Tempe residents will soon wave goodbye to a store that reminded people of the days when a quart of milk was 10 cents and rotary phones were all the rage.
Those Were the Days! brought one couple's passion for antiques to Mill Avenue, but now, after 35 years, the store is closing its doors.
Owners Victor and Vicki Linoff said they decided to close their store in order to explore other opportunities.
"I'm ready to move on," Vicki Linoff said. "We have other projects. We also have good employees that sometimes want a day off."
The couple opened their first antique shop in Phoenix on Fifth Avenue in 1971 before opening Those Were the Days! in 1973. The Linoffs consolidated all of the stores' merchandise into the Tempe location, Victor said.
The Fifth Avenue store originally sold toy animals in a traditional antique store atmosphere, Vicki Linoff said. It was a time when antique sales in the Valley were booming, she added.
"It started as a personal interest in antiques and books, but the market was emerging in this region," Victor Linoff said. "That's when we saw a void that we could uniquely fill."
When the store opened, the market was considered a "do-it-yourself" market, Victor Linoff said. They would make 10 to 12 trips a year to buy hundreds of antiques to add to their inventory, he added.
Those Were the Days! was the Valley's first store to have a displayed setting of antiques and furniture, Victor Linoff said.
The owners would display the antiques so customers could get a sense of how the antiques would look in customers' home, he added.
Although the store is closing, retirement isn't the plan for the couple, Victor Linoff said.
The Linoffs plan to stay active in their industry and in the community by selling their items online, he said.
Victor Linoff said he is also hoping to devote more time to writing two in-process books.
"We've been at this for seven days a week for 35 years," he said. "It's much better to go out on top then to be forced out."
Luis Mesa, an interdisciplinary studies senior, said he can't believe the store is closing.
"They are a very unique place on Mill Avenue," Mesa said. "I don't know where to find another store like that anywhere."
He added that the store wasn't just about what customers bought when they were in the antique shop — it was more about what customers saw as they walked around the place, which was entertainment in itself.
Though the store is closing, life doesn't stop, Vicki Linoff said. She added that she is more ready for the move than her husband is, but she said they both will miss the customers they have had over the years who have become friends.
"We have met some very nice people that have been with us for 30 years," Vicki said. "Some people would just stop in to say, 'Hi.' "
