A tongue-in-cheek sign in the window of Engelberg Antiks on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. (Amanda Loman/Salem Reporter)
John Forrest had one condition when he bought downtown Salem antique mall Engelberg Antiks earlier this month.
While finalizing a contract with founder and owner Henri Dill, Forrest added a clause saying Dill had to give him her famous lemon jello cake recipe.
Forrest said when she read the addition, Dill laughed so hard she nearly fell out of her wheelchair.
“Tomorrow she’s supposed to bring me the recipe,” he said.
The cake is just one draw the store will have Tuesday as Forrest and his wife, Nancy, celebrate their takeover of the store with a re-opening sale.
All items will be 10% off with raffles throughout the day, Forrest said. There will be cookies and other treats. The store is located at 148 Liberty St. N.E. and is open daily except Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Dill opened Engelberg in 1984. The now-common business plan was unique at the time in Oregon, Forrest said: an antique mall where individual vendors sold items out of booths.
Dill sold the store to her son Hank in 2019, but when he died suddenly in 2021, the Forrests expressed interest.
The couple has sold antiques at the store since 2019, gradually expanding their footprint from one booth to a larger area in the front of the store.
“We’re going to carry on what Henrietta and Hank started just kind of continuing on the legacy,” Forrest said. “They were doing things right.”
-Rachel Alexander
