Situated between Nourish Yoga and Cafe Artista, Antiques by Russ closed its doors for the last time last Saturday after five years in the downtown location.
Owner Russ Wheelhouse said there was a new owner who wanted a longer lease in the space than he was willing to agree to, although that was only one factor in the decision to close.
“Mostly I”m quitting because there”s no parking downtown,” Wheelhouse said. “I figure I lose at least 2-3,000 a month in tourist dollars I would have gotten had we had decent parking.”
Although his downtown store in Moscow is closing, Wheelhouse”s career as an antique dealer is far from over. Wheelhouse said he is still on the market, just in a different way now.
Nina Rydalch | Argonaut
Russ Wheelhouse stands proudly in his shop, Antiques by Russ in downtown Moscow, as he packs up the store and prepares to begin a new way of buying and selling antiques.
“I”ll just be doing this out of my house mostly,” Wheelhouse said. “And also in antique malls around the region. I”m going to be exclusively in the Hanger Antique Mall in Clarkston, Washington. I have a big, big space there, and I”ll get about half the store in there.”
Wheelhouse said he plans to be at least one other location, possibly either in Post Falls, Idaho, or in Spokane. He also plans on participating in antique shows and speaking with the city and the Farmer”s Market Commission about having a flea market involving high-end antiques for the Saturday morning market.
According to Wheelhouse, lack of parking has been an issue in downtown Moscow for over 30 years, and little has been done to improve it. He wants business people to be aware that when they take parking spaces on Main Street and keep them throughout the day, it detracts from local business.
Other businesses, such as Nourish Yoga and Cafe Artista, also have customers that require parking space for considerable lengths of time, such as when they are attending a yoga class or having a lunch break.
A parking meter system, Wheelhouse said, might be the best solution.
“I would like to have a campaign for parking awareness and what it does to small business,” Wheelhouse said.
Now that the shop is closed, Wheelhouse said he will also begin to sell and appraise estates.
Antiques have been in Wheelhouse”s life since he was a child. He said he and his mother used to go to old abandoned farm buildings on their ranch and collect old junk to take home to clean up and use. Not having a physical store will cut down on expenses, Wheelhouse said.
Wheelhouse said that he knows his business will be missed. Wheelhouse”s business partner Gloria Showers said he is always entertaining to work with and has a good sense of humor.
“People come in and if he doesn”t know them he”s like “Hey, come and have fun, I don”t care if you buy something,”” Showers said. “So there”s no pressure to buy anything, which is wonderful.”
Wheelhouse will also be selling and buying online using Latah County Classifieds, Palouse Ads, Ebay and Facebook if old or new customers are interested in buying from Wheelhouse through an online platform.
Nina Rydalch can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @NinaRobin7