Downtown Cape's Somewhere in Time shop closing

For 20 years, Paula Noisworthy Haas has sold antiques, and she's decided to retire. She's set to close her shop, Somewhere in Time Antiques, at 108 N. Main St. in downtown Cape Girardeau, likely by the end of May.

"I first started with a booth in 1998," she said, noting she and her daughter loved going to antique stores and collecting sentimental, interesting items.

Her collection grew, and selling was a natural next step, she said.

In those 20 years, the business has really changed, Haas said.

"At first, shopping for, collecting antiques was the thing to do," Haas said. "As time has gone on, there aren't as many collectors, as many dealers coming through and buying in bulk."

Haas said the younger generation tends to take a more minimalistic approach, and they're not as interested in buying from a brick-and-mortar store.

So she concentrates now on selling smaller items on her etsy shop, porchesandpetunias.

The name is a nod to her roots in Charleston, Missouri, she said.

Antique stores now also need to have a specialization, Haas said, a particular focus they're known for, and hers is her jewelry.

Her collection sits at about 5,000 pieces, she said, and her displays of bracelets, earrings, necklaces and rosaries glitter from glass-topped tables and cases.

"I love the people and the business," Haas said, "but my husband Mike and I rehabbed a Victorian house together, and I want to spend more time there."

Haas said she'll still be selling items online, but will operate out of her home, giving her more flexibility than she has now.

She also wants to spend more time with her two grandchildren, she said, and with her dog, Atticus.

While Haas is closing her shop, she's not retiring from the Downtown Merchants Group, of which she's president.

She's also still planning to helm the Downtown Tailgate Flea Market, held twice yearly in the downtown parking lots facing the Mississippi River.

The next flea market will be this weekend, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and, Haas said, the only items she'll be selling will be the merchants' group T-shirts.

"I just don't have time," she said.

Haas said she actually decided to close the shop several weeks ago, and made the announcement on Facebook, planning to gradually sell off her stock until she was out.

But among the first pieces she sold were her glass display cases.

"I can't sell off the floor," Haas said. "I figured God was trying to tell me something."

So, Haas said, she'll keep her store-closing sale going, and hopes to be about finished by the end of May.

"But people should come in right away, because I might not be here that long," she said, laughing.

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

108 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.