This antique mall has been around for years. I don't know how long "years" is per se, but I know its longer than 20, as that is around the time I started visiting. It has recently (2-3 years?) welcomed new owners and a new name, Route 202 Antique Mall(?). I've been in a number of times with the new staff. They have all been pleasant, friendly and helpful. I'm not sure if changing the name was a good move or not considering the length of time the previous name was in use, but one thing is certain, it hasn't seemed to hurt business.
Overall the layout is the same downstairs, 6 rows of vendor booths and/or tables run the length of the old "chicken barn" sized structure, with three aisles running between. The stairs to the upper floor, do seem sturdier than in the past, but they are still very steep and awkward, I suggest grabbing ahold of the railing. NOTE: The upper floor IS NOT accessible to handicap patrons. The bottom floor has a good mix of collectibles and average to above average antiques. There are some real finds, depending on the day and your particular tastes. For those of you who are looking for ephemera, there is not much except for a few boxes of postcards scattered throughout the mall, the same is true for other small ephemera pieces and advertising. Prices are reasonable and I would say little is overpriced. Although I didn't see any of the those cheesy bartering signs..."if you don't like the price throw me one of your own", but I did overhear some deals being made. If you liked the old "Lakeside" you'll be pleased with the new Route 202. That is, until you travel to the second floor. Here you should be prepared for anything you would expect to see at a yard sale, and not a very good yard sale at that. There is that ever present AVON table of overstock and close-outs items. You could even pick up a current catalog and find your new sales rep, thrift store clothing, shoes, purses, belts, scarves, etc. (these are not vintage finds). There was the table of re-gifting items, you know the ones, where you unload all those bad Yankee Swap gifts, the boxed Party-Lite candles from a well meaning friend, the new set of kitchen towels that don't match anyone's kitchen, the "highly" collectible McDonald's Happy Meal figures, etc. What I did not see, to my surprise, was the table of overstock Tupperware, as I was looking for those vintage metal drinking cups. The colorful ones that every house had in the 1970's. I had commented while there, that I hadn't seen anything pre-1980 on the second floor. Now, don't get me wrong, these items have their place and, I know 90% of "antique" malls have their share of these not so antique goodies. In this case, however, it is much too much. The entire top floor is simply an indoor yard sale. Now, that stated, if a sign was posted at the bottom of the stairs or even advertised as such, I would have expected it and been able to make my own decision on whether or not to visit. If I had travelled a long distance, which we have been known to do for "antiquing", and assumed I had two floors of Antiques and Collectibles to shop, I would not have been pleased to find an entire floor was only yard sale items.
If I was to rate this shop strictly on the bottom floor, it would have earned a 5-star rating, but the top floor makes up one-half of the facility and there are no options to rate each floor individually. On a good note, I did see that the new owners have added an outdoor flea market on the weekends, hopefully that will give the current upstairs vendors a better outlet for their items, thus creating new openings for space on the second floor for higher quality merchandise.
Conclusion: If you live nearby or are going to be in the neighborhood, stop by and check-out the bottom-floor of this antique mall. I am not sure how many different vendors make up the bottom floor, but it is full of all sorts of great finds and the prices are fair and negotiable. A second floor visit...
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