Downtown Antique Center to close for winter

LACONIA — After a decade of staying open throughout the year, the downtown Antique Center will be closed this winter.

Charlie St. Clair, the building’s owner, said the business will be closed after Jan. 5 and will reopen on April 4.

St. Clair rents out space in the 22,959-square-foot building at Main and Hanover streets to merchants who display everything from old phones to pocket knives to furniture.

He said he is closing for the season because fewer people shop during snowy weather than once was the case.

“People treat winter weather a lot differently than they did 10 to 15 years ago,” he said. “The weather forecast has become the drama forecast. Three to 5 inches of snow becomes a major event in people's lives around here.

“There is panic shopping at supermarkets, dire warnings from the state with electronic boards saying ‘Be prepared and don't go out unless absolutely necessary.’

“Mine is not an absolutely necessary type of business.”

He said storms often cause him to lose two days of business, one while it is snowing and another for people to recover from the storm.

Also, sometimes city Public Works crews temporarily close downtown streets during the day to clean out snow, St. Clair said.

“That’s a kick in the teeth for retail downtown,” he said.

“All these things compounded and it doesn’t make sense for me to be open. I feel very bad about having a store closed on Main Street for that time, but I don’t know what else I can do.”

He has been trying to sell the Antique Center building for more than a year. It was built in 1950 and was once home to a J.J. Newberry's store. It is next to the Colonial Theatre and was built with structural steel that could support additional floors.