Two new antique shops open downtown

Visitors to the Washington square will now be able to shop at two new antique stores in the same building, as Boxcar Treasures and Central Park Antiques opened their doors early this month.

The antique shops are next door to each other, in separate suites at 110 S. Iowa Ave., and both owners said they are excited about having the other in the same place. The proximity will encourage antique collectors and enthusiasts to visit both stores when they come to town, they said.

Boxcar Treasures

Boxcar Treasures, an established name in Southeast Iowa, is moving from its current Washington location on E. Fifth Street to be closer to downtown, owners Carol Riggan and Jodie Schimke said.

The new location, which opened Aug. 3, will allow the store to get more eyes on it and participate in events with the Chamber of Commerce and Main Street.

“We know that the traffic’s going to be great here in downtown and the surrounding businesses really support each other, and so we’re looking forward to that portion as well,” Schimke said.

Riggan opened the first Boxcar Treasures in Washington in 2016, after leaving a career of several years at the University of Iowa. The business works with vendors — more than 480 — who rent a space on the floor to set up displays of their antiques, and Boxcar Treasures takes a percentage of the sales.

Schimke was one of the earliest vendors to start selling in Boxcar Treasures, and she came on as a business partner when Riggan decided to expand outside Washington.

They opened the second store in Ainsworth in June 2017, and one in Bonaparte in the fall of that year. They closed the Bonaparte store in July of 2019 when they opened another shop in Kalona.

Leaving the Fifth Street location, which represents five years of hard work for Riggan, is a bittersweet moment for both of them, Schimke said.

“We hate to close that door, but we know it’s a great opportunity for us to be up here,” Schimke said.

Riggan said she’s excited to be next to Central Park Antiques, since more antique stores will attract people to visit the area. She said they didn’t know the other suite was an antique store when they were considering the building.

“When we found out it was going to be antiques, what better way? It wasn’t competition," she said. ”People will come more if they hear there’s two or three places than just one.“

Central Park Antiques

Much like the owners of Boxcar Treasures, Central Park Antique’s owners have been antique collectors and hobbyists for years before venturing into starting their own business.

Ed and Karen Chabal have been collecting antiques for a long time, and they have been selling them for two decades.

The husband and wife started dealing antiques in Mt. Pleasant, and started selling in a shop in the Amana Colony in 2013 when they moved to Washington. Since moving to Washington, Ed also had a spot in Boxcar Treasures at its previous location.

“We’ve sold our antiques and collectibles on the side for a number of years and have always talked about having our own store,” Karen said. “And so that dream of ours began to take shape this past winter.”

Karen, a longtime professional in public relations and journalism, quit her job to devote herself to the store full-time. Ed is the chief financial director at the Mt. Pleasant Community Schools, and will continue doing that as he works on the store part time.

Karen said renovating the space has been one of the most exciting parts of opening their own shop.

They wanted to give it a vintage feeling, so they took out the more modern ceiling to reveal the tin ceiling of the original building, and ordered vintage lighting to add to the atmosphere.

“It was fun to come up with the design of the store and how we would make it feel for our customers when they come in the store, so we’re really, really pleased with that,” she said.

Karen said they wanted to set up shop in the square to keep the town’s retail district lively. Karen is a native of Washington, and Ed grew up nearby, so she said they are happy with the development that’s been coming to Washington’s downtown.

She said she’s seen both old and new retailers thrive in the retail district in recent years.

“It takes a nice mix of both, and everybody working as hard as they can to bring some good retail options into a community,” she said. “And we wanted to be a part of that.”