Vintage Cottage to Close on April 30th

Barbary Murphy Rozner sits behind her counter as she has for the past eight years looking as neat and pulled together as her well-appointed shop. Her smile belies her sadness as she takes steps to close her local antique store, Vintage Cottage at 917 Burlington Avenue, next month.

“It’s been hard,” she says, “I shed a lot of tears coming to this decision.”

As hard as the transition out of her long-time location has been, Rozner sees that it’s equally as tough for many of her customers. “I keep pulling the Kleenex box out for them!" she says, picking one up herself.

With the store closing, she intends to shift her focus to event-driven marketing, including her annual holiday market and estate sales.

Despite the big changes unfolding, Rozner remains very committed to her customers. She said that while many sellers resell their customers' goods on eBay, she “won’t take advantage of her customers” that way. She will also continue to maintain and fill the long shopping list she keeps at her side with customer requests for certain collectibles.

Changes in the economy have taken their toll on Vintage Cottage, whose merchandise is hand-selected piece-by-piece to suit Rozern's customers’ tastes.

“We don’t buy in-bulk here; I buy as little as one spoon at a time,” she said. "A lot of the antique stores are closing because the markups just aren’t there anymore.”

Even more important to her than what she sells, are the kindnesses she enjoys extending to her patrons. “If I don’t see someone for a few days, I call to check on them,” she said.

Although her store is full of small collectables, she has also sold some larger items, among them houses, “People come in all the time and mention they are selling their homes,” she said, “and I tell people to help them find a buyer.

“We’re the last man standing” she says proudly of her in-town location. “There are no other antique shops in the area. It was a tough decision to close.”

Before she does leave, she will continue to work hard to satisfy the needs of her very loyal customers. Vintage Cottage is holding an estate sale April 14^th, 15^th and 16^th featuring area dealers, and her own inventory which will be discounted during the sale.