By Bill Parry
Stray Vintage, the little store at 48-09 Skillman Ave. in Sunnyside Gardens, has become a staple with shoppers looking for classic furniture, refinished jewelry, vintage barware, knickknacks and vinyl records.
When the owners took over the vacant space in 2006, they were not even sure what kind of store it would be.
“We didn’t plan on getting into the vintage business,” Dan Glasser said. “We were just wandering around the neighborhood when we discovered the shop. We just fell in love with it and signed the lease before we figured out what we’d do with it.”
Dan and his wife Tara were living in upstate New Paltz, where the couple graduated from college.
“Tara got a job in film and was commuting here, that’s what drew us to this part of Queens,” Glasser said, adding that he had grown up in Breezy Point and still has family living there.
“We always liked to find bargains at flea markets and antique dealers, so we figured out a way to make something work,” Tara said.
And they have found that residents share their passion for vintage merchandise.
“We do enough business that we always cover the rent,” Dan said. “When we have a good month, it’s a great month.”
But it helps that his wife kept working.
“It helps that I have a job with health benefits, that’s the key,” Tara said.
The Glassers believe they can do better at publicizing Stray Vintage through social media.
“We have a very active Facebook page and we use Word Press, but we’re still working on our website,” Dan said.
They have gotten involved in the local business community in recent years, joining the Skillman Project, an association of businesses, mostly pubs and restaurants. Dan also joined the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce.
“There’s still more that we want to do, but we hope the neighborhood appreciates how amenable we are for getting specific things requested by our customers,” Dan said.
They have even furnished some of their regulars’ entire apartments in Sunnyside Gardens.
“We depend on our regular customers and we shop with this neighborhood in mind because it is so distinctive,” Tara said. “But every now and again some people from Manhattan discover us when they take sightseeing walks about the gardens.”
The best find they ever discovered?
“That was a 1958 baby pram in exquisite condition, it was the Cadillac of baby carriages,” Dan said.
The strangest thing they ever found?
“That would have been a violet-ray light therapy gadget that heals sore joints,” Dan said.
Tara even remembered the customer who bought it.
“We sold it to some guy in Astoria who still has it in his collection of weird things,” she said.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
