‘The Art Of The Deal’

Dr. Robert Shouey and his wife Doris examine a time capsule from Robson General Store in Bridgewater at their new antique and collectibles business, Arch Drive Gallery east of Mount Crawford. (Photos by Michael Reilly / DN-R)

Dr. Robert Shouey examines crystal glass with Maxine Marri, a customer at his antiques shop east of Mount Crawford.

MOUNT CRAWFORD — The collectibles and antiques started gobbling up space inside Robert Shouey’s house. Then they piled up in a big barn in the backyard.

Now the thousands of items that Shouey and his wife Doris have collected over the years — everything from fine china to furniture sets — have a home in the couple’s new business near Mount Crawford.

Arch Drive Gallery opened last month in a 2,400-square-foot building at 7021 Arch Drive. The store is about 1½ miles east of Exit 240 off Interstate 81 on Friedens Church Road, near the Green Valley Book Fair.

Around the Valley, Shouey is probably best known as Dr. Shouey, a longtime podiatrist who owned Harrisonburg Foot & Ankle Clinic for 37 years. He retired and sold the business this year.

Starting a collections and antiques store seemed like a natural transition, Shouey said.

Buying, selling and trading antiques are a lifetime hobby for the Mount Crawford resident.

And the store’s limited hours — Arch Drive Gallery is open Thursdays through Sundays — mean running it isn’t a full-time job.

“The hard thing is trying to decide what to offer,” Shouey said, seated at a table in the center of the building, filled with pictures on the wall, crystal glasses on shelves and geological artifacts in drawers.

He’s always had a good eye for fine furniture and art, according to his wife.

“This is very good for him because he loves people, he loves to talk and it keeps us young,” Doris Shouey said. “We love to go antiquing.”

They find most of their antiques at auctions or through purchasing directly from individuals. Whether they’re moving or simply downsizing, people are always looking to sell, she said.

“Buying and selling stuff is the art of the deal,” Robert Shouey said.

His goal is to keep a constantly rotating stock at the store. That’s why Shouey said he’d rather sell something for $3 today than keep the item for six months and get twice as much for it.

For shoppers, he said, picking up antiques is an easy way — and sometimes inexpensive, depending on what you buy — to spice up their homes.

“What is really neat,” Shouey said, “is to take the boredom out of your life [you can] buy yourself a nice set of dishes for pennies on the dollar and use them every day.”

Contact Doug Manners at 574-6293 or dmanners@dnronline.com