Popular Island Art Gallery and Christmas Shop in Manteo to reopen

MANTEO
They said it was "closed forever," but they were wrong. Beyond the wildest dreams of the loyal customers of the 38-year-old business, the singular Island Art Gallery and Christmas Shop will reopen Mother's Day weekend.
But since its entire contents - 36 rooms, 1,000 lots total, of antiques, art, Christmas trees and decorations - were auctioned off when the business closed two years ago, partners Edward Greene and Richard Lacerre are back to square one. Except now they have to fill 11 connected buildings, rather than one.
"It's very exciting, because in a sense we're starting all over again," Greene said. "But we have 40 years of experience behind us."
Blame, or thank, the real estate market for the turn of events. Just about the time the property off U.S. 64/264 was put up for sale for $3.5 million, the market began its downward spiral, Greene said. The partners have not received a single offer, he said. So, after consulting with advisers, who said they'd have a better chance selling it as a working business, Greene and Lacerre decided a couple weeks ago to put their shingle up again.
"The other side of the coin, I probably was looking for an excuse," Greene said. "I do miss all the people coming in."
When they first opened in 1967, he said, the business was in a 1,200-square-foot building that cost $10,000.
"You could count the Christmas shops in the country on two hands when we started," Greene said.
Over the years, they kept adding to the original until the complex reached its current size of 25,000 square feet - about one-third of it was filled with Christmas items. With its size grew its fame. Vacationers made a point of coming year after year to see the new inventory in the growing collection of memorabilia, jewelry, local art and crafts, high-quality antiques, and everything Christmas that could be imagined.
Greene, 82, said he hopes to hire back some of the same employees and buy from some of the same artists. He and Lacerre, 62, plan to invite a variety of craftspeople and artists to "have a shop within a shop." By the time they reopen, they expect to be operating with at least half the store filled.
"I'm hoping we're going to have a very interesting shop," he said. "We've already started collecting."
When the business closed, Greene said, they put a sign on the door thanking people for their patronage and providing contact information. Greene said he was flooded with e-mails and letters and phone calls from disappointed customers. Touched by the appreciation, he said, he kept all the letters.
Greene said he's looking forward to restoring the "warm, fuzzy feeling" that attracted people to the store before. "That's our goal - spreading the sparkle again."
"Having the store was our lives," he said. "It was not like we clocked in and clocked out."
But Greene said he's not going to have a chance to remove the "Closed Forever" sign that had been posted, with his dramatic flair, on the business' sign out front.
"Oh, somebody stole that," he said, "maybe six or eight months ago."
Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com