Sue's Junk and Antiques Mall
Whether you’re a die-hard thrifter, a nostalgia lover, or just wondering what goes into preserving local history through “junk,” this episode is packed with laughs, local color, and the kind of community spirit that makes the Tri-State area so special.
We are joined by Parlor, the multitalented “jack of all trades” behind Sue’s Junk and Antique Mall in Westmoreland. Get ready for a heartwarming look back at how this local favorite went from humble flea market beginnings to a massive community treasure trove with hundreds of vendors, shelves packed with vintage finds, and weekly parking lot sales that draw early-morning crowds.
Parlor shares stories about her mother, Sue’s resourceful, resilient journey—growing up in Appalachia, hustling at flea markets, and taking a risk to open a storefront that’s now an anchor for Westmoreland’s vintage and antique scene. You’ll hear about creative finds, touching moments when old items reconnect with local families, and the wild rumors that swirled around their now-beloved building.
This episode is sponsored by Alex R. White, PLLC.
If you have a memory you would want me to talk more about, just send me an email at TSTM@mail.com. Or post a comment on the Tri-State Machine FB Group page.
Welcome to the Tri-State Time Machine.
I'm your host Vanessa Hankins. This is a podcast where my guests and I share our memories and present day stories of the Tri-State Area. That's West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.
Nothing too serious, no political views, and no ulterior motives.
We're just here to share our fun stories about this great area.
Whether you're a past resident or a current Tri-State resident, I think you're going to have fun with us.
So join in, press play on your podcast player, and welcome to the Tri-State Time Machine!
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https://ts-time-machine.captivate.fm/episode/sues-junk-and-antiques-mall
Copyright 2025 Vanessa Hankins
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/
Transcript
This is the Tri State Time Machine brought to you by Alex R. White, pllc@suedistractedriver.com each week, your host, Vanessa Hankins and her guests share memories and stories about the past, the present, and the future of the Tri State area. That's West Virginia, Kentucky and the Ohio areas. If you used to live here or you currently live here, you're going to catch yourself saying out loud. Wow, I remember that. Now here's Vanessa.
Vanessa Hankins [:Hey, guys, it's Vanessa. And we're here with Jason. What's up, Jason?
Jason [:How is everybody today?
Parlor [:Good.
Vanessa Hankins [:Welcome to the Tri State Time Machine. And we have a really awesome guest here today, someone that Westmoreland is very thankful for.
Jason [:That's right. So today we have Parlor, who is the daughter and I guess, what would you say? You're a co owner. You help run things. What would you say?
Parlor [:Jack of all trades.
Jason [:Jack of all trades.
Parlor [:Master of nuts.
Jason [:Yeah. At Sue's Junk, which we're very glad to have. So we're glad you're with us today. And I guess we'll just kind of jump right into things, Vanessa, if you.
Parlor [:Want to go ahead.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah, absolutely. For listeners, we, of course, in Westmoreland, we know what Sue's Junk is. I'm a longtime shopper from when she was over in Chesapeake at the flea market. So I was very excited for her to start her own thing, you know, and go out on a limb and risk it all. I think. I feel like that's what she did with that building. It was kind of a train wreck.
Jason [:It was.
Vanessa Hankins [:But for listeners that have never stopped by or been in the store or know what Sue's Junk is, could you describe a little bit about what the store is?
Parlor [:Sure. So basically, it is a giant store. It used to be a grocery store. Most of you know, it is filled with vendors. We've got over a hundred and about 50, 175 booths.
Vanessa Hankins [:Oh, wow. Now, is that more than the peddler mall?
Parlor [:I don't know.
Vanessa Hankins [:Out of curiosity.
Parlor [:I don't know.
Vanessa Hankins [:I feel like you guys have more space.
Parlor [:I don't know. I've never been in there. I've never been in.
Vanessa Hankins [:Ha ha to you.
Parlor [:No, I just, I never. I never have. But. So we've got all the booths in there. So each person has their own booth. They bring their items, they tag their items, and then you can come up front, you shop the whole store. And then we have a register at the front that you check out at. So we also have shelves.
Parlor [:And each vendor is on a Shelf. And then we have some OG consigners is what I like to say. Because we're not really taking any more because we are Maxwell packed. Oh my gosh. Yeah, we are.
Vanessa Hankins [:Every square. Internet places. It's got something in it.
Parlor [:Yeah. So between consignors and vendors and people with booths and shelves, we have right. At 400 vendors in the store. So there is such. That's fantastic. Yeah. But there is such a variety in there.
Vanessa Hankins [:There really is.
Jason [:Well. And then you have the outdoor as well at times.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Jason [:So that's a whole other setup.
Vanessa Hankins [:Have you ever been there on Wednesday?
Jason [:Oh yeah. It's free.
Parlor [:Set up. Free. Yeah, free setup on Wednesday.
Jason [:Oh my God. It's there.
Vanessa Hankins [:They work at like 5:30 in the morning and there's people already out there in their cars.
Jason [:Oh yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:Wait. Because they want that.
Jason [:Flags flying everything.
Vanessa Hankins [:They want that good spot.
Parlor [:Right. Ye Wednesdays it's free. We do the parking lot sales then. And then we do like spots. $10 Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Usually Saturdays are really packed. And Wednesdays, those are the two, like hot days to get there and set up or to get there and shop. But we'll.
Parlor [:The parking lot's lined up. So there's always something different because those people. It's always somebody new coming. Sometimes there's produce, sometimes there. You know, we've got the. We've got our tool guy who usually comes and he sets at the. Yeah. Sets the end.
Parlor [:And people stop. I mean, he is literally there when we get there and he is there when we leave. And he's. And he's swamped all day.
Vanessa Hankins [:I believe it. It's really cool to see that people can thrive in that sort of like, I guess, alternative lifestyle, you know.
Parlor [:Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:That's how they get by. That's their bread and butter. And I think it's so cool that they put that kind of effort. Like you said, he's there before you get there, he's there when you leave.
Parlor [:Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:I think that's really cool.
Parlor [:Well, a lot of people, especially in our area, that's how they grew up, you know, that's how made money. That's how they were raised. And it's in their blood. And that's how they know, you know, that's how they know to make a living.
Jason [:We're a working class group.
Parlor [:Right.
Jason [:Our oldest roots. That's what we've always done. Even if you got a pool on the side of the road, bug out. I got some vegetables. You guys want some like.
Parlor [:Right.
Jason [:You know, it's just what we do.
Vanessa Hankins [:It's Appalachia.
Jason [:It is. So truly, if you could kind of. How did this all begin? With Sue's junk.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Jason [:Here we go.
Parlor [:How detailed do you want this story?
Vanessa Hankins [:As detailed as you want her whole life.
Parlor [:Yeah. I mean, Mom. Mom was kind of born and raised in this. My grandparents junked. I mean, that's what they did. My parents divorced when I was in, like, second grade, and mom was on the struggle bus for a while. So, you know, she was. You gotta do what you gotta do.
Parlor [:Yeah. Constantly at the flea market. Constantly trying to flip and sell and make a little extra. And she was collecting pop cans to get our Christmas. I mean, she was. She was bit on that struggle bus. So she started the flea market. You know, she would do Wheelersburg, Chesapeake, Parkerville, wherever she could go.
Parlor [:She would literally have honest yard sales at the house where when she would go to work, she would set out a bunch of stuff in front of her house with a coffee can that was duct taped down and said, just be honest. And so, yeah, so she would come home and then she'd just check the jar and see how much money was in it. And it would be crazy because people would come by and be like, days later and say, I didn't have change the other day. I wanted to stop, here's the $3 I owed you. Or here's the.
Vanessa Hankins [:True heart of our community.
Jason [:That's an Appalachian story right there. That's how we do things. I. Yeah.
Parlor [:So she was. She was cleaning houses for a living is what she was doing. So I did that for a while.
