Business Profile — An innovative emporium of treasures and treats, the Los Alamos Depot Antique Mall & Wine Pub offers more than 20,000 square feet of furnishings and collectibles. Located in the Pacific Railway’s last surviving depot—three vast rooms built in 1882—the mall boasts a wildly varied inventory ranging from fine glassware and pottery, to movie memorabilia.
Looking a bit like a jam-packed yet tidy department store of yore—complete with worn wooden floors—the mall features lamps, figurines, old stoves and one-of-a-kind items.
Browsers will find well-used tools, vintage books and magazines, family heirlooms and costume jewelry, as well as brass candlesticks, teapots and antique signs. All the displays are well arranged and inviting—a browser’s paradise!
The wine and beer pub is situated amid vintage furniture, including rocking chairs, breakfronts, armoires and dressers. There are dining room sets, vanities and plenty of tables, both round and rectangular. “What better way to enjoy local wines than to drink them surrounded by pieces of Valley history,” said Dan Thompson who with his wife, Ana, own the mall.
To keep displays fresh and tempting, the mall’s thirty-plus vendors regularly rotate stock and bring in new items. “We have an enormous variety of antiques and collectibles,” said Dan “and our big advantage is having so many dealers who specialize in different types of things. People want diversity, and by having thirty individual dealers out looking for interesting items, we have that.
“I keep the rents low,” he added, “so we’re the best deal around for dealers who want to display their wares.” While Dan handles overall management, Ana oversees the bookkeeping.
“We work as a team,” he says. Their daughter, Lea, loves the old-timey atmosphere. As a long-time local real estate investor, Dan appreciates the benefit of volume trade but welcomes people who want to sell individual items or put something in the mall on consignment.
He’s also happy to sell to dealers. “We have people who walk in,” he said, “pick up a deck of cards for twenty dollars and say, ‘I can sell this for fifty dollars.’ Fantastic! That’s what we want.
If they get a good deal here, they’ll come back.” “Another way we improve margins is to buy a whole house full of stuff,” Dan said. “A lot of dealers will pick and choose one or two items, leaving people exhausted from dealing with buyers.” “If they call us,” he continued, “we’ll give them a price for everything.
We’ll haul everything away. Then they’ve got cash, an empty house and they’re done.” Dan considers the wine pub a truly innovative part of the business. Here at last is an emporium where antique hunters and those not so interested in antiques can enjoy an outing together.
“For the first time we have husbands saying, ‘Hey, let’s go antiquing! We’ll go to the Depot Mall,’” he laughed. “It’s primarily a beer and wine bar,” Thompson explained. “Guys can get a pitcher of beer and play pool while their wives shop. We generally have sports on, so they can watch the games, have a beer and play pool.
“We even have a patio, so the smokers can have a place to go. We try to have something for everyone. It works out pretty well. This is a great place!”
INFORMATION: The Los Alamos Depot Antique Mall and Wine Pub is located at 515 Bell St., Los Alamos, and is open daily, Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m.For more information, call 344-3315, or take a virtual tour at losalamosca.com
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