A Little Background…

Mount Dora began about 165 years ago. In 1981 the entire town was painted pink for the movie, Honky Tonk Freeway which featured a water-skiing elephant on Lake Dora. In the 1880s, only 16 families lived here. In 1883, The Alexander House opened with 10 rooms, and was renamed the Lake House, which later became the Lakeside Inn. In 1887 the RR came, which really boosted the town’s economy and tourism. When I moved here in 1986, the population was under 8000… As of 2019 that number had doubled. We have a real lighthouse built in 1988. Mount Dora is called “The Festival City” due to over 30 festivals and events it hosts each year; a large Arts Festival, a Crafts Fair, a bicycle Fest, 5Ks and half marathons, the Annual Christmas lighting, and the Spring Antique Show, the Highlands festival, the Antique Extravaganzas…

We bought this building, (built in 1959) that is now home to Village Antique Mall in 1997. The building was originally a Food Lion, an IGA, and the Village Foods. At that time, the building still contained the contents of the last grocery, right down to the abandoned soup cans, cash registers etc. We completely remodeled the building, and Village Antique Mall opened its doors in 1998!