Richert, business development and marketing manager for the antique mall.
“At 44,000 square feet, it’s a lot of space,” says Richert, noting that half of that is currently being used for the antique mall’s 170 vendors, who are selling everything from comic books to furniture to handmade soaps.
“Our rule of thumb, as far as the antique mall goes, is it needs to be old, collectible, or handmade,” she says. “As far as handmade crafts, it’s pretty unusual to see that in an antique mall setting. We have a lot of people who do their own photography or artwork or make signs.”
In addition to the rows of vendor booths, the space also includes a farmer’s market, a café, and an events space. Auctions, expos, and craft classes are already in the works.
Part of the plan for the mall is to roll out features on a quarterly basis so that there’s always something new. Up next is a self-contained taproom, which could open as early as next spring.
“The owner has an affinity for New York and the fact that it literally never sleeps,” Richert says. “This is a place where you can shop, you can eat, you can drink, you can create something, you can sit in on a class and learn. We’re more than a mall, we’re a city.”
Manhattan Antique Marketplace is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
