ALLENTOWN, Pa. – A decades-old business, known for its expansive assortment of antique furniture, clocks, toys and more, is getting a fresh start with a new name, location and ownership team in Lehigh County.
Weil Antique Center, featuring a diverse mix of vendors selling high-quality antiques, collectibles and retro and vintage items, has transitioned to a new, larger location at 1471 Lehigh St. in Allentown.
The center ceased operations at its home of more than 20 years at 2200 31st St. SW in Salisbury Township in June 2025.
Original owners Rick and Cindy Weil sold the business to Mark Higgins and Michele Vrentas, who officially reopened the business on Thursday, Aug. 27, under the name “Weil’s Doghouse Antiques” at the rear of the Parkway Shopping Center on Lehigh Street.
Higgins, Vrentas and a crew of workers extensively overhauled the Parkway Shopping Center space over the past year.
The market’s new location houses a diverse mix of more than 180 vendors.
“We’ve been working on the space for about a year, and it’s all finally come together,” Vrentas told 69 News earlier this month.
“The City of Allentown has been super great, guiding us through every step of the way, and the vendors have also been fantastic – super patient and kind – as we bring this grand vision to life.”
The lower-level Parkway Shopping Center space, totaling 30,000 square feet, had been vacant for several years and once housed a bowling alley.
Most recently, it was home to a business school.
“We’re extremely excited to grow!” Higgins said.
“Weil’s is a well-established and much-loved antique center that we are happy to take the reins of and continue to grow at a new, larger location. In Salisbury, the center utilized about 20,000 square feet for retail space, and we’ll be using around 30,000 square feet in Allentown.”
The Parkway Shopping Center space features new booths, lighting, ADA-compliant ramps, bathrooms, wall and ceiling paint and an HVAC system, Higgins said.
Vrentas also painted colorful, vibrant wall murals.
“We don’t want this to look like your grandmother’s antique store,” Higgins said.
“We want it to be extraordinary and unique. We want to bring an upgraded atmosphere for people to shop in – a unique destination where they could find anything from a piece of silverware to a mounted bear.”
A new window and overhang near the center’s entrance were installed, along with additional exterior upgrades – including new signage, landscaping and an updated façade.
A Mexican food trailer, Chano’s Tacos & Burritos, that previously operated at Weil’s former site in Salisbury is now located in the parking lot at the new Allentown location.
Additionally, a 50-table outdoor flea market debuted on March 6 and is operating 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and an outdoor garden center, The Garden Shed Market Stand Lehigh Valley, regularly sets up shop outside.
Higgins describes the new Weil’s Doghouse Antiques center as vibrant, welcoming and “really full of life.”
“Inside, all of the different walkways will flow nicely, allowing people to wander around from booth to booth almost like they’re visiting different rooms of a house,” Higgins said. “So, it’ll be an elevated shopping experience, for sure.”
Weil Antique Center opened in November 2002 in a converted warehouse, just off Lehigh Street, in Salisbury Township.
Rick and Cindy Weil got their start in the retail industry more than 40 years ago, starting out with a clock shop – Weil Clocks – in 1983.
The full-service clock shop operated at a couple of locations on Lehigh Street, including the Parkway Shopping Center, before the Weils expanded operations with the multi-vendor antique market in the early 2000s, Cindy said.
Vinart Dealerships, which operates several nearby auto dealerships on Lehigh Street, purchased the property on 31st Street Southwest in late 2023 and is wrapping the site into its automotive operations, according to Andrew Wright, managing partner of Vinart.
At its new location in Allentown, the antique center features vendors from the original Weil Antique Center as well as new vendors carrying “even more really cool, one-of-a-kind items,” Higgins said.
Shoppers can browse aisles of unique finds, including furniture, storage trunks, baskets, lamps, clothing, jewelry, blankets, books, dolls, toys, hand tools, industrial pieces, pottery, cookware, glassware, tableware, kitchen accessories, vases, jugs, wall art, stained glass pieces, holiday decor, sports memorabilia, figurines and other decorative items.
Additionally, the Weils are continuing to sell a variety of items, including a smaller selection of clocks, at the new location, and Lehigh Valley actor and designer Carson Kressley also has a booth, featuring various home décor including several pieces showcasing horses, Vrentas said.
Higgins and Vrentas encouraged vendors to utilize the open airspace above the booths by hanging unique lights, merchandise and decorative accents.
“Each booth will be a little different, and that’s what we want,” Higgins said.
“We want this to become an organic environment where everything flows together in a natural way. So, we’re giving tenants the freedom to personalize their spaces with painted floors, unique shelving and other design elements, and we’re also utilizing a lot of recycled materials. The goal is to give the market an original, eccentric and intentionally non-uniform finish.”
Weil’s Doghouse Antiques features large pieces of artwork showcasing vintage images of Dorney Park, downtown Allentown and other Lehigh Valley scenes.
Each booth has its own distinct personality, with unique features including hand-painted flooring, vibrant neon lighting and reclaimed barn wood, lattice and picket fence accents.
“We have a really eclectic, wonderful and interesting group of tenants,” Higgins said.
“It’s been so fun to see everyone make the spaces their own. We’ve got a lot of local people, but we also have people from upstate New York, Rhode Island and even Massachusetts who are bringing their pieces in. A lot of them said they’ve gone to dozens of other antique markets, but they were attracted to ours because it has a really cool and interesting vibe.”
Higgins, who lives just outside Doylestown, has a longtime passion for collecting antiques and previously operated other antique stores – including DogHouse Antiques in the New Hope area – over the past few decades.
“Since I was a young boy, I’ve had an appreciation for unique items that tell a story,” Higgins said.
“I remember when my grandmother was getting older, she wanted to move in with one of my aunts, and so she dispersed a lot of her goods to an auction. My parents let me go to the auction, and I bought some of my grandmother’s stuff when I was 12 years old. So, I’ve been into collecting antiques since childhood, and my passion for it has only grown over the years. The items that I’m really drawn to are the ones that are interesting and unique, items that people say, ‘Wow, I’ve never seen that before!’
Higgins and Vrentas met in early 2025 at the Riegelsville Inn, where the two “immediately clicked,” Higgins said.
It was a Wednesday night, and the restaurant was hosting its “Hot Acoustic Jam,” a weekly event where singers and musicians of all ages, styles and abilities are welcome to perform.
“A friend of mine had encouraged me to come out over the winter, and not long after I entered the restaurant, she had asked me to dance,” Higgins said.
“There’s not much room to dance, but I guess I impressed her enough because I got her phone number. Ever since then, she has blown me away tenfold.”
Vrentas previously operated Lift Easton yoga and massage studio in downtown Easton for 13 years, and she’s also a lifelong artist and avid traveler.
“Her world experience and positive outlook on life are just mesmerizing,” Higgins said.
At Weil’s Doghouse Antiques, Higgins and Vrentas will sell some of their own pieces alongside the other vendors’ items.
Individuals will be able to shop antique furniture, primitives, artwork, home decor, taxidermy mounts, sideshow banners and circus posters, among other items.
Unique pieces will include mounted bears, stained glass lamps and a 12-foot biplane that will be hung from the ceiling, Higgins said.
“If a piece is even somewhat unique or exotic, I’m usually interested in it,” Higgins said.
“I have a fine arts degree, which helps me to make displays appealing to the eye. So, we’ll probably have a couch, a bookcase, some table lamps, a rug and other items that help people imagine how certain pieces would look in their own homes. With all of the other booths that will fill the space, people will almost certainly find something that speaks to them.”
For the latest Weil’s Doghouse Antiques updates, follow the business’ pages on Facebook and Instagram.