Behind the Business: Mississippi Antique Galleria

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - The Mississippi Antique Galleria helped bring new life to a shopping strip on Pass Road in Gulfport.

Each step you take inside is like a trip back in time down memory lane.

“It takes you back to a time, whether it was at your aunt’s house, grandma’s, or your first house,” said Mississippi Antique Galleria CEO Nikki Skrmetti.

Antiques of all sorts, including vintage board games, fill the Galleria.

There are three different showrooms, the ‘M’, ‘A’, and ‘G’ rooms, with close to 200 vendor booths throughout, serving as a home to local business owners.

“We just started dividing the space up, and we found that some vendors would want several spaces, so we have several vendors that have multiple spaces in a line,” said Skrmetti.

The Mississippi Antique Galleria officially opened its doors in November 2022. However, the owners purchased the 55,000-square-foot building years before and experienced several setbacks.

“COVID was placed before us, and that definitely presented some challenges. It presented supply challenges and what retail looked like, but we still had plans to open in late 2020,” said Skrmetti.

“Then Hurricane Zeta came along in October, and that changed our plan a little bit. We had some damage to the building that had to be repaired, but we kept on.”

Before opening, extensive renovations were also needed since the building has housed multiple businesses over the years.

“The doors you come in at, that was Coast Camera, Transmedia was right behind that, Applause Dancewear was in another set of doors, and Sheer Elegance was in another set,” said Skrmetti.

“Other doors went to Copy Express, then another section was Accent Fabrics. Then, where Shoppe the Square is was a Dollar General.”

The Galleria also works with local artists, and their work is on display in the art gallery room near checkout.

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