Vanessa Hankins [:And actually, it's very kind of therapeutic. Kind of therapeutic.
Parlor [:Well, when you have to go with your mom to do it, it's not.
Vanessa Hankins [:That therapeutic, I'm sure.
Parlor [:I mean, at the time, I absolutely hated every minute of it. But there was a day not too long ago where I was like, I was painting in the. In my house, and I don't remember, I was trying to work with somebody, and I just, like, called mom and I said, I just want to say thank you, because I can do things. You know, I know how to paint a room. I know how to do basic, like, Craftsman things, and I can, you know, I can do all these things and clean a house. I can, you know, I can cook. I can do these things. Which, FYI, did not learn that from my mother.
Parlor [:She's not very good. But don't tell her I said that.
Jason [:Cut that part out.
Parlor [:She's well aware. I tell everybody she knows. But no, I Just was like, thank you. Like, I, you know, I hated it, you know, when you're a kid and I make my kids do the same thing. Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:Well, and the thing about cleaning houses, and it's. It's funny because there's so many mothers that I know that have done the same thing, because it's with the hours with school, with drop off and stuff, it's one of the go to professions that you can make work with your children's schedule.
Parlor [:Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:Especially if you're doing it on your own.
Parlor [:Yeah, right. And she was. She was taking care of my grandmother at the time, so she had to have something to wear. Like, you know, she could go get grandma up and dressed and get her ready and do all that, be able to leave, you know, and then kind of work around that schedule. So she started with that and kind of just to wrap back around, like, she would have those yard sales. We would. I mean, it was every weekend. We were constantly in a flea market doing something.
Parlor [:So she started a booth at Chesapeake, and she started with one, and then they did really well. And then she went to two, and then she went to three, and then she just kind of kept expanding in the flea market. And then finally where the old Sleep Makers was at, that building at the end, that kind of came up. And so she's like, I don't know if I can do this, you know? And so that was her first, like, real risk. That was the.
Vanessa Hankins [:I didn't realize that.
Jason [:And that's a good spot there. I mean, that's the premier spot, really.
Parlor [:But where that was cut off from the rest of the flea market, she could stay open six days a week and not just the weekends. So she really, really started to thrive over there. So she was. She was at Chesapeake for 11 years.
Vanessa Hankins [:Wow. It doesn't seem like it was that many years, but. Yeah, that makes sense.
Parlor [:Yeah. I mean, she was there forever.
Vanessa Hankins [:It's our go to place. We were talking before we started recording about how Brandon's family loves antiques and things like that. So it's really. When we need a piece of furniture, it was our first stop. Usually nine times out of 10, it was our first stop as long as she was open.
Parlor [:Yeah. And it's one of those things, like, I always feel like when you're on Pinterest and you're like, oh, my gosh, that would be so cool to find a nightstand to redo to do that or to do that. And it's. And like, I would go in and be like, mom, what do you Have? Yes. What do we got? She's like, oh, there's one here, one here, one here. You know what I mean?
Vanessa Hankins [:She knew that store like the back of her hand.
Parlor [:Yes.
Vanessa Hankins [:You could come in, what are you looking for? And you could tell her, oh, back, left corner, three rows back, rocking chair, you know, like, you know, she knew.
Parlor [:Yes.
Vanessa Hankins [:She knew that story.
Parlor [:And she was the one who, like, put it there, fixed it up. I mean, she was constantly cleaning and fixing it. I mean, she's just. That was like her. Her thing, you know? So then it kind of just came to a point where there was, like, some things that happened that she was just kind of unsure of the future. And my brother and I had talked to her, and we're like, we've got to move on from this. We've got to. We've got to go big, go home kind of thing.
Parlor [:And with the downfall of the whole life of trading and selling and things is you don't have the 401ks and the retirements and the health insurance and the whole thing. So it was like, we've got to do something, because you can't do this your whole life. You know, you can't be 80, right.
Vanessa Hankins [:And have insurance or retirement.
Jason [:It's got to make sense, right?
Parlor [:We've got to do something. Something to get you, like, set up. Like, if this is what you want, we've got to, you know, we got to do this. So we started on the hunt, and it was. We looked at several properties, and she would be like, okay, I think I can make this work. And I'm like, mom, it's not big enough. You know, like, we could make this work, but this is gonna kill you. You're gonna have to do this seven days a week.
Parlor [:You're gonna have to be doing these estates constantly. You're gonna have to, you know, and in a state, when you do an estate, like, we have people that'll call and say, hey, you know, we've got this house. It was so and so's, you know, we want a price just to come get everything out of it. Or, like, people would do an estate sale and say, can you come get the rest of what's left? And, you know, for a certain price and that, you know, so we'd have to, like, hire a crew, get the trucks, take everything, box everything up, get everything out, bring it back, tag everything.
Vanessa Hankins [:Not to mention going through it all and deciding what's on, going trash and what people will purchase.
Parlor [:Absolutely. I mean, it is.
Vanessa Hankins [:When you. When they buy those out like there. There's a location over in Proctor. I don't know if we always call them the Boys. I don't know what their actual business company is. It's right underneath the Proctorville Bridge.
Parlor [:It was Josh and Ronnie's.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah. So one of them had passed away and I didn't know which one, but we always just called them the Boys. But they bring everything.
Parlor [:Yes.
Vanessa Hankins [:They don't go through it and get rid of things. So, you know, you're going through there, you might find a used scouring pad, Fourth of Dawn dish detergent, that's still in the, in the bottle.
Parlor [:Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:So I can only imagine.
Parlor [:Right. I mean, the amount of time and the behind the scenes stuff is just crazy. So we, we were just like, we've got to find something. Because if I can find something where people can rent the space, it will help pay for the building. So, you know, we've got to not kill ourselves. So we came across the property in Westmoreland and it was like, oh, I don't. I don't know about all this.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah, it was in really bad shape. For anyone that didn't get to see Food Fair. Food Land. I always get the both confused. Food Fair, correct.
Jason [:Yeah. Well, it had been a Food Land way, way back.
Parlor [:Way back. Shoppers Value.
Jason [:Shoppers Value was the last one, right?
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah. But someone had gone in and just like gutted it. Took the wiring out. Like, I mean, they just, they tore that place.
Parlor [:It wasn't something. It was.
Jason [:I was gonna say, we've had many talks about that.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Jason [:There was a whole regime of homeless people that were in encampment there.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah. In the back of the store.
Jason [:It was unbelievable. Yeah.
Parlor [:Which, I mean, if they would have just like hung out, it been fine. But like they went through and just busted holes in the walls and spray painted everything and they went through and took like, took a sledgehammer and just like smashed the toilets and the sinks.
Jason [:And the yarn everywhere. Having fires. Yeah. Just crazy.
Parlor [:It was nuts. And it was just like, for no reason, you know, it was just destructive. Very destructive. And then like when they went through and stole the wiring and stuff out of it, you know, I'm over here like, okay, well, you're. A couple hundred bucks in scrap. Just cost us six figures, you know what I mean?
Jason [:Like, very true.
Parlor [:It was nuts. So we didn't really get to see the inside of the building. So that went up to auction, right? Yeah. So it went up for auction. Mom, of course, was at an estate down in Ashland with the. You Know, with her crew going through, and it was like, the day of the auction, she was like, I don't think I can get it. And so my brother had gone down, and he's like. He called, right? So he, like, he calls, and he's like, I went through.
Parlor [:Like, the roof looks good. You know, like. You know, like, I think the inside. I think we can do this. I think it looks pretty good. We. Well, there was no electric, so it's not like you could see anything. It just looked like a big open space, right? He's like, I think, you know, I think it.
Parlor [:I think it's worth it. So I go and pick mom up, and I'm like, what are you doing? Like, you need to be down there. So we're driving. I'm going. Not that I speed ever or anything, but I'm, like, going 90. We're on speakerphone, and they're starting to bid. And so Mom's like, okay, here's my Max. Like, you know, this is what I have in retirement.
