Christy Klein
A manual Royal typewriter and other collectibles.
Odana Antiques is set to close its doors on Sept. 30 after 16 years but Atomic Antiques has already stepped in to fill the void. Atomic opened at 4546 Verona Road Aug. 1 and hosted a grand opening celebration Aug. 20-21 with tarot card readers and a grill-out.
While this is their first brick and mortar venture, owners Jennifer and Bob Richardson are familiar with the world of antiques. Jennifer’s parents, who are helping them open and run the store, owned an antique store in LaCrosse when she was growing up, and Jennifer worked as a dealer with a booth at Odana Antiques for the last 16 years. When they learned Odana would be closing, the Richardsons decided to open a store themselves.
After retiring from a long career with the Dane County Sheriff’s Office, Bob took on the work that occurs behind-the-scenes, from fixing up furniture to networking and taking care of building maintenance. Jennifer took on customer service, dealer communications and interior design.
Atomic Antiques now fills a 30,000-square-foot retail spot,, a space once occupied seasonally by Halloween Express. The adjacent stores, Home Depot and Planet Fitness, bring “people wandering in,” says Bob.
The Richardsons envision a store different from “Grandma’s antique store,” with plans to carry Mid-Century items and other styles in Atomic.
Christy Klein
Overview of interior of Atomic Antiques.
The store is already fully occupied with vendors.
Shoppers can find clothing, records, furniture, and decor in various styles such as primitive and Victorian, as well as modern, with prices ranging from $100 to more than $1,000. Dealers from across the Midwest and as far away as Tennessee have set up shop, renting booths in the store.
The store name is Jennifer and Bob’s way of paying homage to the retro style they hope to embody. To Bob, it was a fun name that “personified the style” that they were going for. (Atomic Antiques has no relation to the old Atomic Interiors on South Park Street.)
The space is divided by walls to give all the dealers their own area and each space is decorated like a room in a home. After the couple contacted dealers familiar to them, word spread. The Richardsons were inundated with offers. Each of the spaces that were available have been taken.
Courtesy of the Richardson family.
The Richardson family.
Jennifer and Bob Richardson and their family at the store.
Jennifer typically accepts items only if they are older than 1975, although smaller items such as clothing or a vase can be from the 1980s or 1990s. “We’re going to be policing it pretty closely to make sure that it stays nice, vintage, and antique items,” says Jennifer. “It can’t be something you could buy off the shelf in a store today. Pre-1975 is 95 percent of our stuff.”
Although the store has been open for less than a month, Atomic Antiques has seen considerable traffic. Artwork and rugs seem to be the trending product for now. The Richardsons are excited to see their efforts pay off. Says Jennifer: “We couldn’t be happier with how these first couple weeks have gone.”
