Gristmill Antiques in Beach City is in a former feed mill. (Credit: Ken Drenten)

By Ken Drenten

Antique malls and shops are like treasure troves. You never know what you’ll find in one, and you will almost always find something that reminds you of your childhood, or something that you or someone you knew had once upon a time.

I have spent quite a bit of time (and money) in antique malls over the years, building up a number of collections like root beer mugs and soda bottles, coins, pocketknives, 1960s Matchbox and Hot Wheels diecast cars, record albums from the 1960s-70s, old hardback books, advertising signs, postcards, matchbooks and other ephemera, and quite a few other items that have struck my fancy at one time or another.

Dusty Tires now lists antique malls and shops.

Ohio’s antique malls were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic of 2020-2021, since many people could not (or chose not to) go to brick-and-mortar businesses and instead went online to feed their collecting bug. I’ve done the same, but there’s nothing like the thrill of the chase when it’s done in person. There is just not as much excitement in clicking a mouse button and adding an item to your cart. It’s really serendipitious to find something you’ve been looking for sitting in a vendor’s space waiting for you to pick It up.

Since that low point, antique malls and shops have been rebounding. They are mostly small businesses, and actually they are much more than that since malls rent spaces to vendors to sell their wares. An antique mall might represent from 30 to hundreds of individual entrepreneurs.

Many antique malls are located in small towns, where you can also find great restaurants, ice cream shops, coffee shops, book stores, brewpubs and wineries nearby.

Where are the best towns for antiquing in Ohio? For volume, Springfield has got to be number one because of several huge malls located there as well as the monthly Springfield Antiques Show & Flea Market held at the Clark County Fairgrounds. Waynesville and Mount Victory both are historic villages and fertile grounds for antiquing with many shops in both towns. Zanesville, Norwich and Cambridge along US 40 are also great places to visit. Berlin in Amish Country has several large antique malls located close together.

So if you have never ventured into an antique mall or shop, you’re in for a treat. If it’s been awhile, it’s time to come back and have fun exploring again. Dusty Tires now lists a number of malls and shops in Ohio, but this is by no means a complete list. If you visit one not on the list, let me know and I’ll add it!

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Ken Drenten is creator and manager of Dusty-Tires.com, a travel blog for out-of-the-ordinary places in Ohio.

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