Valley Antiques, a shop on B Street, remains open after the challenges of the pandemic. This store invites all East Bay residents to rediscover the city’s history one object at a time.
The shop is owned by a long-time collector and contractor, Chris Irwin, who “grew up in an antique-store family” and helped his mother run a shop not too far, right in Castro Valley. Irwin opened a location in Hayward “not too long before COVID, and then COVID shut him down,” recalled store manager Deidre Langly, an alumnus of CSUEB from 1982, also a friend of Irwin, who now keeps the store open four days a week. “We’re getting the store on its feet and open regularly,” she stated.
Inside, the space is warm and historic, filled with many vintage items, ranging from vinyl from the 1960s to sports memorabilia from the early to late 2000s. “We tap into both the traditional antique collector’s wants and needs and the sports collectibles that might be more recent,” Langly explained. To the right of the entrance are some historic photos of downtown Hayward in the early 1900s; these images, she notes, “stand exactly where the picture was taken and imagine the street with no roads, no nothing.”
For many visitors, this shop is a source of pure nostalgia. “Every day, people stumble in and say, ‘My grandmother had this – what’s the name of this pattern?” Langly said. “It takes them back to a more secure place, like when they were growing up.” She hopes younger shoppers will learn to value older pieces for how well they were made and how long they can be used. Giving that type of outlook while holding these pieces in hand teaches you to appreciate these shops, the history of the item, and maybe even a memory of your own.
Valley Antiques’ most significant challenge now is foot traffic. They plan to have a booth during B Street’s summer festival and hope their visitors will also begin to spread the word. Until then, Langly offers a simple invitation: “Come see us. At the very least, you’ll get a smile when you remember something from your past, and maybe you’ll find something you didn’t know was missing from your life.” Valley Antiques is located at 1030 B Street, Hayward, California.
