Gary On Geary

So I have been collecting teacups for about 6 years now so i Love to rummage around antique shops and although I may look young, I was very offended by «Gary». Its a tuesday and around say 1ish I rang the doorbell because the store is by invitation only and as he is walking the customer out he tells me that its last customer of the day, so I walk across the street to Delanos and like 15 mins later his store door is still open, i felt completly discriminated against for looking young.

This is the sort of antique/​junk store that is fast disappearing into the ether of online auctions. It’s very close to a bus stop on the 38, and I was told they’d only be open from 12 – 2 Wed and Thus. The sign (oh the signs!!!) says «By Appointment Only», and then only two people at a time, so, well before Gary comes to the door, you realize you’re dealing with an old school curmudgeon. Of course, there’s a good reason for the two-​person rule: The place is packed with stuff (Melody’s old place on Howard Str. was spacious by comparison) and what passes for aisles (squirrel paths, really) are so narrow, that there were a couple of them I didn’t dare enter for fear of knocking something (s) over.
As antique/​junk stores go, this is mid-​category: The «junk» is fairly high quality, not the Goodwill variety; and the antiques are definitely not Jackson Square lah-​de-​dah; collectibles are the odd man out in this retail mélange. The range of merchandise is fairly complete, from clothing and accessories, to decorative, and holiday items, and stuff for the kitchen and dining room. Books. Records. Furniture, by necessity runs typically towards the small stuff. There are lots of pictures in frames, and he seems to have a specialty in African Tribal pieces, and French copper-​clad pans (as opposed to pots). There were a few Fiesta Ware pieces, but not very much in the way of mid-​century pottery from any of the big California companies.
Prices seemed fairly reasonable but not cheap. Most of the copper (zinc lined? Tin?) pans I priced seemed to be in the $ 100. range.
Tip: Bring cash, or use a credit card: Gary posts his plastic once a month, so if you’re trying to keep track of your spending and avoid going into OverDraft, you’ll not want to use that debit card here. And, as always when dealing with eccentrics, be patient, keep your BS to a minimum, and ask clear and focused questions – don’t waste his time; he seems to warm up fairly nicely… after a while.

the stuff in the window looks really cool, but this place is open by appointment only! talk about feeling pressured to buy something. one day while i was walking by, gary was there standing outside and i asked if i could take a peak inside and he straight up said no! wtf???