Parlor [:This is what I. You know, like, I've been saving. Here's where we're at. So we start bidding, and my brother's bidding for her. We've never seen the place. I've never been in it. Mom's never been in it. And I'm driving down there on a speakerphone, and I'm like, go again, Mom.
Parlor [:Go again. And, like, somebody else is bidding, and I'm like, go again. And then she's like, you gonna pay for this? I'm like, I've got some. I've got some money in our retirement. We'll put some money in. It's okay. Just keep going. And we just kept going and kept going.
Parlor [:And then it just got to the point where mom was just like, I can't. I'm sick. I can't do it anymore. I can't. I can't. I can't bid anymore. I just can't. And so we're like, we lost it.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Parlor [:So we didn't get it. We got outbid.
Vanessa Hankins [:Oh, my gosh.
Parlor [:And so I was like, that was the place. Like, that was, like, the location. Like, that was the one. So then, unbeknownst to us, the person who bought the building was a local philanthropist. Had plenty of buildings and things in it. And so we kind of came up with, well, what if we just went to him directly and said, let's just buy it off of you? And the auctioneer ended up telling us, like, you weren't gonna win.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Parlor [:Like, there was no Way, there was no winning like you. He would have just gone till he. Because he wanted it, right? And we definitely did not. So we went to him, and I was like, I want to buy this, and this is what we want to do. And mom and I had went down, and he said, okay, here's what we'll offer you. And I was like, I'm not paying that. I'm like, I know what you paid for this building. I was the one bidding against you.
Parlor [:Like, no. And so I, like, talk. Kept talking him down, and Mom's over here just like, oh, my gosh. What do we. Like, okay, what do we do? Yeah. She's just like, only my child. This is what she does. So finally, I'm like, okay, well, what.
Parlor [:Okay, wait. So we set out on price, and I'm like, okay, what happens if you die? And Mom's like, parlor, what are you. And I'm like, I'm just saying, you know, like, you're agreeing to do this, and you're agreeing to finance it through your bank and your stuff. What happens if, you know, he's like, well, my son will take care of this. It'll all be right. I'm like, okay, all right. And she's like. She tells everybody.
Parlor [:I can't believe she asked him, what if he died? And I'm like, it's a valid question, right? Like, what. What happens? So. So we got everything secured in the end of 2022 and going into 23. So, like, we went in, and it was. Like, I said, it was awful. And my poor mother, they had those, like, the aisles, they call them gondolas, where they had waxed for so many years. They had that buildup, and she scraped those floors and scraped those floors, and friends would come, and they would just sit for hours. Well, guess what? No heat, no air.
Vanessa Hankins [:So there's only a limited amount of time you can be in there and handle it.
Parlor [:They were with flashlights in the heat, in the. I mean, like, just scraping and scraping and scraping. And so, like, we. We went through a lot.
Vanessa Hankins [:Testament to your family and friends.
Parlor [:Oh, my gosh. We had such people helping. Like, it was. It was amazing. So. But we thought, we never gonna get that thing open, I believe so I was kind of, like, on the back end doing more of the books and getting everything set up for the business stuff. And mind you, I was pregnant at the time, so. And that's what mom had said.
Parlor [:She's like, can, you know, can you commit to doing this? I can't do this without you. And I'm like, okay, well, you know, I've got one kid at home. I'm pregnant. We just had moved in with my aunt who had Parkinson's to help take care of her, and we'll run a business. Okay. Okay. Yeah. It's terrific.
Parlor [:No problem. I've got it. It's fine. Everything's fine. So, I mean, we worked and worked on that place, and we had so many people come and help, and we. The city was great with, you know, I would. I would, like, call and say, what do we need to do with this? And they'd come and say, okay, well, this has to be this way or this has to be this. And I was.
Parlor [:You know, everybody was so afraid of, like, oh, the city's gonna be so hard. Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:Well, I have found. And I'm sure this is what you found as well, if you are just honest with, like, our electricians or, you know, they want to help you.
Parlor [:Absolutely.
Vanessa Hankins [:They want you to succeed. Because we succeed if the business is within our city limits.
Parlor [:Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:So if you're honest with them and don't try to, like, pull one over.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:I feel like they are very, very helpful.
Parlor [:Yeah. And that's what. And one of the perks. Not to down Huntington or anything, but one of the perks was that we were past that Wayne county line. So we were like, oh, we don't have to deal with any of the city stuff. We're great. So we started working. We were in there working.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Parlor [:And then somebody was like, oh, no, you're in the Huntington city limits. I'm like, no, no, girlfriend. We're past that Wayne county line. It stops at the bridge. We're over here. And they're like, no, it runs all the way to Canyon Park.
Jason [:No misconception.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Parlor [:That runs to Canyon Park. And I'm like, what? So I called, and I was like, I didn't know. I didn't know. Are we really. They're like, yeah, you're in our limits. And I'm like, what do we have to do? What are we gonna. You know. Sorry.
Parlor [:You know. Yeah. So they. But they all came out, and they were like, here's what needs to be done. This is. You know, they were all fantastic. And so we got everything up to compliance with them. Got our ducks in a row, got opened up.
Parlor [:And it was kind of funny because it started out, you know, mom wanted to call it sue's drunk. And I was like, please don't call it Sue's drunk. Please don't call it sue junk. And she's like, but that's what people know me from. From Chesapeake is Sue's drunk. And I'm like, mom, that would be.
Vanessa Hankins [:Scary to change your name.
Parlor [:I get that. I know, but I'm like, it's just. That's the junk. It doesn't describe what's going to be in here. And it's not. She's like, but it's. I'm like, how about. Give me this.
Parlor [:Give me the antique mall part. Like, let's kind of elevate it a little bit. Let's just not call it the junk. Not a junk store. Right. She's like, fine. Okay, we'll do Sushant Antique Mall. So that's kind of what we ran with.
Parlor [:And so when we started up, you know, mom had. The majority of the middle was all hers. She only gave up the outside edges for vendors. Right. So that's how we started. And, you know, she was still doing estates and still, you know, constantly just killing herself.
Jason [:Yeah.
Parlor [:And I'm like, okay, well, you know, you've got these days off, but during your days off, you're going and working, doing estates. Yeah. And it was crazy. I mean, the whole thing. When I ended up having my son, he was. It was in December, and it was still. We still had no heat or anything. So I had him in there in a snowsuit, coming in there, working, trying to do the online sales to try to make some money before we opened, because.
Parlor [:You know what I mean? Like, just. Because we were just scrimping by.
Vanessa Hankins [:You guys are really known for those online sales. Those are a big deal. Yeah, they're a really big deal. Have you ever seen people. It's wild.
Parlor [:Yeah. Yeah. Every Monday. But we. We ended up getting open, and we had those spaces around the edges, and slowly, I would be like, you know, mom, if we added a row here, we would make more money for. Towards the mortgage. And, you know, and then we could pay this, and then we would have more money for this. And then you would have.
Parlor [:You know, then she'd be like, okay. And so then she'd give up a row.
Vanessa Hankins [:You give it up that quickly?
Parlor [:It wasn't that. It wasn't that easy. It wasn't just one conversation. Let's just be honest.
Vanessa Hankins [:So she, like, she knows her stuff.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:She does talk to her like, she knows her stuff. She knows what she's got. She knows what it's worth. We've bought a few pieces off of her, and it's. She always just knows what's up.
Parlor [:Oh, yeah. So she was like, no, I'll think about it. I'll think. You know, it wasn't. It wasn't like, okay, of course, honey. Let's do this. That was never the case. I was a little shocked by that.
Parlor [:I was like, that was. So we. I slowly kind of like, merged her into. Well, if we give up this row, she's like, there's not gonna be any of Sue's junk in here.
Vanessa Hankins [:It's just gonna be the antique mall.
