BIZ BUZZ

BLAST FROM THE PAST

New antique mall shines up old treasures

TAYLOR — A couple is working to make the city a premier destination for antique shoppers, signing on many of the vendors from the legendary Austin Antique Mall, which recently closed its doors.

Luisa Hincapie and Michael Van Jones, owners of Vintique Mall, 2121 N. Main St., have opened a second location at 204 W. Second St.

“We were flying back to Texas from New York for the holidays when we learned about Austin’s mall closing. That mall has been going on for about 40 years,” Van Jones said. “We signed up 23 dealers from Austin to come to our new space in Taylor.”

The venture is called Vintique Collective. It opened on April 6 between Louie Mueller Barbecue and Kincl House of Antiques on Second Street.

The couple said they hope the synergy of having another antique dealer nearby will create an “antique-row” atmosphere, where people will converge downtown and on Second Street for antique shopping, food and entertainment.

“Most of the customers who shop at Vintique Mall come here from the surrounding area. Now we’ll be bringing in a lot of Austin customers as well because the vendors we’re bringing to Vintique Collective have been at the Austin Antique Mall for 20 or 30 years and they have a huge following,” Van Jones said.

An antique mall differs from an antique store because it features individual vendors who sell from their own booths. Austin Antique Mall was the only such mall in Austin, and aside from Taylor the only other nearby antique mall is in Round Rock, according to Van Jones.

As the name suggests, Vintique Mall carries a mixture of vintage and antique items. The new Vintique Collective is smaller than the original location and the offerings will be focused more on antiques than vintage. “It’s more curated because we have less space. So the items will be a little nicer, a little more exclusive. Like at Vintique Mall we have vendors with antique costume jewelry, and Vintique Collective will have antique fine jewelry,” Hincapie said.

The couple found a location for their new space that is an antique in itself. The two-story building on Second Street was constructed in 1900, and still has some of the original interior features that are incorporated into the store.

With the new location, Hincapie said she envisions keeping the history and charm of Taylor alive by repurposing the historic building while adding to Taylor’s economic base by bringing in shoppers from across the region.

In addition to supporting the town, the Taylor couple are supportive of each other. Van Jones proudly points out that as a young Latina business owner, Hincapie is following a family tradition.

“Mom was a lawyer in Colombia, and she owned several businesses in Queens (New York City),” Hincapie said. “I didn’t really expect it to go in my life exactly how it did in my mom’s life, but I’m following in her footsteps as a female business owner.”

Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.

VINTIQUE COLLECTIVE

204 W. Second St., Taylor For more, call 281-850-3527, email [email protected] or follow instagram.com/thevintiquecollective