The cats were the final holdouts.
As Lisa Vonderstruck surveyed the eerily empty interior of Brandywine View Antiques last week, one occupant remained in her usual haunt – one of the wide window ledges in the circa-1770s building.
Vonderstruck explained that the adopted feline had been one of her most reliable fixtures during her 7 1/2-year tenure on Route 1 in Pennsbury Township. “She came and wouldn’t leave,” Vonderstruck said. A short time later, Vonderstruck realized why the cat, quickly dubbed “Momma,” had been so determined to find lodging: She had two kittens.
So all three became residents of Brandywine View Antiques, and – like Vonderstruck – had difficulty saying goodbye to the place they had called home. "It was good to me," Vonderstruck said.
Brandywine View Antiques closed its doors last week so that Vonderstruck could begin the next phase of her 20-year career of selling antiques in the area. In September, she will reopen in a new location about eight miles north on Route 1 in Chadds Ford Township.
“When we purchased the building, it was one of the most wonderful experiences,” said Vonderstruck, who settled on the new property in late May. “It ended a chapter, but I’m very excited about the new one.”
But as she gazed at her former space for the last time, a wave of sentimentality swept over her. “It’s bittersweet,” she said, joking that some of the historic home’s most charming features had been buried by the treasures of her wares. “I’m looking at windows and doors that I haven’t seen for years.”
She said when Jack McFadden, an area restaurateur, bought the building in the '90s, he rescued what had once been an ice cream shop from condemnation. Years later, Vonderstruck decided it would be a perfect antiques venue and approached him about renting it.
“He asked me if I wanted to see the interior, and I said I didn’t need to,” she said. She had already fallen in love with the wraparound porch and the view from the building’s hillside perch, which led to the shop’s name.
Actor Bradley Cooper shares some of the blame for Vonderstruck’s wave of nostalgia last week. He was one of the memorable celebrity customers who perused the shop’s floor-to-ceiling displays.
Vonderstruck recalled that Cooper “was so mellow, with his hands in his pockets” that she had no idea who he was initially. He said he “just wanted to browse,” and so she let him be. In hindsight, “that’s probably how people like that want to be treated,” she said.
Other famous customers included actress Sigourney Weaver and local notables like artist Karl Kuerner and his father, and April Margera, a furniture recycling artist who is also the mother of skateboarding and film star Bam.
Interrupting the final sweeping of the premises, Vonderstruck’s sister, Linda Carroll, said she was working at the shop one day when one of Bam Margera’s cohorts, Steve-O of Jackass fame, came in with a specific request. Carroll said she’s OK with the fact that they didn’t have what he wanted that day.
“It turned out that the round table he was looking for was one that they ended up breaking” in one of the Jackass stunts, she said.
Another customer story indelibly etched in their memories involves the time a woman tried on a ring and then couldn’t get it off. “She tried for at least 20 minutes,” Carroll said.
Vonderstruck said the predicament generated a happy ending. “She bought the ring,” she said. “And we became friends.”
Another woman got so excited at the shop’s grand opening that she slid down the staircase banister. “The house reminded her of her grandmother’s,” where she did the same thing, Vonderstruck said. “We became friends, too.”
Such customers have fueled Vonderstruck’s passion for the antiques recycling business. “Helping people find that one-of-a-kind piece that’s perfect for them is so satisfying,” she said. “I’m watching families grow, and watching their children have babies.”
In addition to offering the potential for that “perfect find,” Vonderstruck said she believes some first-time visitors have returned because she also serves as regional ambassador of sorts, urging people to visit other area attractions. “If someone is going to drive some distance to get here, they might as well take advantage of some of the other great places,” she said.
That philosophy likely contributed to the fact that Brandywine View Antiques outgrew its former location. “We didn’t have adequate parking,” she said. “That became a huge problem.”
In April, Vonderstruck found a temporary fix to her parking woes by partnering with the Chadds Ford Historical Society (CFHS) to stage a barn market, a one-day pop-up event with multiple antiques vendors and food trucks, at the society’s Creek Road property. It exceeded expectations.
“I was flabbergasted,” Vonderstruck said. “It was a nonstop, rolling crowd.”
Even though Vonderstruck will have ample parking at her new location, she has already committed to teaming up with the historical society again and will create another barn market as part of Chadds Ford Days in mid-September.
She said she’s eager to bring in other local vendors, describing the antiques community as very collegial. “Everyone has their special niche,” she said.
Vonderstruck’s new locale, an 1806 building known as the Painter farm, will also enable her to expand her love of garden salvage. “We have three acres that we can work with,” she said.
Once again, she will have three floors and myriad rooms for themed merchandise. Although she said she would miss the wraparound porch, it won’t be for long.
“I have big plans for the backyard,” she said.
Musing about the change of locations, Vonderstruck said what “started out as a dream” has come to fruition. “This is mind-boggling,” she said. “But it’s going to be so much fun.”
For those who can't wait until September for the reopening, Vonderstruck said she has scheduled "a massive yard sale" for Saturday, July 25, beginning at 9 a.m.
Although her new digs at 1244 Baltimore Pike offer more space, she is already accumulating new merchandise and plans to sell some of the old displays at bargain prices.
"The house won't be open yet," she said. "But we'll have some great stuff on the lawn."
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