Hampden Street Antique Market Owners Celebrate 20th Anniversary

IMG_3779By Jon DeStefano
John and Carol Helke celebrate their 20th Anniversary as owners of the Hampden Street Antique Market on April 6th and are hosting an Owner’s 20th Anniversary Sale all month long throughout the store. The store is actually in its twenty-fourth year. John bought the store in 1996 from Don and Sue Hesse who founded it three years earlier. He explained, “I didn’t know a lot about antiques but I had a strong retail business background. Now I have about 100 antique dealers depending on me.”

 

“I knew how to work with people,” he continued, “and I stepped into a business that was in its third year, it was up and off the ground, I had a staff, a ready-made staff and I just relied on them to teach me everything. Years later, we’re still here and we have come through a very trying year, much stronger and better.”

 

IMG_3780Hampden Street Antiques is not just one man, it is truly a team effort and the store has never looked better. Their strategy is to be more upscale and more diversified than their competition. “When you walk into the store you do not look at one booth after another, after another, after another that looks like a variation of the same. The dealers here are generally a little more professional than what you’ll find in a lot of places. They take what they are doing here very seriously and have a lot of pride in what they are are doing here.”

 

“We’ve tried to keep the bar as high as we can in the overall quality of the store and then our prices too are very good. Our goal is to be the nicest antique mall in Denver and to also have the best prices.”

 

IMG_3781“My son-in-law, Dmitriy (Odnoralov) has been working with me for a year and a half now and is doing a fantastic job. Our customers and dealers alike continuously give us positive feedback on all the assistance he provides. He works hard and is good at what he is doing. It’s great to have the next generation become a part of this. Dimitriy and my daughter Jessica have two beautiful daughters. Evalina who is two years old and Eliana who is six months,” the grandfather says proudly.

 

“My staff at Hampden Street Antiques is exceptional. They are Niles Downen, Lonnie Johnson and Doug Stambaugh each of whom play meaningful roles providing a quality service and caring environment for customers and dealers alike,” John adds. “The team works extremely hard for their dealers, helping them promote their dealer space, and helping them become successful in many different ways: pricing, identifying, merchandising and setting up their booths, anything that helps them be better dealers.”

 

IMG_3784All this makes for an exceptional experience for customers. At Hampden Street Antiques you will find an old fashioned way of doing business, built upon trust, integrity, and taking care of people in a personal, warm and and friendly way.

 

“Twenty years later, we’re still here, more confident about our store and its future than ever before.  We are stronger, better and friendlier. We want to thank all our wonderful customers and dealers who have made it so successful,” John concluded.

 

Stop by and enjoy the celebration at Hampden Street Antique Market this April. You will find an antique mall that is truly, an antique mall. Their 100+ dealers are indeed a cut above and it will become a place you’ll visit and enjoy time and time again.

 

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