Parlor [:Right. It's just gonna be these vendors. So we've kind of slowly moved to just adding more and adding more, adding more. And then recently, we had, like, the back hallway, and we added that last.
Vanessa Hankins [:Time we went in. It's like, you can see the meat coolers and all that, which is really cool, like, to be back there and be shopping and to see that.
Parlor [:Yeah. And we turned those meat coolers into booths in the back. So each cooler in the back has its own booth. Yeah. So we've kind of expanded and expanded as much as we can. So it's. But it's just been creative use of space, for sure, a little bit at a time. And now she's like, what are we gonna do with the upstairs? I'm like, all right, sue, slow your roll.
Parlor [:Let's just stay where we're at right now. Let's just let it go. It's fine. So it's been a process, a labor of love, for sure. But we've come a long way.
Jason [:What a testimony, though. Absolutely. I love it.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah. I really do, too. So. Sounds like because it was in your mom's life from the day she was born, it's been in your life since you were born. How has Huntington's vintage and antique scene changed since you. Since your first remembrance of working in the field?
Parlor [:Well, let's be honest. I was never. We were never the go to an antique mall type of family. We were all the flea market family. You know, we were the Thursday Wheelersburg in the mornings with flashlights and people, you know, and we never got to really go buy. We were always selling. I mean, let's be honest.
Vanessa Hankins [:You don't know how it's changed. I get that.
Parlor [:Right. I mean, like, we. You know, there's always been those, like, staples in Huntington that we know of, like Hattie and Nan's and things like that. And just because we've, you know, we've seen. We've always heard the names and, you know, and we always try to, like, refer people to. Well, if you're looking for something more like that maybe 14th Street's kind of the place to go.
Vanessa Hankins [:My mom actually referred me to another person. We were looking for a specific kind of chest, and she was like, oh, I have a card. Hold on. Yeah, this was when she was still in Chesapeake, so it's been that long ago. But she's like this. She'll have it. She'll have two or three. You'll have options.
Vanessa Hankins [:And I'm like, beautiful. Thank you.
Parlor [:And that's kind of our thing. It's like, if we can't help you, we'll try to find you somebody that can, you know, like, why not let everybody try to benefit.
Jason [:That's right.
Parlor [:From something.
Vanessa Hankins [:Absolutely.
Parlor [:We try.
Vanessa Hankins [:I love it.
Jason [:Kind of changing course a little bit. Are there any, like, local legends, rumors or stories behind stuff you've collected over the years? I mean, you guys have been every incorporated with a lot.
Parlor [:No, it's not a good question. I have to think about that.
Jason [:What are you doing to me right now?
Parlor [:What are you doing? You're making me think of things. On the spa right here. Are there any local legends? Yeah.
Jason [:You know, something that is just like.
Vanessa Hankins [:A piece that just stands out, that has a story.
Parlor [:Oh, my gosh. There's so many.
Jason [:There's gonna be. Yeah, yeah. Is there one that really just stands out? Like, this is. This is so surprising and different.
Parlor [:I probably would have kept it if it was.
Jason [:Yeah, it's at my house.
Parlor [:Yeah. I mean, here's the thing. Like, right. Even right now, you know, we've got, you know, we had a vendor who brought in the other day some letters that came off the old stone Thomas building.
Vanessa Hankins [:I never think to even sell the storefront letters.
Parlor [:Right. You know, we've got a vendor who does architectural salvage that.
Vanessa Hankins [:The fireplaces.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Jason [:Love that stuff.
Parlor [:I mean, we've got, you know, people will bring in. There's. I think right now there's a. Oh, it's like, kind of like. It looks like a keg, but it's like, own a piece of Huntington history, and it's, you know, like, pieces. So it's hard to kind of pinpoint that one thing because it's so many. It's a constant flow, and you never know. Like, you come in and, you know, it's like, oh, well, these came out of this building in Huntington.
Parlor [:And this came, you know, and I mean, down to like, oh, these were bricks that were taken from this building. And, you know, and you're just like, holy cow. Which is so cool. Right? And I mean. And I, you know, personally I'm always like that. I like a story with my piece, you know, So I don't. You know, I don't want to just go on Amazon and, you know, buy a buffet. I want to go to, you know, this was my grandmother's.
Parlor [:This was my. You know, this came from this building. This came from this. And the story and the hunt is part of the fun with things.
Vanessa Hankins [:I love when you find a piece and you're like, you find out the family that owned it. We'd like to do the history on a lot of our pieces if we can, which is very hard, but if you can, we have. So we have a buffet in our living or in our dining room. And it was actually made by a friend of ours, great, great, great grandfather, because he worked in the. Was it the Huntington store? And they had some stamps that said, like, what the number of the person that did it. And that was the great, great, great grandfather's stamp on the inside of the drawer. And they were like, oh, my gosh.
Parlor [:I was like, that's so cool.
Vanessa Hankins [:That's the coolest thing ever.
Jason [:That's what I love about antiquing, is that there's so much history, which I'm in love with history. But each time that I go into your old store, I'm like, oh, my gosh, look at this. Or look at this. And I could put this with what I already have from before, and there's all these storylines and different people that were involved, and you all get the luck of having the local history on top of it. But then there may be this item that comes in from God knows where that goes along with something local. It's just really good.
Parlor [:Well, we had a customer in this week, and she was. And that's honestly mom. And I love that, like, when somebody comes up and they tell us, like, my grandma had this, and she had. You know, and I've looked for this everywhere, or, you know, and it's just that. Just to bring that joy to people is amazing. And we had a woman this week, and she said, this little man sat on my grandmother's bathroom counter for the whole time I was growing up, and it was a man and a woman, and my cousin ended up getting them. And I've always wanted them. I've never seen them.
Parlor [:And I found the man, so now I've got to find the woman, because this is gonna be. You know, this is. Right. And so she was just so tickled to have, you know, and, like. And then you get people, like, right now, uranium is like, A huge. It's a big thing.
Vanessa Hankins [:I always love seeing people in their pins.
Parlor [:Yeah. With the black lights. We sell the black lights, and people come by the black lights, and then they'll, like, go through the store. My brother loves it, too, so he'll be like, can we just turn the lights out? Let me go through the store. Like, do I get special privileges? Yeah. So. But, you know, people will be like, this piece I've never seen before, and this is, you know, and it's like when you're a collector or something for just for years and years, and then you find that, like, some piece that you've never seen.
Jason [:Yeah.
Parlor [:People just get something so excited about it.
Jason [:Yeah.
Parlor [:So.
Vanessa Hankins [:So in. In that. Staying on the same track a little bit. Do you ever notice that certain items sell faster because of the nostalgia of the Tri State?
Parlor [:Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, like, Blinko is huge. So huge.
Jason [:Yeah.
Parlor [:I mean. And I mean, it's over it. But it's been popular now. But it's been popular for years. And that's something that right now we've got people from North Carolina, Florida, that call, see stuff on our page and say, can I. Can I call and pay for this? And you ship it. We don't ship. I'm so sorry.
Parlor [:You know, because if we shipped, my life would be at the post office. But people will send. I've had people who are like, I have friends in the area, so they'll call from out of state, pay for stuff, and have their friends come pick them up. And we even had a lady in the other day who was from California, and she's a regular, and I never knew that she lived in California. And I was like, wait, you're in here. I see you all the time. And she's like, yeah, I drive from California because I love Fiesta and you all have the best prices on Fiesta. And I'm like, you drive funny and random.
Parlor [:And I'm like, you can't. The prices can't be that good by the time you pay for gas in a hotel. She's like, oh, no, girl. I sleep in my car. She's like, I just get in my car and I start driving and I stop at rest areas and I sleep in my car the whole way here. Drives from California to sew his junk, to pull the. I know, but I'm just like, that's a story there.
Jason [:Yeah.
Parlor [:Wow.
Vanessa Hankins [:That's awesome.
