It’s nearly the end of the line for Cloverdale’s Red Barn Antiques.
The landmark store – once Canada’s largest antique store – is closing the doors after 42 years in operation.
The closing out sale that’s being going on for the past two years kicked up a notch earlier this spring when owner Leigh Carnegie announced the buildings had finally sold.
But this weekend truly marks the beginning of the end: a massive, four-day inventory blow-out sale that ends Sunday, May 1. Prices are being slashed up to 50 per cent and more on memorabilia, antiques, furniture and aboriginal art. Everything must go – even display cases.
Famed for its exterior red paint job, maze-like showrooms, and unmatched collection of memorabilia, from soda fountains to old-fashioned gas pumps and Chinatown phone booths – the Red Barn store was a favourite source of props for movie crews filming and discerning collectors from across North America.
The wood saloon bars have already gone, as has the replica Piper plane. But there are still plenty of deals and one-of-a-kind items and memorabilia to be found, including coin-operated store amusement rides.
"There are still thousands of small items like glass, china, silverware and porcelain," says Carnegie, who's retiring from the family-run business originally started by his parents, who moved their business to Cloverdale 38 years ago from North Van.
"There's some really good buys," he said, adding it hurts to see it all go. But the store and its contents must be cleared out by mid-May to make way for the new owners, who plan to open a furniture store in the familiar red barns.
Blowout sale hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. April 28-May 1.Follow the Cloverdale Reporter on 
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