If it seems like there was no time between Stephanie Leighton’s Sweetheart Granny Antiques store closing April 30, and Depot Antiques opening May 1, it’s because there wasn’t any.
“We were moving in as she was moving out,” co-owner Sylvia Alchediak says. “That was her choice.”
Although Leighton will stay involved as a vendor, the storefront now belongs to the Depot Antiques crew: a three-person ownership group consisting of Alchediak, Gilbert Shoff and Ken Manalang.
“We have great inventory, great vendors, and we get along very well,” Manalang says. “We’re great friends. We’re optimistic that this will be a great opportunity.”
All three of the store’s owners do have some background in antiques — they all have been vendors at various stores. Alchediak and Manalang are based in Plant City and have 10 combined years of vending experience; Shoff, who lives in Mulberry, has about nine years of experience.
This is the first time the three have worked together while owning a store, though, and even that leads to a fun fact: The idea for the store was born on a whim last month, after Alchediak made a joke.
“As soon as we heard (Leighton) was leaving,” she says. “I just made an off-the-wall comment before then and, as soon as we heard Stephanie was leaving, (Shoff) asked me if I was serious. And I said, ‘Yeah!’”
That led to the creation of Depot Antiques, but the idea needed some refining: Alchediak and Shoff wanted to bring a third owner into the fold and, after some time searching, they found Manalang.
According to the three owners, the transition has been easy for the customers.
“A lot of people came in because we had an A-frame outside that said, ‘New Store,’” Manalang says. “That’s been upgraded to have the name of the store. I’ve been getting a lot of good feedback, like, ‘It’s so nice in here.’ (Customers) like it because it’s not over-cluttered in here.”
Some of Leighton’s customers have remained faithful to the store, even after it changed hands. And, anyone who had stopped by Sweetheart Granny’s right before it closed likely will remember some of the goods currently sitting just inside of the Depot Antiques building.
“They recognize a lot of the merchandise as soon as they come in,” Shoff says.
It also helps that Leighton and two of her vendors decided to work with Depot Antiques.
“We didn’t want to close in-between the transition, because we wanted the vendors to still be able to sell their merchandise,” Alchediak says. “It’s been an easy transition.”
Although the local market is fairly saturated with antiques stores, the Depot Antiques crew isn’t in it just to try and dominate the area — they’re mostly in it because they love the job.
“I did this before I moved to Florida, and it was fun,” Shoff says. “I came here and thought it was going to be just as much fun, and Florida is a whole different world. I’m going to do this as long as I still have fun doing it.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.