Saying goodbye to the iconic Milwaukee antique store American Estates after more than 50 years

MILWAUKEE — An iconic retailer within the coronary heart of Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood is closing. The vintage retailer American Estates is shutting its doorways for good after greater than 50 years of service alongside Kinnickinnic Avenue.

“It actually doesn’t hassle me. The shop’s been good to me,” Leonard Budney, the shop proprietor mentioned.

Budney, who’s now 90, opened American Estates at 2131 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in 1970. He mentioned famed Marquette males’s basketball coach Al McGuire preferred to return within the retailer.

“He use to return in right here and play playing cards with my brother.”

The vintage retailer bought previous magazines, stained glass home windows, data, and extra. At one level, he even had Milwaukee enterprise mogul John Plankinton’s previous elevator. He bought that for round $15,000 he mentioned.

Nevertheless, after hundreds of gross sales, now the ultimate prospects are strolling out the door.

“No, I’m not unhappy about it,” Budney mentioned. “Effectively, as a result of I met a variety of good folks, and it supported me and my household.”

James Groh

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Budney obtained his begin amassing antiques whereas working alongside house demolition crews. If a constructing was being taken down, he’d be there to gather any left-behind items. He additionally went door-to-door throughout town in the hunt for something he may get his arms on.

“I went door-to-door asking folks if they’d something of their basement or attic or storage that they needed to promote,” he mentioned.

Of all of the issues he purchased, none may be extra particular and attention-grabbing than his assortment of George Zieglar Firm chocolate molds. The corporate bought chocolate bars till 1972. That is when Budney approached the corporate asking if he may purchase their chocolate molds of Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Statue of Liberty, owls, penguins, flowers, and another form you would think about. At first, they mentioned no. However with somewhat persistence, he succeeded. He purchased all of their molds for $400.

From that second on, he was consumed with making his previous molds. As a substitute of utilizing chocolate, he poured hydrostone, a plaster-like concrete typically utilized in do-it-yourself tasks.

“On daily basis I’d come right here and earlier than I did the rest I made some,” he mentioned.

There are dozens of packing containers full of lots of if not hundreds of molds that he by no means bought.

James Groh

“He knew what he needed to do with them was make – as a substitute of make sweet molds out of it, (he needed to) make the little ceramic items out of it,” his daughter Tammy Hablewitz mentioned.

Hablewitz helps her dad with the ultimate gross sales.

“However the different half is, yea, it is somewhat bit unhappy too while you grew up right here and you’ve got all of the reminiscences right here, and all of the stuff that you simply did down right here. It is somewhat laborious to see it going away, . However I assume, what would you say, bittersweet, is what I might say,” Hablewitz mentioned.

Proper now, all gross sales on the retailer are in money. If you wish to go to the shop another time, you higher act quick. The shop’s shares are rapidly depleting.

Round 1972, Budney purchased a lot of Ziegler’s remaining merchandise because it closed down. Now, in 2023 as Budney is closing his enterprise so too are folks shopping for the final of his inventory.

Doorways can be formally closed by the tip of April.

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