When most people plan out an antiquing trip, they likely set out for destinations like Lancaster, Pa., or some place in the New England states. But, did you know there’s a hidden treasure trove of hidden treasures right here on Delmarva?
In fact, the owner of Town Center Antiques in Berlin, Md. is hoping to brand the “Coolest Small Town in America,” the antique capital of the Eastern Shore.
Two visits to Town Center Antiques in downtown Berlin are never the same. Between Town Center Antiques, Pitts Street Antiques, and Uptown Antiques there are more than 300 booths managed by individual sellers in downtown Berlin.
“It’s like a community,” Bill Outten, manager of Town Center Antiques says. “There’s all kinds of people, in all walks of life, that have booths here and they just love it. They love presenting these old antiques, or treasures, or jewelry, or whatever they have.”
red plane
Bill says this community of buyers has an endless stretch from where they are able to find their treasures. When you walk into any of the three antique malls, prepare to be taken back in time.
“The treasures are new and old. Young people can come in here and see things that their parents had when they were growing up, and even though they are 15 or 16 years old, they still have memories in the past, but the same thing happens with older people like me or anybody,” Bill says. “You see things in here that came from our childhood, so it’s like really cool. I call it a buying museum actually.”
For people who come to the eastern shore to enjoy the beach, Bill says antiquing in Berlin is a perfect rainy-day activity.
“We double, triple, quadruple our sales on a rainy day,” Bill says. “Especially if it starts in the morning and kind of drizzles in the afternoon. We love it.”
Bill says those visitors usually limit their purchases to smaller trinkets, but that other vacationers make the trip to the antique malls as equally important as their time in the sand and on the boards.
“Now they’re combining coming to the beach with going out on the Eastern Shore and finding these treasures and it’s actually becoming an antique thing,” Bill says.