Parlor [:I mean, and then I have to tell you this just because it's on my mind, but we had a family in and I'm gonna get it wrong. Oh, it's off the top of my head. He's a Marshall soccer player, and his family came in. It was from not, I think, Argentina. I want to say I might be wrong.
Vanessa Hankins [:That sounds about.
Parlor [:It sounds right. In my head. It sounds right. When I leave here, I'll remember exactly where they're from. But they came in, didn't speak any English whatsoever. And he came up, and he had taken them to Austin's ice cream and brought them in. And of course, you know, he walks in, and I'm like, I'm sorry. We have a policy here at Sue's that if you bring ice cream or iced coffee, you have to bring me one, too.
Parlor [:You know, that's just always my thing, so. And of course, he's like, what kind do you like? Next time I'll bring. I'm like, no, I'm just kidding. And he came up and he said he played for Marshall, and he found the We Are Marshall DVD that had Spanish subtitles. Because he could not get his family to understand, really, the. The plane crash and the whole story and everything. And he was like, we have looked for this for years. Because I always wanted to play for Marshall, and I share that part with his family in the family way.
Parlor [:I have looked for this everywhere. And now my family can understand the history of Marshall and the history of it because they can read this after titles and understand it. And I was just like, okay, that's good stuff. That's amazing.
Vanessa Hankins [:That right there, like, just, okay. Every decision we've made up until this point, right off, it was all for the right reason.
Parlor [:Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:That's the beautiful.
Parlor [:I'm a firm believer in, like, you know, God's timing with things.
Jason [:Me, too.
Parlor [:And I feel like there's so many of those little, like, nods that are like, okay, you're where you need to be. This was meant to be. This. You know.
Jason [:I agree with that.
Vanessa Hankins [:Absolutely.
Jason [:Have you ever had someone come in and recognize something they donated or threw away years ago? Probably a lot, right? Yeah.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Jason [:I can only imagine those stories.
Parlor [:Yeah. Or we've even had. I know this sounds awful, but we've even had people who, like, have. We've done estates or vendors have done estates for. And they'll come in and, like, have family photos of their family in there. And I'm like, you know, because when we always do a stuff states we. Anytime we would find photos or anything, personal diplomas, yearbooks, that kind of stuff, we would always put them. Always put them in the bathroom.
Parlor [:For some reason, that was always the thing we did. So home movies that, you know, we just left it in the house. I just. It never felt right to take those things, you know, And a lot of times families don't want those, which is crazy.
Vanessa Hankins [:I always thought that was crazy not to bring them up again because I don't. I don't know if they're even still in business. But the boys over in Procrville, where they do everything, it was stuff like diplomas, trophies, you know, if you name it. And it would just break my heart because I'm like, there is a family somewhere that just did not give a crap about any of this person's memory, right? I mean, this is their whole entire life, right? And it's just.
Parlor [:But we have. But the kind of. On the flip side of that, you know, you get those old portraits and all that stuff, and people love those. And we like to call them instant cousins because you put them on your wall and who are those? Oh, they're instant cousins.
Vanessa Hankins [:I was gonna say my mother in law will get a big kick out of that because she. In her bathroom, she's always had these creepy photos from clubs. Back in the day, like when they would go into dance halls and decorate and it'd be like this huge just auditorium full of all these members. And they're all just like creepily looking at the photo. Because back then they did the formal photos and she had like three or four of those on her bathroom wall. And we always talked about how creepy it was to go in the bathroom and just be stared at by all these people, the corps of engineers or whatever random party that was being thrown. And then of course, my husband, when he redoes his bathroom downstairs with his bathroom, he has the creepy photos in there.
Parlor [:Oh, nice.
Jason [:The first time I ever went in there, he was like, yeah, check these out.
Vanessa Hankins [:Oh, he's so proud of him. So proud of him.
Jason [:It was the funniest thing. There is just auditoriums of people staring at you and you're like, okay, here we go with a brand new bathroom.
Vanessa Hankins [:Instant cousins.
Parlor [:Instant cousins.
Jason [:That's got the whole family down there.
Parlor [:But it's so neat too, of like, you know, you know, families are nuts. You know, everybody has a story. We've all got plenty. But you know, when you get some families, it's just like, you might have somebody take over and take everything and, you know, but the members who are like, I didn't get anything I didn't want, you know, and they'll come in and be like, do you have the yearbook of this school between these ages? And be like, my dad's in this. My grandma's in this.
Jason [:There's nothing like that feeling.
Parlor [:Right? Like, and they can find a connection to their family with something that we have. Like, that's just amazing to me.
Jason [:What a heartfelt part, too. Let me ask, is there any, like, I don't know, Holy grail item that you all are still hunting for? You're hunting for.
Parlor [:Oh, gosh.
Jason [:And have you ever came close to finding it?
Parlor [:Well, you never know if you're close to finding it. You know, you don't know.
Jason [:Somebody might sell it, you, oh, my God, we found it. And then, boom, you get there, like, sorry, it's gone.
Parlor [:Well, here's the thing that I don't, like. Let's just be honest. I don't have time to go through that shop every day. Right. You know, we've got all those vendors, and they're constantly. I mean, it is changing literally every day.
Jason [:Right?
Parlor [:So they're coming in the back door, and they're stocking their booths. I don't see what's in there. So then when customers bring up items, and I'm like, where'd you get that from?
Jason [:Yeah, that's nice.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah, that's really cool.
Parlor [:That was only five bucks. Like, are you kidding me?
Vanessa Hankins [:Right?
Parlor [:And so, I mean, I constantly have a little bit of that, you know, I missed out on. And I'm in the store, and I mean, personally, you know, I collect Jade, and I.
Jason [:My daughter does, too. Her name is Jade in Italian.
Parlor [:Oh, I love that.
Jason [:Yeah, but she loves it.
Parlor [:Let's just also, let's say I collected Jade before Jade was a thing, before Pioneer Woman came out, while everybody else started doing it. I'm the OG Jade collector over here. So, I mean, I don't know. There's. It's funny because people will say to mom, especially, like, your house must be. You know, just. You must take this stuff home. Mom's like, I don't take anything home.
Parlor [:You know? Well, and I think mom loves the way her house is, and so I get that. And so it's kind of like there's no piece that comes in that she's just like.
Vanessa Hankins [:She's done that her whole life. She's already. She found those pieces years ago.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:I mean, that make her. That bring her that joy.
Parlor [:Right? So. But she. She. One of our online sales back when it was like a horrible storm, and I want to say Covid was going on. I can't remember, but she did want out of her house and then said that they were gonna. Like, she was gonna go through after and show around the house. And, like, you know, buddy, we had a lot of viewers wanting to see inside, but, you know, and. But that she went there and was just like, oh, here's my living room.
Parlor [:Here's this. And showed everything going on in there. But every now and then, there'll be some random piece that comes in, and it'll be some, like, a cutesy little duck or a cute little rag or something. Like, they just make me smile. I just want him on my porch, you know? But I'm over here, like, every day I pull in, I'm like, hey, guys, I've got my car loaded. Can you go get this stuff out of my car so I can bring it in here to sell? And then by the time I leave, I'm like, hey, guys, do you care to take all this stuff and load it? Cause I pretty much bring it and take out all the time. I'm constantly changing out. So as far as my whole grill pieces, I don't know.
Parlor [:I mean, I love. There's, like, head bases. That's a thing of mine that I feel like is a. But as far as, like, with our customers, it's an everyday thing. I mean, it's the. This album has been the album that I've been looking for, like, for years. You know, you've got it for 10 bucks and, you know, or this is the piece I fit, you know, I mean, so they go through that quite frequently. And, you know, and I feel like a broken record saying, well, it changes all the time.
Parlor [:Come, you know, come back and see us. But it literally is every.
Jason [:That's the best marketing, too. It's gonna change all the time. Keep coming back, right?
