Up at 169 Gerald St., College Township, in a building that was once a roller-skating rink, 45 individual antique dealers have long called Apple Hill Antiques home. Customers come from near and far to the store that operates as a de facto cooperative to find unique collectables, antiques, art and more.
Now, after two and a half decades in the same location, the store is scrambling to figure out its next steps.
In June, it was announced that the State College Food Bank planned to purchase the property for a needed expansion.
That came as a surprise to the people at Apple Hill Antiques, who recently held the business’ 25-year anniversary celebration.
The building, which is also home to Molly Maids, is owned by Texas-based Kohl Property Funds.
Accountant and longtime Apple Hill Antiques advocate Leslee Asbury said the announced sale of the property to the SC Food Bank came as a surprise because they were unaware the building was for sale.
If they had known, she said, they would have worked to find a new owner that would have kept the business in its current location.
“Many people may have thought that we planned on retiring, given our ages and that this extraordinary 25th anniversary celebration was ‘going out on a high note,’” said Apple Hill Antiques’ 87-year-old owners Roger and Jan Snyder in a statement regarding the sale of the building.
“Not the case; we have been tenants for all of the 25 years with absolutely no plans to retire.”
The Snyders and the rest of the team at Apple Hill Antiques have long supported the food bank. During the previously mentioned 25th anniversary celebration, the store even held a fundraiser for the nonprofit, raising around $500.
Asbury said she was getting ready to write the check to send to the food bank the day after she heard the news about the forthcoming sale.
“Needless to say, in good consciousness, I couldn’t do it,” said Asbury. She, along with many of the other antique and collectible sellers at Apple Hill Antiques, are worried about what will be lost when the food bank takes over the building.
The Snyders said that Apple Hill Antiques generates no profit. The location is made up of 45 small business owners that rent space to sell inventory. Any money from sales goes back to the dealers minus the sales tax and a commission fee.
“Unlike a restaurant that closes where its employees and staff can hire on at another location, we do not have that luxury as we are the only business of its kind in State College,” said the Snyders.
“If we are forced out, 45 small business owners have no place to go. The majority are retired, most without pensions, living on social security saving and investments. Several are on disability. This will pose a tremendous financial hardship for them.”
One of those small business owners is Gary Discavage, who is asking the food bank to consider other potential locations for its expansion.
“The food bank’s desire for a larger building to further its mission is an admirable goal. That goal can be accomplished without doing harm to 45 small businesses,” Discavage said in a letter.
He asked that the State College Food Bank Board of Directors revote on the matter and that each vote be made public.
SCFB Executive Director Allyan Beck and Board President Adam Fleming said in a statement in response to the concerns of Apple Hill Antiques that “it is clear to us that the people involved with Apple Hill Antiques care deeply about the community and all the stakeholders involved.”
The food bank had known for some time that it had outgrown its current space on South Atherton Street, searching for a new location for more than a year. Challenges brought on by the pandemic further demonstrated that it had outgrown its current spot.
“It was never our objective to displace anyone in the challenging search to relocate our organization,” said Beck and Fleming.
“Nevertheless, we are aware of the inconvenience of moving, and we sympathize with the challenge of disruption.”
The food bank plans to honor Apple Hill’s lease, which runs through April 2023, and Beck and Fleming said, “We are also hopeful that, with the substantial advanced notice provided by the announcement, we have maximized the opportunity for all tenants to make arrangements for the future. The board and staff of the State College Food Bank are ready and willing to work with all of the tenants of 169 Gerald Street to facilitate a smooth transition.”
This story appears in the June 16-22 edition of The Centre County Gazette.
