In my review of
Richard's Bar-B-Q
located in Salisbury, N.C., I originally wrote,
speaking of "The Emporium":
We make the trip to Spencer Shops and thus Richard's at
least annually, and a couple of years ago we discovered
another hidden gem nearby, an antique mall called "The
Salisbury Emporium" just 4-5 miles from Spencer Shops and a
1-2 miles from Richard's, along the same Main St. corridor
in Salisbury and Spencer (in Spencer, it's called
"Salisbury Road", I believe), which we now visit every
three months or so, and again, another good excuse to stop
by Richard's.
The Emporium is the converted freight station building in
downtown Salisbury only a couple of blocks from Main
Street, converted to an interior antique dealer kiosk
mall like many towns now have, except that the selection
and value of what's on display is unusual.
We have a post-WWII mahogany dropleaf butler's table in our
foyer and a 100+-YO antique mirror behind it that we bought
from different dealers at The Emporium (dealers rent space,
mark all merchandise clearly with no-haggle pricetags, and
you pay for whatever at one central location up front) at
prices so low as to be an embarrassment (for the dealers).
I can tell you what we paid for those items were 80%
under current market value each, respectively. So,
we pleasantly make our quarterly trek to The Emporium
looking for more steals, errrrrr, good deals, and sometimes
make the day by visiting Spencer Shops too, or not, or hit
other antique and junque shops in the area, and making a
barbecue run to Richard's (522 N. Main Street, Salisbury,
NC, 28114) afterwards is always a highlight of the trip!
Some Additional Information & Thoughts About The Emporium
Not just another antique mall, though that might be the
initial feel you get on your first time there, The
Emporium's more eclectic mix of genuine antiques,
collectibles, and higher quality knickknacks simply has a
different feel than most other multiple-absentee-dealer
single-proprietor similar storefronts. The mix of antiques
to collectibles to new stuff is approximately
50%/30%/20%.
Maybe it's because there's more open space as offered by
spacious aisles and scootable spaces within the booths
themselves. Stuff's not packed like sardines within the
booths individually or the building collectively. Maybe
it's because you can feel the living history in the old
train station building itself, nostalgia just reeking off
its walls. Maybe it's because Salisbury itself is an "old
money" town and thus the dealers who rent spaces within
have a better local wholesale market to draw inventory from
than many other similar small towns. Maybe it's because the
prices on many if not most items are simply excellent to
better-than-great prices (for us buyers, Smile) and it's a
matter of watching your daily buying budget more than
having to scratch and claw and look under every nook and
cranny for a good deal like you do at many similar places.
At The Emporium, deals find you, you don't have to find the
deals.
Whatever the reasons, antique hunting at The Emporium is
simply a more pleasant shopping experience than at most
others of its ilk, and we (my wife and I) simply can't
recommend highly enough that you go and see for yourself.
We promise you won't be disappointed.
The Salisbury Emporium
230 E. Kerr St.
Salisbury, NC 28114
704-642-0039
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