Junk Babes Vintage, after selling antiques on 150 East Main Street in Walden for the past few years, will close its doors during February due to its owners facing harsh winter conditions without any heating.

“It was a very hard decision to make, but we knew coming into this season, if things hadn’t changed and the heating wasn’t fixed, we weren’t going to continue to do this in this location,” said Denise Gualtieri, one of Junk Babes’ owners.

Gualtieri and her co-owner, Krissy Karros, began renovating their store in April 2021 and officially opened in May 2022. They later found out, however, that their building was originally a seasonal nursery unequipped for colder weather. After enduring three winters, the two are unable to deal with another one and cannot find a new building to relocate to at this time.

“It was built for seasonal use as a nursery. And from the time that it was built, it’s never been renovated to basically be used during winter months, which we weren’t aware of when we moved in,” Gualtieri explained.

“There’s nothing available for us right now in the area,” Karros said regarding relocating.

The two will continue their operations through their online businesses, Boujee Betties and Old In Time Vintage Treasures, where they will sell Junk Babes’ inventory and provide estate sale services.

“We will still be running estate sales and still do cleanouts and assisting with that process for people,” Gualtieri said. “In addition to our online shops.”

Despite the closure, Gulatieri and Karros had an amazing time at Junk Babes, giving them opportunities to meet and create connections with residents. Whether they spread Halloween cheer through their annual costume giveaway or helped residents furbish their homes with antiques, the two loved interacting with the community and they hope to continue doing so in the future.

“We’ve made so many relationships with customers and we’ve met a lot of people who are new to the area and came in here to find pieces for their new home,” Gualtieri said. “The fact that we were able to do things like the costume giveaways and donate stuff to kids in schools, I’m just happy that we were able to do that.”

While an official close date has not been confirmed, Gualtieri and Karros encourage residents to continue shopping this month and visit them during their storewide sale celebration on February 3 and 4.

For more information on the two’s online businesses, visit @boujee_betties on Instagram and Old in Time on Facebook.