By BERNICE YEUNG
"Somebody's junk is another person's treasure," declares Mary Ann Zichwic, co-owner of Grandma's Attic, Sunnyvale's newest bargain emporium.
This is the concept behind the new store, which opened Dec. 1 at 548 S. Murphy Ave.
Grandma's Attic, an alternative to the typical thrift store, is the brainchild of two clever businesswomen--Zichwic and Shirl Daly, both of whom also happen to be 55-year-old grandmothers.
"It's a classy conglomeration. We're sick of the name 'thrift store'--that's why we called it a 'bargain emporium,' " Daly explains.
True to its name, the store resembles a grandmother's attic. "If you go into other thrift stores, the set-up is really boring," Zichwic says. "We, wanted Grandma's Attic to look more homey."
The decor of Grandma's Attic depends heavily on Daly and Zichwic's creativity. Many of the racks and fixtures in the store were taken from department stores that didn't want them anymore; merchandise is placed on old bookshelves and cabinets and an old wine cart Zichwic found.
The twosome started out holding garage sales in their Mountain View homes, partly for fun and partly to subsidize their incomes after Daly was forced to leave work due to injury and Zichwic was laid off. The garage sales--held every other month--weren't hasty affairs, however. "They were more like miniature flea markets," Daly boasts.
Daly and Zichwic attended auctions, estate sales and other garage sales and bought items for their own extravagant garage sales. Daly even earned the title of "Sofa Queen" when she stored 11 sofas that she had bought for upcoming garage sales in her home. "I just bought them," Daly shrugs. "I didn't realize I had so many."
The Mountain View Police Department, however, wasn't thrilled with Daly and Zichwic's entrepreneurship; they discouraged the duo because neighbors complained of the frequent sales. "The neighbors didn't understand that we couldn't go out and find work," Daly says. "We were doing what we could do."
"And who's gonna hire a grandma?" Zichwic demands. "So, Grandma's Attic is our permanent garage sale."
Daly and Zichwic pride themselves on offering low prices for their high-quality merchandise. "We want to be comfortable in our old age but we don't want to gyp the public," Zichwic says. "Things are almost brand-new, and we make sure everything is clean. If something isn't working, it is so stated. We don't want people walking out of here unhappy, because all sales are final. We're the last honest dealers."
Grandma's Attic stocks just about everything that can be found at a garage sale. Recently, when a customer came in looking for fishing gear and didn't find what he wanted, Zichwic quickly rummaged amongst some boxes and produced the desired equipment. "He was so surprised, but we can find everything. Grandmothers always know where things are," Zichwic says with a wink.
For those who can't find exactly what they're looking for in the 1,500-square-foot store, Grand-
ma's Attic provides a wish list where customers can request a specific item. The grandmas will do their best to deliver.
Daly and Zichwic met under circumstances that are as unique as their personalities. "We both belonged to Successful Singles International, a singles club, and we were both introduced to the same gentleman," Daly recounts. "When we were out on our date, he said to me, 'I went out with a woman that you should meet; you're both really similar. You'd probably get along.' So, he gave me Mary Ann's phone number and we called each other and met."
Adds Zichwic: "He wasn't for me, and he wasn't for Shirl, but it ends up we were for each other. I'll think something and Shirl will say it, or I'll say it and Shirl is thinking it. We're really in tune; it's like we were sisters in a former life."
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 3, 1996
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.