Former restaurant home to area antiques

By Lauren Radomski (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, June 23, 2008

When Merilyn Mau and Cathy Neuman were looking to move their antiques business out of the Moorhead Center Mall, they had specific characteristics in mind for their new location.

“We were really looking for parking, visibility, easy access and our preference always was if we could have Interstate access — that would be ideal,” Neuman said.

Mau and Neuman found those qualities in the former Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant off of Interstate 94 in Fergus Falls. The home of several businesses since the restaurant’s closing, the former KFC now houses Exit 55 Antiques — and the owners couldn’t be happier.

Mau and Neuman are both retired teachers who say their love of antiques dates back to childhood.

“I just appreciate the quality and the workmanship of the past,” Neuman said. “And the value. When you buy something that’s made sturdily (in the past) it lasts longer than a lot of things these days.”

Not to mention the long-term benefit to the environment.

“Antiquing is really the ultimate in recycling,” Neuman said.

Mau and Neuman first met as dealers at an antiques shop in Alexandria several years ago. After the store closed, the two rented space at the Moorhead Center Mall before deciding to move closer to their homes in Fergus Falls and Ashby. They credit John Olson at Century 21 with finding the building they now call home.

“We think the variety has turned out to be really good,” Mau said of the store’s selection. “There’s something for everybody.”

That variety is the result of 13 different dealers, offering everything from books to brooches, typewriters to tablespoons. All of the dealers — and even the owners’ husbands — rotate shifts at the store, keeping them in touch with the kinds of items collectors are looking for, Neuman said.

Dealers’ wares may come from any number of places, including auctions, estate sales, buying trips and the occasional person who comes in with something to simply give away. Mau and Neuman say they try to stay away from the kinds of things a person would find at a craft fair or thrift store. These kinds of places are well and good, they say, but Exit 55 is specifically about antiques.

Exit 55 Antiques is located off of County Highway 1 along Interstate 94. Business hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.