4A ❚ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2019 ❚ APPEAL TRIBUNE
Life in the Valley
Dill
ENGELBERG ANTIKS
FOR SALE
Owner of downtown antique mall to retire
Jonathan Bach
Salem Statesman Journal
USA TODAY NETWORK
P
op quiz: Where in
Salem can you
buy an old Hamil-
ton watch, a vinyl
album
Walsh’s
of
Joe
“So
What” and a political button for
the late Secretary of State Norma
Paulus all in one trip?
Answer: Engelberg Antiks.
Henri Dill, the shop’s owner, wants a
new owner to keep the doors open as
she retires. The 75-year-old is selling
Engelberg Antiks for $100,000 after 35
years in business.
“I’m tired,” Dill said from behind the
front counter. “I can’t do as much as I
always did, and that’s probably the
worst thing about old age is your mind
is still a little girl. The body’s not.”
About 50 vendors sell their wares
through Engelberg Antiks at 148 Liberty
St. NE. Vendors pay a monthly fee and
part of their gross sales to sell items in-
side the mall. That’s how Engelberg An-
tiks makes money.
The $100,000 price includes rights to
the Engelberg Antiks name and an esti-
mated $150,000 worth of Dill’s inven-
tory, such as jewelry, glassware and
pottery.
The buyer also would take over the
lease with the building’s owner. Dill
said the lease is $4,675 a month and ex-
pires in about two years.
The business first opened in Mt. An-
gel in 1984. The name means Angel
Mountain Antiques in German. Dill
opened the second location, in Salem,
six months later. The Salem store cov-
ers approximately 14,000 square feet
Customers browse at Engelberg Antiks, a downtown Salem antique mall, on Nov. 8. After decades as matriarch of the
business, the owner Henri Dill has decided to sell the property. MADELEINE COOK / STATESMAN JOURNAL
over two floors. The Mt. Angel spot be-
came the Glockenspiel Restaurant and
Pub, also owned by the Dill family.
Many people have proposed and had
their first dates at the store, said Man-
ager Jeff Steele. One woman who has
come to the shop since it first opened
recently bought a ring, he said.
Jewelry, records and clothing top the
list of most popular products right now,
Steele said, as well as “oddities” cus-
tomers don’t see all the time, such as
the political buttons.
Willamette University students have
become a favorite of Dill’s. “They are the
nicest ... They love it. Then they bring
their parents when they come,” she
said. “And it’s pretty sad when they
graduate and leave.”
Steele, who has worked at the store
for a decade, said he isn’t sure of his
next move after Engelberg Antiks sells.
It depends on who buys the place, he
said.
Brokering the sale is Joshua Kay of
First Commercial Real Estate Services
in Salem, who called the antique mall a
“landmark.”
Building owner Vien To, who runs
Vouture Designer Bridal Boutique next
door, is hopeful someone will take over
Engelberg Antiks. The business gets
plenty of foot traffic, she said.
Dill said: “It’s just been here too long
to close it.”
Contact reporter Jonathan Bach by
email at jbach@statesmanjournal.com
or by phone at 503-399-6714. Follow him
on Twitter at @jonathanmbach.