Parlor [:And you don't know what's coming in there. I mean, you literally. It's like. And I joke because I'll say, mom, I need this. I'm looking for this. And she'll say, okay. And I swear to you, I will look for it for months. And if I end up buying it, it will come in that next week.
Parlor [:Never fails.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Parlor [:I'm like, oh, okay. But if you wait long enough, yeah, it'll come in.
Jason [:I love that.
Vanessa Hankins [:So this kind of. This question kind of goes along with that. Have you ever had something in your shop that sparked a big, like, I remember that from my childhood moment for you, or even customers that they were like, I had to have it because, you know, like, you said, the little figurine like this. It was on my grandparents table.
Parlor [:Yeah. I mean that's like a daily thing. I mean it is crazy to. And I love when people share the stories with us. I feel like that's one of our big things is with the cashiers. I'm always like, okay, you know, Mom's always like, you have to greet the customers. You have to greet the customers. You know when you come in, they're fantastic about that.
Parlor [:We try. I feel like almost like that. Welcome to Moe's. Like, it's like, welcome to Sue's. I love it, man.
Vanessa Hankins [:I love it. And that's why I love it.
Parlor [:I know exactly what you're talking about.
Vanessa Hankins [:Welcome to Mo's.
Parlor [:Welcome to Mo. Welcome to Sue. Like we've kind of stolen that or something. But. And it's. And we even have Luke as one of our cashiers and he waves. That's like his thing is he always waves to Everybody. Well, my two year old, when he was a little about 18 months or so, he kept watching Luke wave and, and he would say, welcome to Seuss.
Parlor [:Welcome to SEUSS. So my 2 year old would just put his hand up and go, hi Suze. Hi Seuss. It was the sweetest thing. But I don't know, I feel like, you know, we try to always talk to everybody and you know, and when they're bringing up stuff, I'm always like, that is so cute. What are you doing with this? What's going. You know, and we get those stories. Yeah, it's an everyday thing of somebody saying, you know, this is the piece, this is this, this is, you know, or I'm getting ready to redo this.
Parlor [:And we've been looking for these everywhere and you know, or these are on etsy for like $400 and we found it here for 10 bucks. You know, that kind of thing.
Vanessa Hankins [:Now do you ever. This is kind of random. Do you ever get those like moments in your gut where you're like, ugh, like when someone comes in and says, oh, we're redoing it, we're painting it baby blue.
Parlor [:My husband would. I kind of like paint and furniture.
Vanessa Hankins [:I like some of it, but some of it, I'm like, oh my God, that was in such great shape. Why did you do that?
Parlor [:Yeah. So we go through that battle of. I was like, you know, oh, I can paint it. He's like, you don't paint furniture.
Vanessa Hankins [:Oh, my husband do not paint furniture.
Parlor [:But we have a lot of. I mean, our house, as you can imagine, is very mismatched of furniture. Things. And, you know, I pined over this piece. Oh, my gosh. This lady had this big hutch, and we. On Easter, we were dead. And I told you, Mom, I said, just shut the store down.
Parlor [:And. And I was gonna bring them Easter dinner when everything got done. And she's like, I can't. I posted that we were gonna be open. And I was like, guess who owns it? Who's Drunk Sue's junk? Like, let's close it down. You're dead. You're costing us more money staying open than you are. You know, nobody's coming in.
Parlor [:It's a holiday. And I'm like, just post on Facebook, Put it on the door, Tell them we're sorry. And she's like, but you're supposed to bring us food. And I'm like, bring the cashiers that I was bringing food to bring them to my house. Yeah, they won't come to your house. I'm like, well, why wouldn't they? So I put me on speakerphone. So she's like, would you all go to parlors if we close the store down for Easter dinner? And they were like, yeah, yeah, absolutely. So she loaded the car up with the cashier.
Parlor [:She brought it to my house.
Vanessa Hankins [:I love it.
Parlor [:You know? And I'm sitting there at Easter, and I'm like, okay, y' all see this dining room? Don't you think that piece in so and so's booth will look so good right here? And they were all like, oh, yeah, I would totally look good there. So you had to have it. I had to have it, but I couldn't. I was. I'm cheap and I couldn't pay. She had, like, $500 on it.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Parlor [:And I was just like. So then when we had our anniversary sale, everybody had discounts on their booths. And we do that. You know, obviously, we do anniversaries once a year, and then we do a fall fest, so we do, like, big discounts. All the vendors are like, I'll do 20% off my booth. Do 30, do 50, do 75.
Vanessa Hankins [:I mean, let's use some product. Yeah.
Parlor [:Like, they do amazing deals. So she was like, we'll do, like, 25% off. Well, she had already lowered it down a little bit, so I was like, oh, my gosh. You might know. This is it. And so I was like, I'm taking that cabinet. So I bought the cabinet. The next day, somebody came in and was like, oh, I'm buying that cabinet.
Parlor [:And it sat there for months. And she's like, but I know what I'm gonna do with it. I know where it's gonna go. I'm like, sorry, girl. It's going to my house. So, of course, I had to. I had to paint, repaint my dining room, make everything match for this piece, you know, so, you know, there's one of my holy grail pieces that we've. That we've had that I pond over, but I just.
Parlor [:I feel like everybody has those. Like, we're gonna redo this piece and do that. And I'm like, okay. And then some people bring in things that have been painted. I'm like, why did you paint that? Why did you.
Vanessa Hankins [:Certain things just don't need the paint.
Parlor [:Yeah, certain.
Vanessa Hankins [:Just wash it real good, soak it down, get out, you know, and then give it some life.
Parlor [:Yeah. But, you know, but at the same time, we've got two or three vendors who do flip a lot of pieces and repaint and do. And it looks so good. And I'm like, I would have never picked that color. I would have never drank that way. And it looks so good. I need it. I think I need a bigger house.
Vanessa Hankins [:I was gonna say there's one booth that's, like, you come in the store and you go, right. It's in the back, right corner. And she usually has, like, the cutest. She does, like, candles and tarts, too. Like, a little amount of them.
Parlor [:Yeah. Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:But she always has really cute painted pieces.
Parlor [:Yeah, always. Yes. Yes. I'm a big fan of all. Well, I'm a fan of all of this, really.
Vanessa Hankins [:I get it.
Parlor [:I shop a lot more than mom does.
Jason [:What role do you think stores like yours play in preserving local history and culture?
Parlor [:I mean, I can't think of any other types of stores that really. I mean, we've got the museums and things that preserve it, but as far as selling items, we're kind of it.
Jason [:That's it.
Parlor [:Yeah. You know, I mean, not. Not us exclusively, but I'm just saying, like, those types of. Yeah. Like the antique shops and the.
Jason [:That's why I love them.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Jason [:You're preserving history all the time. And let's be honest. You're getting to take a piece of history home.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Jason [:Not only do you find this piece, but you're like, hey, like you said, Stone and Thomas or whatever, you're like, oh, my God, that's my childhood. I remember I had to have this.
Parlor [:Grandma used to work there.
Jason [:It ties everything in. So it's such a. Just a cool thing that you all get to be a part of that. I Think.
Parlor [:I think it's a. It's amazing. And I just. I still. Again, broken record. It's just where it changes so much. I get so. Just in awe of where people get the stuff and how that, you know, because a lot of.
Parlor [:A lot of our vendors will go to yard sales and go to estate sales and go to stuff. So all the items they're bringing in are local pieces. So they have, you know, and then it's like they'll bring in furniture, and as they're cleaning them, they're like, oh, that's stamped. Huntington, West Virginia. Oh, that. Stamped from this, you know, cabinet shop in Ashland.
Vanessa Hankins [:Right.
Parlor [:You know, and so it's just a little chunk of that history that gets to be part of your everyday life. It's amazing.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah, absolutely. So what's the strangest or funniest thing that has ever come through Yalls doors?
Parlor [:Oh, my gosh. Do people. Are they.
Jason [:We've had some conversations about some people.
Vanessa Hankins [:People count. People count.
