Apple Hill Antiques Preps for April Move to New Location

STATE COLLEGE — Time is winding down at Apple Hill Antiques.

For now, it’s business as usual at the popular antique shop, which is located at 169 Gerald St. in State College. However, after two and a half decades at that location, the shop will be moving down the road to the former Tubbies Bedrooms at 2221 E. College Ave., which is consolidating its business to the nearby Tubbies Spa and Patio, 2231 E. College Ave.

“Our last day of customer sales — of the shop being open — will be Sunday, April 16,” said Leslee Asbury, accountant at Apple Hill Antiques. “We will close and, starting the very next morning, we will start to move cases to the new location. Dealers will be packing up their inventory. We have a dealer in the shop with a truck and he’s offering to help move dealers into the new location. We absolutely have to have everything out of there by April 30. That’s the culmination of our lease.”

The move is happening because the building was sold in June 2022 to the State College Food Bank, which needs the space for its expansion.

Apple Hill Antiques is made up of 42 small-business owners who have space at the shop. About 35 of those dealers plan to make the move about a quarter-mile down the road to the new location. According to Asbury, some dealers decided to call it a day and retire.

“We had about seven people retire because of getting older and some health issues,” Asbury said.

Asbury explained how the process of selling antiques works at the shop.

“The shop is basically like a co-op,” Asbury explained. “The dealers there sell their merchandise and pay their rent based upon the square footage that they take up. Every two weeks, they get a check for their sales, less a 4% commission and the sales tax. They’re all like independent contractors.”

According to Asbury, finding a landing spot for Apple Hill Antiques has not been an easy process.

“We had a couple of other places that we actually thought we’d be going to,” Asbury said. “But by the time more costs were added on, we couldn’t afford it,” Asbury said.

Then, Bill Klaban of Tubbies stepped up.

“I’ve known Bill for more than 40 years. He’s the owner of Tubbies and we will be renting the building down below, which is the smaller of the two units. … He very graciously worked with us in terms of affordability and what we would need. He’s just bent over backwards to help us. It’s just been wonderful. He’s being very gracious and making this happen for us,” Asbury said.

The one challenge, Asbury said, will be going from 8,000 to 5,000 square feet.

“Dealers are having to agree to take less space and will probably pay some additional rent to make up the difference,” Asbury said.

However, it was either move or close up shop.

“If we didn’t do this, Apple Hill — after 25 1/2 years — would close down for good,” Asbury said.

 Apple Hill sells a variety of antiques — from vintage clothing to furniture to record albums and everything in between.

While Asbury is excited for the new chapter, she knows it is a daunting task to get everything moved.

“We have 14 days to make the move. We will make that happen,” Asbury said. “We are good tenants. We would never be in violation of a lease. We will be out of there by midnight on April 30.”

However, she did find a silver lining in the move.

“The showrooms that Bill has maintained are absolutely stunning,” Asbury said. “The high point is that we don’t have to do one thing in terms of decorating or remodeling. It is just gorgeous.”

Additionally, the new spot is a high-traffic area on East College Avenue, so Apple Hill Antiques will have more visibility than before.

“We’ve been one of the best-kept secrets. We’ve had people who stopped at the shop who said they’ve lived in State College for 30 years and didn’t know we existed,” Asbury said. “So having this visibility right down there on the highway is going to be wonderful.”