You can come for an hour, a day, two or three, but probably still won’t see everything inside or out at Acme Antiques in Tappahannock.
Acme is way more than a store. It’s a destination, according to three ladies on a girls’ trip from Staunton I caught browsing a few weeks ago. They frequently visit Burgess in Northumberland County and on every trip “have” to stop at the antique, knickknack, what-not shop in Essex County. At 608 Church Lane (Route 17), Acme is over 14,000-square-feet of wonderment.
One TripAdvisor reviewer wrote “It’s unreal. Best shop in town!” Another said “It must be seen to be believed!!”
And those are not exaggerations.
Acme is more of a museum than an antique store, with its original wood flooring, wide aisles, natural lighting and three floors of oddities you won’t find anywhere else.
Maryland investor Bob Green purchased the massive building in 2017, according to Eddie Stonestreet, who works at the store. It was once a car dealership and served as an antique store but had virtually sat unused for seven years when Green bought it, said Stonestreet. The previous owners had only opened it “every now and then” during the last few years they owned it.
I had driven by hundreds of times over the last nine years and was always intrigued by the exterior decorations—once a giant dinosaur, another time life-sized statues of the Blues Brothers of Saturday Night Live fame. And with each passing I’d say to myself,
“I need to go into that store.”
Turns out Acme is a vendor mall, a massive, indoor flea market of sorts, with over 100 vendors each selling vintage, retro, collectibles, crafts and antique items. There are both new and old items among the eclectic oddities that are used to decorate the store.
However, the decorations also are for sale. According to Stonestreet “everything is for sale,” including the huge plaster shark chomping on a leg hanging from the ceiling. In fact, visitors must be sure to look up, not just around. The most interesting items hang above your head including small and large model planes, an Acme rocket and an alien in a spaceship. And those are just a few of the strange items dangling overhead. There’s a Frankenstein, once used as a prop in a movie, on display. I didn’t measure but I’m sure the creature—which had a price tag of over $2,000—was at least 15 feet tall. One booth, primarily made up of Christmas items, includes three life-sized Dickens carolers. Another includes two larger-than-life scary clowns.
There are booths that include vintage tools, collectible dolls, a bin of hundreds of pocket knives and lots with home decor, kitchenware, decoys, oyster cans and collectibles, both antique and new. There are a few with specialty sauces and condiments and some Northern Neck clothing.
Trish Fleming, a first-time visitor from Maryland, simply said, “this is something. Quite a variety.”
The store is so big and overwhelming, for a brief minute on the third floor, I got turned around and was lost.
Larry and Diane Kirby of King William have three booths at the store and were there doing a refresh, adding and removing items. Larry said they drive down about once a week to change and check on their inventory. It’s worth the drive, he said. “We’ve had an incredible couple of months.”
Next door to the antique store, Green converted a carwash into the Acme Ice Cream Parlor (see below). It too is a delight for the eyes, filled with eccentric decorations and old carnival rides.
“This is the neatest place on earth, definitely in Virginia anyway,” said Larry of the shops. “It’s so fun.”
Whimsical ice cream parlor enhances Acme experience
Acme Ice Cream Parlor will be under new ownership/management as of August 3.
When the summer heat rolls in, there’s nothing quite like a scoop of something cold and Acme Ice Cream Parlor has 36 flavors of hand-dipped Hershey ice cream. Have each alone or group them together in one of the parlor’s creations like the Grandpa’s Cobbler, Dirt Cake or Lemon Dream sundaes.
Nothing about Acme Antiques or Acme Ice Cream Parlor is boring so why would the ice cream concoctions be?
For the indecisive, the parlor offers an ice cream flight with six flavors of your choosing. Want variety? Choose from 17 toppings.
The parlor, a throwback to a 1950s soda fountain, opened adjacent to the antique store in 2019 in a former car wash. The two garage doors are still intact. Like its neighboring business, the ice cream parlor decor is whimsical—a carnival theme with flying pigs, ferris wheel seat chairs and even a non-working airplane ride on the patio. It doesn’t spin but makes for interesting seats for the little ones while they eat their ice cream, or hot dogs, or nachos. The covered patio includes tea cup ride seats.
The food menu at the soda fountain counter is limited to regular and loaded nachos and a variety of hot dogs, including the Acme Dog which has eight toppings including jalapeños, hot sauce and sour cream. But of course, the star of the show is its ice cream case.
