After over 11 years of operation under the ownership of Doug Klein, the Antiques Mall of Fredericksburg will welcome its new owner, Roy White, at the beginning of June.

White said coming from the plumbing industry, he still has a lot to learn from brother-in-law Klein.

“When it comes to running a business, I avoid-ed it through my whole career,” White said. “I had no problem making money for other people, I just didn’t want the responsibility, so now I’m learning that part as a business owner.”

White said he was unsure about taking over ownership, but spending time with customers changed his mind.

“At first, I had no interest, but the more I hung around, just listening to customers’ stories about the past, it just grew on me,” White said. “Then, (Doug) brought up the idea that he wants to slow down. We talked, and we wanted to keep it in the family.”

Klein said that while he’s greatly enjoyed his time running the store, it can be a demanding schedule.

“We’re open six days a week, but it’s truly a seven- days-a-week job,” Klein said. “It can often be six something in the morning to eight something at night.”

One difficulty of run-ning the store is working around the schedule of collectors and dealers.

“We have people come into the store and they’ll bring us things that we’ll look at and make offers on,” White said. “We go to estate sales, and we have people who have big collections that will call us and we’ll go to their house.”

Just as White follows in Klein’s footsteps, the road was paved by the mall’s first owner, Randy Kinchen.

“Randy was one of those people, even if you came in your worst mood or on the gloomiest day of the year, he had a smile,” Klein said.

To continue the work of the late Kinchen, White and Klein want the business to stay open as long as possible.

“(Doug’s) goal, and my goal now, is we want to do at least 50 years of business,” White said. “We want to pass down the legacy.”

Klein said the store owes its success to the community.

“We’ve been very fortunate, blessed with the trust of the people,” Klein said. “We have folks that’ve been coming to us since I was a dealer (at Kinchen’s) that still come to me now. That’s worth its weight in gold.”

One way that the store works to build community relationships is by partnering with other local antique businesses, to ensure each customer finds what they’re looking for.

“One of the biggest gifts you can give someone who’s coming in here is that, if they don’t find it at your store, is figuring out how to help them find it somewhere else,” Klein said. “While I might not make anything today, trust me, tomorrow they’ll be here looking.”

White said the most rewarding part of this business is connecting with customers.

“I don’t care if I sell a thing that day, I just listen to all the people come in and tell me about their childhood,” White said. “That makes my day.”

Although the ownership is changing, Klein will continue to be involved in the store’s dayto- day operations.

“My best asset is my brother-in-law (Doug), who has run his own businesses since he was 16,” White said. “I could pick that guy’s brain 24 hours a day and barely scratch the surface.”

Klein said White has already learned many of the tricks of the trade.

“(Roy) has absorbed a lot in a short period of time,” Klein said. “He’s knowledgeable, and not only does he understand people, but he also learns quickly.”

White said he’s excited to start this new chapter, and as the owner, looks forward to meeting more of the community.

“If you want to relive your childhood, growing up, or memories of your grandparents that are no longer with us, just come see what we have,” White said.