West Columbia is an antique destination. You can find a variety of antique stores in Triangle City, Meeting Street and State Street. And those antique stores are thriving.

“The last two years have been our best ever,” said Scott Anderson, the owner of Three Rivers Antiques at 615 Meeting Street. The store has been open for 11 years and it has grown every year since opening. Scott said collaboration with other antique dealers is one of the reasons West Columbia has become such a popular market for antiques.

“All of the stores cooperate with each other,” Scott said. “I’ll send customers to 763 Antiques if they can’t find what they’re looking for in my shop. Or I’ll call other stores and ask if they have something a customer is looking for. We’re like a cluster of antique shops and that’s good for everybody, the business owner and the shopper.”

Kaye Gaddis is the owner of the 11,000-sq-ft. 763 Antique Mall. More than 20 vendors operate under her roof. She agreed that West Columbia Antique shop owners work together and help each other out.

“There’s a lot of local antique stores,” she said. “So we made up a list of all the stores with their addresses and we hand them out to customers. Other large inventory antique stores with a variety of collections include:  Old Mill Antique Mall at 310 State Street and The Warehouse at 312 State Street.

Kaye also said much of the clientele that she sees in West Columbia comes from out of town. Scott said the same.

“We get Gamecock fans in town for a football game or to visit their kids who are students,” he said. Fort Jackson holds a Basic Training graduation every week and their families come to town for that. And this year we’re going to be open for the Meeting Street Music Fest on April 18.”

Kaye said many of her local customers are coming from the new residential areas that have been added to West Columbia lately, like the Brookland apartments at the corer of State and Meeting Streets, St. Anne’s Ally on Center Street, and Flow TownHomes on Sunset Boulevard.

“We have a wide diversity of people coming in to shop,” she said. “They will say they’re not looking for anything specific, but they’ll come in and browse a while and walk out with $1,000 in things they bought. There’s no rhyme or reason to it.”

Scott said he has seen an increase in younger people coming in to buy antiques.

“It’s called the “Granny Core. They want items they remembered from grandma’s house when they were children. Those are higher quality pieces that are well-made, and they will last,” Scott said.

Scott also said that West Columbia antique stores are included on USC student message boards, telling other students where to shop to find the best antiques for dorm decor. His store has space for 32 vendors, and he said the quality of the vendors is the reason customers come.

“Our vendors refresh their booths regularly,” he said. “And they have something for the season. Right now we have Easter decor and things you’d want to buy in the spring.”

The owners said their shops still get regulars older customers. Some stop by annually when traveling from “Up North” to Florida. Others are visiting for tubing trips on the Congaree in the warm-weather months. The volume of traffic is drawn by West Columbia’s reputation as an antiquing destination.

West Columbia antique stores:

• State Street Trading Co. – 134 State Street – (803) 550-9048
• Old Mill Antique Mall – 310 State St – (803) 796-4229
• Three Rivers Antiques – 615 Meeting St – (803) 814-2102
• 763 Meeting Street Antiques – 763 Meeting St – (803) 796-1516
• Meeting Street Interiors – 614 Meeting St – (803) 791-0008
• Attic Fanatic- 251 Charleston Hwy – (803) 828-4036
• ADD VINTAGE – 1217 Augusta Rd. – (803) 821-8208
• Parks Furniture Antiques Ltd – 3131 Sunset Blvd – (803) 791-4071
• The Warehouse SC – 312 State St – (803) 834-7557