Restoration Emporium

A little heart heavy because I want to give them better stars but it just isn’t there overall. Don’t get me wrong, RE has good things BUT (that is always the kicker isn’t it?) there are things associated with the shopping experience that just won’t let me rate it higher. Cram packed with stuff with the emphasis on a TON of painted furniture. Some good, some way excellent and some meh. The prices, oh my Lord, the prices. That is where I would rate them down down down. You can go into any of the bottoms venues and find the same exact offerings with the same quality and get a much better deal. Not that there aren’t good deals to be had, but overall the pricing is much higher for the same quality of goods. Then again *gasp* this is RE — all the good dutiful faithful that sing hosannas of praise for them seem to think that the shopping experience (again you will find this very same shopping experience iN most all the other venues as well) justifies the higher prices. I don’t. I went looking for a buffet on October First Friday just a few weeks ago. I ended up buying at another venue and saved myself almost $ 200.00 !!! They were so identical in style size, wood, finish, etc etc etc that both buffets could of been twinzies but the price at RE was astronomical. When I mentioned the pricing to one of my friends in our group, mind you I wasn’t talking to anyone from RE, I was talking to one of my friends, I got a kinda snooty comment from from one of their vendors that interjected herself into our convo that ‘this was RE «along with some other inane gibberish that didn’t matter one whit’s difference to the variance in pricing. It seemed to, to the vendor, with the obvious mindset that RE was somehow superior to all the other venues therefore the pricing should reflect that and I should be humbled and thankful to be able to buy from RE. Sorry, you are a cool venue, another one to stop in and check out, but you don’t offer anything that anyone else in the bottoms doesn’t. The only difference might be the slightly elitist attitude. That is the turn off for this shopper.

I’ve visited RE twice now; once on a First Friday, and the other on a regular Saturday weekend. Not surprisingly, there is a lot more to choose from on First Friday, but you will still see some neat things the rest of the month.
The booths flow very nicely throughout all three floors. There are a few booths which are ‘pinterest gone crazy’, but for the most part, their things are fairly ‘classic’ looks, even if they are pinterest inspired.
Customer service isn’t too bad; some will ignore you, others will actively offer to help you without being pushy. There was ONE booth on FF that the vendor was more concerned about her clique and social activity than the customers who were trying to look at the items, so I ended up skipping it. Sadly, it’s a booth for a store that I just love at their retail site.
This will always be on my list to stop in.

We’ve bought a handful of pieces of furniture from these guys and they are always a delight to deal with! This last time Kelly stayed and visited with me after hours while I waited for my brother-​in-​law as he went to go get his trailer. We will always visit re: when in the area!

I think there have been recent improvements with customer service here, and I’m so glad to see it! When I went recently, I was greeted and asked if I needed help, and everyone was very friendly. I love that there are new vendors being brought in, with different types of merchandise for more people to enjoy. Still a favorite of mine, and a must visit, and so, so glad to see the customer service come back up to par!