After about four years of operating out of two locations, Redmond Antique Mall is bringing everything under one roof. The store is moving to a new location at 2127 S Highway 97, in the Design Center, built in 2009, and will be the first business to occupy part of the space.

Owners Erica and Gib Stephens have wanted to bring operations under one roof but weren’t able to find a suitable place downtown. While they are disappointed about leaving downtown, they are excited to be on the highway and in a preferable building. They will come from about 13,000 square feet of combined space downtown to about 10,000 square feet. Although the new location is smaller, the layout allows for easier organization of their vendors’ displays. Stephens said she expects it to be easier to navigate and find items at the new location.

“The difference is the usable space,” Stephens said. “We have two locations and each has varied layouts. We’re going to a wide open space, so we actually gain room, even though we are losing square footage.”

Redmond Antique Mall averages about 45 vendors at a given time. This includes Geek Geek Nerd Nerd, a vintage and new comic book store that operates out of the Redmond Antique Mall’s SW Sixth Street location. The comic book and collectibles shop has grown from taking up about 300 square feet in 2013 to more than 1,000 square feet currently.

“It’s been a great business to be a part of,” Stephens said. “And it’s been very popular in the community. It’s introduced a lot of people to antiques and comics.”

Stephens says that having a unique combination of comic books and antiques draws a varied crowd. It also introduces antique enthusiasts to comic books, and comic book enthusiasts to antiques. She said the combination has been a large draw from the local community as well as customers outside the area.

Stephens plans to move into the new building late December and open there by the first of the year. While the new location is no longer in the pedestrian traffic area of downtown, it does offer the Redmond Antique Mall more visibility from highway traffic. The location also sports its own parking lot, which makes visiting easier for patrons who require accessible parking, not always available downtown.

“We’re going to miss being downtown,” Stephens said. “It has been amazing to be downtown, but not having a location to consolidate our two stores is difficult. It’s exciting to be one store and have one operation, and not have to downsize to do it.”

Neighboring antique store Country by Design is planning on closing its doors by March as the owner retires, according to Stephens. It’s unclear if another store, Old Creamery Antiques, across the street from Redmond Antique Mall’s sixth street location, will remain open as well. The store had “For Lease” signs up a few weeks ago, but they since have been taken down.

While there will still be multiple antique stores near the downtown core, within the next six months Redmond will have three additional empty storefronts downtown (Country by Design and Both Redmond Antique Mall location), among more than seven currently empty on Fifth and Sixth street from Black Butte to Glacier Avenues. Stephens said that some of the shop owners are feeling pressure as rent rates increase, which is difficult to compensate for as a retailer in a locked location, size and environment. Stephens pointed out that the decision to move Redmond Antique Mall was based only on the desire to consolidate.

“I don’t see it becoming any easier for downtown businesses in the future, but that didn’t have an impact our to decision to move. Our goal has always been to consolidate.”

She also said that downtown has limitations on how big a store can grow, due to surrounding parking availability and space competition with other organizations like Redmond Proficiency Academy and Desert Song Church, both of which recently occupied new locations downtown. Another difficulty for antique stores downtown is the lack of signs on the bypass to let passersby know that the stores, and the Redmond Antique District, exist.

Even though the atmosphere downtown is dynamic, Stephens says she will miss being there, and would have stayed given a suitable building for consolidation. Although, she is excited to have a location whose layout will improve the shopping experience as well as improved visibility by being on the highway. The Design Center will have about 24,000 square feet of space available for lease. And even though it’s not directly downtown, the Redmond Antique Mall will only be 1.4 miles south of its current location.

“We’re excited to be in one building,” Stephens said. “And also to have the exposure of being on the highway.”

— Reporter, 541-548-2185, cbrown@redmondspokesman.com