Parlor [:We've had a few doozies. Jason's over here. Shaking your head. His head. It was just.
Vanessa Hankins [:Well, when you deal with community for a living, like, you come across some people.
Parlor [:Yeah, yeah. I would say people. Oh, like the weirdest thing that's come through.
Vanessa Hankins [:So, for example, and this is. If you got children in the car or something, turn it down. Listen to this part in a minute after. But like. So my husband at one point was cleaning. He worked over at the St. James Building and was cleaning it out. He was a naked man.
Vanessa Hankins [:And the gentleman who owned the apartment that we're moving paid my husband. This is when we were much younger, college age, paid him and a few of his buddies to pack up this apartment and move them. So they're packing up things and they've got a room full of things that they're getting rid of, you know, that's going to Goodwill. My husband ends up finding adult toys. Oh, nice adult toys. And he's like, we can't show up and give these to Goodwill. Like, what do we do with them? And the couple insisted that they go to Goodwill in Sisler. And I was like, I think I'd find a new job.
Vanessa Hankins [:Anything, like, crazy that he came in.
Parlor [:I mean, we've had some photos that we. Oh, I'm sure we've seen. Oh, gosh, crazy things. You know, something that comes to mind is we found photos from Huntington's. They were like the original mug shots, and they were. A lot of them were from children that were arrested. And then on the backs of them it would. It was all handwritten on what their crimes were, what they.
Parlor [:What their sentences were, and it was nuts to see.
Jason [:Bunch of hooligans.
Parlor [:But it would be crazy. And it would just be like, you know, this man was arrested on suspicion.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yes. Like, yes.
Parlor [:Okay. Okay.
Vanessa Hankins [:That's bad. Okay.
Parlor [:But those. Those have been. And we obviously didn't sell those. We've kept those as one of the, like, we'll show you something cool kind of thing. Yeah, come on in. We'll show them to you. But that's. That's one of those, like, weird.
Parlor [:Just. And I think it's because of some of the crimes that were committed, and then the sentences that went with them weren't insane.
Vanessa Hankins [:I could only imagine.
Parlor [:Yeah. And just like, today, like, it would never fly.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah, exactly.
Parlor [:Like, this kid, you know, he's up for theft and he's like 13, but it's his fifth offense or something. Or it's like, you know what I mean?
Vanessa Hankins [:Something crazy.
Parlor [:Yeah, that was definitely like an odd, odd thing. We try to keep it very family friendly in there. We have, you know, rules about profanity and anything that odd being sold. So nothing too crazy, but that's a little odd piece of history we have found.
Vanessa Hankins [:I think that's a really cool one.
Jason [:That is good. Yeah. So let me ask you, what's next for Sue's junk? You know, obviously, we've talked a little bit about some expansion, special events, projects in the works, anything like that.
Parlor [:Did my mom pay you to ask that question?
Jason [:No, but I do like your mom. So this is working out good. You're welcome.
Parlor [:She's constant, like, what are we doing now? What are we doing now? I'm just like, girlfriend, that's the life of a hustler.
Jason [:It is.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Jason [:We conquered that. Let's go to the next day. Now we gotta keep going.
Parlor [:Yeah, but guess who has to plan and do all these projects?
Jason [:She's the mental grind. And you're like, okay, now I gotta do this, right?
Parlor [:I'm over here. Like, okay, sure, I'll take care of all of the things.
Jason [:I'll make the upstairs happen. Mom. Okay.
Parlor [:Well, she's. I don't know. She wants to expand upstairs. I do not.
Vanessa Hankins [:I've never seen the upstairs.
Parlor [:You're probably not ever going to. If I have my way, just dream about it.
Jason [:It's probably not gonna happen.
Vanessa Hankins [:We looked at it for a friend of mine and myself when it was setting there before it got messed up the way that it did. We were. We had these big Dreams of it being a community center for Westmoreland. Oh, yeah, we really didn't have one. We don't have one for younger kids. We had, like, the teen center, but we didn't have, like, an actual community center. And we were like, oh, yeah, the offices could be upstairs. Downstairs could be, like, the basketball courts and all, you know, because it's got the high ceiling.
Parlor [:Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:And we just had these big dreams. So, like, I've always in my head, like, what does the top look like?
Parlor [:Like, will you come in? I'll give you a private tour of the top. Sorry we burst your bubble on that community center. And I will. I will tell you, it's never gonna work out. I'll tell you this funny story with. You know, when we were in there working, you know, there were obviously a lot of rumors, like, what's going in there? You know, so of course we go over to Camden for lunch like we did every day, because if, you know, you know. Yeah, that's for sure. So I'm standing in line, and these two women are in front of me talking.
Parlor [:And this lady's like, I hear there's gonna be a junk store coming in at the old. And the other lady goes, well, I think I'm really excited about it. And that lady said, no. She's like, we need a grocery store in Westmoreland. We need. And I'm just over there.
Vanessa Hankins [:We know a grocery store doesn't work there. We know that.
Parlor [:Right. Like, it tried and failed several times. Like, it needs something that would work. And so, you know, of course I kept my mouth shut, but it was just hilarious listening to the gossip about what's going on, what's gonna happen. And that lady was just like, it's gonna be so awful. It's gonna be. Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:You know, so this is a random question for you, Jason. At the time, you were probably, like, thinking about or getting ready to run.
Jason [:Yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:You probably knew prior that you were getting ready to make the decision. What kind of crazy rumors did you hear about the location? I heard at one point that it was gonna be a gentleman's club.
Parlor [:Oh, nice. Maybe that could be what the upstairs is. Hey.
Jason [:Dual project.
Vanessa Hankins [:The rumor mill went crazy. Like, it really did.
Jason [:Yeah, there was a lot of rumors. Now, I did hear that Costco actually was interested well before you all at one point, and that the city basically was like, I don't think it's a good fit.
Parlor [:It would never want to work.
Jason [:Right. I mean, it just. And it needed so much work, as you all know. But the rumors were unbelievable.
Parlor [:They really were.
Vanessa Hankins [:And people were big mad, like you said, about a junk store, you know, with gun. But you either have people that love junking or you have people that just have no desire. And they're just like, oh, that's. That's total. You're trash. Yeah, well, like, why do you want other people's things?
Parlor [:I had a lady that came in this week and she said it was hilarious. She walked up and she said, I just want to let you know this is my first time in here and I will be back. My boyfriend lives down the street from here, and he said that his exact girlfriend didn't care for this place, but she likes primitives. And I obviously knew she didn't have any taste, so why did I listen to them? And she was like, oh, gosh. She said, I will be back. I love this place. I was, like, saying it. So.
Parlor [:Okay.
Vanessa Hankins [:That's beautiful. I love that. I love when people show their authentic selves in that way when, like, they're perfect, straight strangers. Because you're like, you know what? You just walked upon me and trusted me to be you and not try to sugarcoat it.
Parlor [:I love that.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah, that's really awesome.
Parlor [:Well, and I, you know, and I've. That's what everybody will come up and say. Hey, when Seuss 2.0 come in. And I'm just like, shut your mouth. No.
Vanessa Hankins [:You know, you guys can move down to those little storefronts by the cell phone store, Candle Corner.
Jason [:Be right across the street. It's perfect.
Vanessa Hankins [:There you go, Sue.
Parlor [:I'm giving her a face right now.
Jason [:I'm still a fan of the upstairs. I'm just saying.
Vanessa Hankins [:That is a cool idea.
Parlor [:No, no, I want to ask you.
Jason [:There's a basement there too, correct?
Parlor [:No.
Jason [:Oh, man. If only.
Parlor [:If only.
Jason [:No, they could have that, too. Another expansion.
Parlor [:No Fruit.
Jason [:I know. Has one. I was hoping you all did.
Parlor [:Yeah. Has a basement.
Jason [:Oh, yeah.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah. About the size of the whole store.
