SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) - A shop in East Sacramento was bustling as customers came for good deals and goodbyes. Summer Porch: Vintage Living closed at the end of March. Owner Cheri Malkasian has sold antique furniture, dishware and other decor for over two decades. She is now ready to retire or at least lighten her workload. 

While the storefront she has occupied since 2008 will be empty soon, Malkasian plans to continue selling online. She wants to leave on a good note and take the happy memories with her. 

“I’m feeling pretty good right now, just because I think it’s time,” Malkasian said from behind the register. “This sounds kind of corny, but I always leave when the party’s still fun, and I can still move.”

Before the shop, Malkasian was a stay-at-home mother who was involved in a family accounting firm. Her love of vintage wares stemmed from her grandmother, who owned a Victorian home in Nevada City with a basement and attic full of antiques. On her website, Malkasian wrote: “To me Vintage never goes out of style it just gets better!”

In 2005, Malkasian started selling antiques and decor at vendor markets and supplying merchandise to other stores. She opened her own shop a few years later. The name Summer Porch references her grandmother’s old home with its wrap-around porch and her first business venture, stocking the back porch of another shop in the area. 

Because of the Great Recession, Malkasian said, “it was a big jump into something iffy.” But the business proved successful. She loved curating her own space and inventory.

“Everything that I sell here, I use in my life, and if it doesn’t pass my test, it doesn’t come in,” she said. It was enjoyable work, but the store always lingered in the back of her mind, even in her off time. She’s now ready to relax but kept it going all these years out of love for her customers. 

 

Summer Porch, a vintage shop in East Sacramento known for its antique furniture, closed its doors April 1 after nearly two decades in business.

“You don’t get rich doing this,” Malkasian said. “I could have closed my shop a long time ago. But every time I would get to that point, [customers said] ‘Oh no, don’t close.’”

Judy Adams of Nevada City was one of many longtime customers who made a pilgrimage to Summer Poch to say goodbye. On that day, she was shopping while accompanied by her Yorkshire Terrier named George. Adams previously sold ribbons and greeting cards. She met Malkasian while both were tabling at vendor markets and soon became good friends. How does Adams feel about the store closing? 

“It kind of makes me sad, really. It’s just hard to know I won’t see her as much,” Adams said. But she will continue to shop from Malkasian online because it meets her needs. “If I need a little gift, I always find something here.”

Jessica Rueppel of Granite Bay also stopped by Summer Porch that day. She discovered the shop after visiting the flower store next door and has been a devoted customer ever since. She called Summer Porch “fun, creative, unusual,” and is a fan of the homemade crafts Malkasian makes. 

One of her favorite purchases were handmade decorative paper cones, which she uses as a dining table centerpiece around Easter. After Malkasian scales back her business, Rueppel said her work will become more collectible and cherished, as fewer original pieces will be made and sold moving forward. 

“I’m sad, but happy for Cheri,” Rueppel said. “Because now she can move on to something more in her life. But as a shopper, I’m going to miss the store, because I will not find these wonderful things anywhere else.”

 

Malkasian’s wares can be found for sale on her own website, ShopSummerPorch.com, and on the digital marketplace Chairish.com. She wants to deliver locally to keep in touch with customers. But first, she’ll take a little break to rest and relax. 

“This store has meant a lot to a lot of people, but it’s also meant a lot to me,” Malkasian said. “So, I just want people to know I’m gonna miss them.”