As soon as I walked into Dunn’s Attic in Ormond Beach, Florida, and ordered a $1 mimosa, I knew I had made a mistake. I don’t mean the mimosa, which was delicious and made with sweet Florida orange juice, or my decision to visit the enormous consignment store on historic West Granada Boulevard, which spans 12,000 square feet packed with an eclectic inventory plus the onsite Rosie’s Cafe. My regretful error was not planning to give myself enough time to properly shop.
Credit:
Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Upon entering, I realized just how easy it would be to spend an entire afternoon meandering down aisle after aisle. Within less than an hour, I had quickly browsed vintage books, antique furniture, Christmas decorations, nautical art, and lots of lamps and pottery at all price points. I spotted a vintage hand-painted sangria pitcher from St. Augustine’s famous Columbia Restaurant on a shelf next to a Picasso-faced vessel of which I imagined Virginia Chamblee—the author of Big Thrift Energy and queen of hunting for fine vintage finds throughout Florida—would certainly approve. In an adjacent room dedicated to coastal home decor, it was impossible to miss the large, 1980s-era silver dolphin sculpture by artist L. Soprani, priced at $49,995.
Credit:
Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
The high-value heirlooms underscore that Dunn’s Attic isn’t your typical thrift store of second-hand donations or a rummage sale’s random assortment. Here, the goods have been carefully evaluated, and consignors receive a percentage of the final price once sold.
There are more than 4,800 consignors represented at Dunn’s Attic, including some who have been working with owner Wes Dunn since the store opened in 2013. In the years since, there’s never a dull moment for Dunn, who has expanded the business to include online auctions, estate sales, and the resale of firearms. “We don’t know what tomorrow brings as far as people requesting to bring items in,” he says. “These are items that somebody else collected over the years, traveled throughout the country or the world, and acquired these things in and from places that we may never be able to get back to.”
That includes everything from mementos from retirees who relocated to Florida to rare memorabilia from the late Hawaiian Tropic founder Ron Rice, who resided in nearby Daytona Beach.
Credit:
Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Dunn, whose family roots trace back over 125 years and seven generations in Volusia County, feels a deep sense of sentimentality for local treasures. His great-grandfather came to the Daytona Beach area in 1905 and opened Dunn Brothers Hardware. As the location destination for everything and anything from hammer and nails to pots and pans to children’ s toys, the store was an integral fixture of the community for many decades.
A desire to maintain his family’s respected reputation as trusted local businesspeople inspired Dunn to not only launch his consignment business, but also to offer $1 mimosas to encourage folks to visit the store and stay awhile. For him, it’s about creating an atmosphere where people can enjoy mingling, laughing, and reminiscing together while they shop.
Credit:
Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
“We are one of the largest buyers of Champagne in North Central Florida. We go through about 150 cases of Champagne every year,” Dunn says proudly. “We don’t make money on it, but it’s worth it. Where else can you do it?”
So, if you’re heading to Dunn’s Attic, don’t make the same mistake as me: remember to allow yourself plenty of time to fully embrace the experience.
“Some people make a whole day of it here,” Dunn says, noting that the wait for Rosie’s Cafe may be 30 minutes some days. “We’ve had several occasions where people came in at breakfast, walked around with their friends for a couple of hours, then sat back down for lunch.”