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Marie Bradford is all smiles at Cedar Depot Antique & Craft
Mall. The store will close for the winter the first week of
December and will reopen on Memorial Day of 2009. |
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CEDAR CITY — For 16 years, Marie Bradford and her husband, Mont, have been bringing smiles to their customers at Cedar Depot Antique & Craft Mall.
With so many workers disliking their jobs, the Bradfords are happier than two young kids headed for homecoming. Their 2,400 square-foot store at 200 N. Main St. is open each year from Memorial Day through the first Saturday in December.
For more than seven months each year, Cedar Depot Antique & Craft Mall is the hot spot for those looking for everything from Salt City Candles to Lang Calendars and Tender Hearts crafts.
For visitors, this is like a stroll down memory lane. If you are into simple one-word statements like “Believe” or “Imagine” or everyday phrases such as “Give thanks” or “Faith, Family, Friends,” the Bradfords and their team have enough to keep you looking for hours.
“We go to the Midwest to buy,” explained Marie, who was born and raised in New York before moving to Utah 40 years ago. “It’s a great business and it’s fun. I love it.”
While business is excellent, even during a slower economy, the Bradfords have found the ideal setup, combining the store’s charm with an ideal location while also offering an affordability factor
so vital to everyone.
With their friends Claudine Stevak, who does home decor; Richard and Susan Jensen, who create the handmade frames and floral designs; Betty Jackson, an antique dealer specializing in signs; and Thelma Whitaker, who has the jewelry and watches cart, they have assembled the ideal team. While many other retail outlets are scaling back or even shutting the doors, this one is enjoying good times.
“We get a lot of out of town people,” Marie said. “We love the Vegas people. They keep us going.” Still, other buyers travel from Salt Lake City during the Utah Shakespearean Festival each year to help the business even more.
Attracting a wide array of buyers, Cedar Depot Antique and Craft Mall is in the process of readying the store for its temporary closing for the winter. While the store is always a fun place to visit, the month of November is especially interesting because special sales are offered.
“We go to the Midwest to make our buys and then come home and clean everything up,” says Marie, who now lives in Panguitch. In the meantime, there are only about three weeks remaining before the Bradfords close up shop for the winter and head for the Midwest.
Even if you’re not a buyer, the stroll through the store is worth the time spent.
Mike Henle is a Las Vegasbased freelance writer and the author of “Through the Darkness: One Man’s Fight to Overcome Epilepsy.” He can be contacted via e-mail at mhenle@aol.com, or through his Web site www.mikehenle.com.
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