Hidden Gems Of Connecticut

EAST WINDSOR, CT — The latest trek to a Hidden Gem in the Nutmeg State is probably best taken on a Thursday evening. That's when the Golden Gavel Auction House comes alive.

Golden Gavel is tucked into a strip plaza on Route 140 in East Windsor — plug 149 North Road into those GPS thingies — and, just about every Thursday at 7 p.m., features a wide variety of items.

Patrick Soucey is Golden Gavel’s owner, auctioneer and appraiser. He began selling antiques and household items at age 13 and opened his first antique business at age 18. Soucey is a graduate of the Mendenhall School of Auctioneering, a member of the National Auctioneers Association and a member of the Certified Appraisers Guild of America. He is also a USPAP certified appraiser.

In 2004, Golden Gavel Auctions bought and renovated a former East Windsor supermarket into the modern 18,000-square-foot auction house it is today. It has parking for 280 cars and seats 350-plus.

Golden Gavel’s auctioneer and appraiser, Ralph Labozzo, has a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Connecticut and has been in the business for more than 20 years. He is a graduate of the Missouri Auction School and earned certification in American Arts through a graduate-level program at New York's Sotheby’s Institute of Art. He is a USPAP certified appraiser.

See more on Golden Gavel here.

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Connecticut. Other columns in this series for 2021 include:

• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• The Cogswell Temperance Fountain
• The Old State House
• BouNom Bakery
• Union Pond Park/Jay Howroyd Fitness Trail
• The Submarine Force Museum/USS Nautilus
• The UConn Dairy Bar
• Grove Hill Cemetery, Vernon
• Backwoods Smokin' BBQ
• The Ranch House
• Connecticut State Police Museum
• Berlin Historic District
• Connecticut Parachutists Skydiving Club
• Tail Winds Ice Cream Shop
• The MLK Mural
• The Hilltop Restaurant and Bar
• Fork & Fire
• Lena's Italian Kitchen
• The Benedict Arnold Trail
• Swank Pearce
• Vernon Depot Historic Park
• Farr's Sporting Goods
• Robs Drivin Diner

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