Co-Manager Tena Wilson (left) and Manager Jean Allred run High Street Antiques & Design.[/caption]

Since it opened 25 years ago, High Street Antiques & Design has grown to house 300 vendors, and a cafe and party space. Today, the antique mall attracts visitors from across the U.S. The 50,000-square-foot space offers a unique collection of items, such as clocks, jewelry, home decor and collectibles of all types.

“We have so many repeat customers, we’re like family,” Manager Jean Allred said. “Some of them have to come in and get a dose of us once a week. We all have our special customers.”

The concept behind the mall began in the mid-1980s out of a desire to support entrepreneurs and their love for the unusual, said Allred, who has been in the business for more than 20 years.

“You never know what you’re going to find in this store,” she said.

Co-manager Tena Wilson is a former real estate appraiser who started working at the store to satisfy her passion for antiques. She and her staff assist customers and contact shoppers once an item they have been looking for comes in, Wilson said. This friendly service has helped keep High Street Antiques & Design successful throughout the years, she said.

“We have a lot of [vendors] who have been here since day one, and we get new dealers all the time,” Wilson said. “If somebody comes in here and can’t find something then … it’s weird because we have something for everyone and all price points. You can spend a couple of dollars or you can spend thousands.”

In 2012, High Street Antiques & Design added a tearoom to enhance the shopping experience. The Chocolate Angel Cafe & Tearoom offers lunch, brunch, tea or dessert as well as a buffet on Sunday.

The cafe and the mall complement one another to create a unique shopping experience that can easily turn into a daylong affair, Allred said.

Vendor Marilyn Harris is the owner of The Chic Cherie and specializes in vintage clothing, formal wear and accessories. An antiques appraiser who gives lectures on jewelry and the history of fashion, Harris said shoppers can find what she described as the last of a dying breed at the antique mall.

Having visited similar antique malls across the U.S., Harris said the Plano store is also one of the most diverse of its kind.

“The individuals [who] are here, the dealers, are experts and hobbyists in what they do,” she said. “This is more than a hobby. This is something they’re passing on to the next generation.  Passing that [knowledge] on is significant because without that, then all of this dies. We’re the last place where you can have individual contact with the person who collects [these rare items].”