Jason [:Yeah, it's big. Really large place.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah, it's a very big location. I've been all over that one, too. So I guess, you know, we've been talking for. You don't even want to know how long. About 55 minutes.
Jason [:Okay.
Parlor [:Sorry.
Jason [:This is great.
Vanessa Hankins [:It's wonderful. It's wonderful. But we try to keep it under an hour if we can, so that people can get their episodes in. So with that, where can folks find you online, in person? What should they expect when they walk through the door?
Parlor [:Oh, boy. So we're at 459 Camden Road. We're in the old shoppers value beside the old fruit. We're open seven days a week, eight to six every day, except for Mondays and Tuesdays. Those are short days. That's 12 to 5. We do that because we have the online sales on Monday and that's on Facebook. It's six o' clock every Monday.
Parlor [:And it's super fun, super fast. It's about an hour long.
Vanessa Hankins [:She does not mess around.
Parlor [:She's done Tom's money. Yeah. And it's super fun. It's like she holds up an item, she says, hey, this is item number two. It's a Stanley cup for this bunch. You know what I mean? Like, whatever it is. And there's no bidding, so it goes super fast. You just type in like, if you want number two, you put two, and then it goes by whoever comes through first on our side.
Parlor [:So. And then I'll put you down at the, the winner. And then at the end of it, she draws a number out and we do several drawings at the end. So if, you know, she picks out 49 and you were the winner on 49, then you win like a $50 gift card to the store or T shirts or so, you know, people, people live for the sale. And it's so awesome because every Monday it's, hey, watching from North Carolina, hey, watching from Florida, hey, watching from England. Hey, watching from, like, that's amazing. Literally, it's, it's, it's all over. When people travel, they'll be like, it's my suit time.
Parlor [:And people will get mad, like, you know, like, oh, my. My granddaughter wanted T shirts. We do have T shirts. It's Sue's time. Six o'. Clock.
Jason [:There you go.
Parlor [:But you know, every Monday at 6, it'll be like, you know, my granddaughter wanted to come over and I'm like, no, it's just time for Sue. I can't, I can't keep the grandkids. You know, it's. It's their hour. So. But we do that on Mondays at six when you come in the store. We also, like I said, we do the outside sales Wednesday through Sunday. So that's always differing, but always Wednesday and Saturdays are the hot days, especially if the weather is permitting.
Parlor [:If it's raining, not as much, but weather's good. Those are the days to come quick.
Vanessa Hankins [:So if you want, if you're there trying to get like the it thing and you want to be there before them or before everybody else, you need to get there early.
Parlor [:Oh, yeah. And it's it's just always so different what people have one day to the next. And you know, I'm a big fan of. I don't know if you know this, but used things. And so like when my kids are going to a next size of clothes or something, I'll go out there and they'll have like fill back for five bucks.
Vanessa Hankins [:Yeah.
Parlor [:Heck yeah. Let's do this. So that's always changing. But when you walk in, what should you expect? You should expect to stay there a while. I think a lot of people come in and they'll say, been in here for two hours and I haven't made it through half the store yet. I'm gonna have to come back tomorrow and go to the other side. I'm like, well, by the time you come back the next day, it'll all be different again. So just be prepared to wear your comfy shoes.
Parlor [:Be prepared to find some things that you never expected you were gonna find. Be prepared to just have some retail therapy if you need it. We have our. Thank you, Jesus. We have our air fix this year. That was the big struggle. The first year.
Jason [:Doors open and fans was a different one.
Parlor [:Those swamp cool, you know, but y' all stuck with us. I mean, but like I said, we. We didn't have. We didn't have the money. You know, we had to get open. We had to start until we could get going. And, you know, this has been a labor of love. And we didn't just have.
Parlor [:We weren't that, you know, conglomeration just to come in and just say, we're.
Vanessa Hankins [:So thankful that you guys took a risk on our community because you had lots of options. So we're. We're so thankful that you.
Jason [:Yeah, we're so glad to have you all.
Parlor [:I think it's a great location. I mean, where it's also four.
Vanessa Hankins [:It just needs somebody in it. Like, that was the problem. Everyone was upset that it was sitting empty and, you know, there was loiterers and people breaking in and all that. And I. And I get that, but it just needs a presence.
Parlor [:Well, and most of our vendors are.
Vanessa Hankins [:Everything had shut down around it too, right. So there was just no presence.
Parlor [:Most of our vendors are like local Westmoreland community members. So it's kind of like. And they. And they always get really defensive too, like if. And they'll tell us, like if somebody says something, they're like, that is my store and this is part of my business. And this is, you know, I mean, they're so prideful and I. Them, which we love that, you know, we've got such. We have amazing, amazing vendors.
Parlor [:I mean, like, there is not one person in there. Yeah. I mean, and our thing is kind of like, you know, we let you rent a shelf, see how you do, and we kind of vet you and make sure you're gonna be a good fit for the store, because we're just all about.
Vanessa Hankins [:Like, that's smart.
Parlor [:Because they.
Vanessa Hankins [:At another place, they don't do that. And I was a vendor there for a while, and they do not treat their vendors very well, and it was just an overall bad experience. I was on the wait list for you guys when I decided my mom had passed away, and I suddenly had all these things that I'm like, what do I do with them? You know, So I needed a booth or something like that to do it, because there was no way I was doing Facebook sales and, you know, all that.
Parlor [:Right.
Vanessa Hankins [:People and all the things. So that's wonderful. I think it's great that you guys do that, because even the person that's doing it may not know whether it's a good fit for them, because I didn't know what it was. I didn't know if I was gonna love it or hate it, you know?
Parlor [:And we get people that, you know, they'll bring their things in, and they're priced, like, so high, and we're just like, this is not gonna be a fit for you. Like, we don't want the stuff. We have a rule that if you don't make your rent for two consecutive months, you have to go. And we have. You know, we have a huge waiting list to get in there. And our thing is, like, we want to pay you. We don't want you paying us to make money, right? So if you're not making the money, there's a problem. Like, we need to go down to a smaller space, or we need to get the prices adjusted, or we, you know, we know, we work with you.
Vanessa Hankins [:That's a beautiful thing, because like I said in the other place, it's like, you get three sizes. You choose from. You take it or you leave it. And there is no conversation of maybe you need the smaller space. Maybe you can switch with so and so or, you know.
Parlor [:Yeah, there's.
Vanessa Hankins [:There's not that family feel. It's very corporate.
Parlor [:So, yeah, no, I'm. I feel like we need to give people a chance, you know, but sometimes, you know, people have personal things going on in their lives, and we understand, you know. You know, if you. You know, this is going on. Let's try to just. Let's go down smaller for a little bit, then we can try to move you back up when everything gets settled. Let's try to. You know, we try to work with everybody, but we have such an amazing group in there, and there's.
Parlor [:I mean, it's just the community of vendors and, like, the community of customers. It's. It's just amazing. It's just. It's been an awesome place to have it, and the community is. Has just been such a blessing for us just to be here. We're happy. We're glad you're happy.
Parlor [:Everything's good. Good.
Jason [:Well, we appreciate you very much. Thank you for coming on the show today. Always stop by anytime. Obviously, you and I talk all the time. If there's anything you need out of me, let me know. And Vanessa's right there in Westmoreland, too, so thank you again.
Parlor [:Thanks for having me. You're very welcome. You're welcome.
Vanessa Hankins [:All right, guys, we are out of here.
Jason [:Thank you.
Parlor [:Thanks for listening to the Tri State Time Machine. Brought to you by Alex R. White pllcudistractedriver.com if you have a memory you want Vanessa to talk more about, just send her an email@tstmail.com or post a comment on the Tri State Time Machine Facebook page. Did you like the episode? Be sure to share it with friends and family. It's the only way we can continue this fun work that we do. You can find a link in the show notes that you can use to share it, and be sure to let our sponsors know you like the podcast as well. Their contact information can be found in this episode's Show Notes.
