Owner of Antique City Mall
Art Adkins, owner of Antique City Mall, explains the diverse artifacts that decorate the warehouse shelves as he sifts through the store, periodically stopping at different booths.
April 25, 2023 | Compiled by Bryce Brown | Photos by Gabriel Velasquez Neira
“I’ve always liked antiques, and my wife likes them, too.
I’m actually a retired police officer. I spent 34 years in law enforcement, and when I got out of law enforcement, [I knew] I’d always wanted to be an auctioneer.
So I got my auctioneer license and started messing with antiques.
We had a booth here in the mall we’re in now, and then lightning hit the building. Half of it burned down. When the owner built it back, he asked me if I would lease it from him. I did, and the business has taken off. It’s been one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever done in my life.
There’s a lot of similarities [between policing and owning an antique store], believe it or not, because you get to play detective in here every day. You’re always coming across something that you’re trying to find the history on, something you’re trying to look up. A piece that will befuddle you until you can figure out what it is.
I do a show for [WCJB] TV20 every Tuesday at 4:30; it’s called North Central Florida Treasures. I introduce an antique, and they call me the ‘Antique Detective.’
Adkins examines a sword set to be auctioned off. With his vast knowledge, he determines the weapon is an épée, a type of fencing sword.
There’s so much in here, everything from furniture to ceramics to collectibles to old primitive tools. We sell a tremendous amount of artwork here, too. There’s always something popping up here that you haven’t seen before.
We do two auctions a month, in addition to running the 20,000 square foot antique mall. Because we’re so close to I-75, we get a lot of people in here. It’s not uncommon for us to ship to Australia, New Zealand, Canada — we ship everywhere.
I’m very happy that [young people] are beginning to find a love for antiques again. There was a lot of concern about that with people my age and older, that the young generation wouldn’t pick up the torch, but that’s not the case.
A lot of young couples are now outfitting their homes with our antiques. If I don’t have the antique they’re looking for, like a particular bedroom set, they can fill out a wish list. We notify our dealers, and we go out looking for it. That has been one of the most rewarding things we’ve seen happening here.
We call it ‘saving the past for the future’ in Antique City Mall. That’s our slogan.
I hope somebody picks the torch up if we do decide to leave and get out of [the business]. [But] that’s the thing about antiques. You never fully get out of it. Even if I didn’t have the mall, we’d be out shopping for antiques.”