Suzanne Tucker, the owner of Historic District Antiques, loves preservation and restoration.
Tucker and her late husband, Dr. Paul Tucker, who shared that love, bought the original location of the antique shop, 514 Central Ave., and the building next to it in 1986 or 1987, right after the revitalization of the downtown area had started.
"My sister and I started a partnership in '94. The business has pretty much thrived, but more so in the last two to three years, it's just been astronomical progress," Tucker said.
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"It's been kind of slow August and September, but in the summer, it was busy every day.
"Even during COVID, we shut down three months, we opened in June, and we were doing maybe 40% of our previous volume, but then it just was astronomical, and it superseded what we did in 2019. And this year is going to be better by far than 2020," she said.
COVID-19 has not deterred people from risking exposure, which shocked her, Tucker said, noting she knows that COVID hurt big organizations such as the Hot Springs Convention Center because of the cancellation of meetings.
"But people are coming on an individual basis. They have to get out; they have to vacation. I kind of think August and September might have slowed it down because there was such a hot spot for COVID, but they'll be back," she said.
"We have a great marketing team here. They do their job. A lot of the events have been canceled, of course, because of contagion, but it'll all come back," Tucker said.
To run a successful business, individuals "need to know their product, like dealing with people and the customer is always right," she said.
Owning an antique shop, Tucker gets to buy things that she loves. "We can love them for a little while and pass them on to someone else who is going to love them," she says.
The main product the shop has is estate jewelry; they do not do contemporary jewelry, she said.
"I'm not saying it's one of a kind, but it's unique ... and people love it. They like looking at the older styles," Tucker said.
Her advice to anyone wanting to start an antique shop is to "go to the city; they have about a list of 10 things you have to have, educate yourself about your product, go to existing businesses, find out what the pros and cons are, and you better love what you do."
During Tucker's spare time, she enjoys traveling but has not been able to do that for the past year and a half.
Tucker said she would like to thank Hot Springs for providing a home for her and her family.
"We are not native, but we came here 40 years ago, and it has been a wonderful place to live, raise a family," she said.
