EDINBURGH, Ind. – An interior designer was refurbishing lofts in downtown Indianapolis. When she called Exit 76 Antique Mall, she was rewarded with a Lucite chandelier from the 1960s for $170.

This was an obvious deal, saving her thousands of dollars, said Denise Pence who owns the mall along with her husband Gregory.

Not only is buying secondhand economical but trendy, Pence said.

“Art deco, silver Christmas trees, quality wine glasses from France that won’t break the first time you use them – all these are coming back. Unlike discount stores, you get price and quality,” Pence said.

Pence said the current economy isn’t necessarily bad for the antiques industry.

On the contrary, she said, it causes people to take a second look at both buying and selling at her mall and others like it.

“Vendors at our mall can save on property taxes and utilities, and buyers can stretch their dollar,” Pence said.

“I am very enthused. The last few weeks have been good. Last weekend for our Secret Santa sale, sales were up over 21 percent from last year,” said Nic Nicoson, general manager at Exit 76.

Nicoson is also pleased that this year the state of Indiana recognized Exit 76 Antique Mall as an official state attraction.

“I’ve been fighting for this for 11 1/2 years. They finally listened to our stats. We have 12,000 customers a month and buyers from 38 states every month,” Nicoson said.

Nicoson, a self-described “numbers guy,” also counted 5 million items on sale daily in the 72,000 square-foot facility.

“The average person spends five hours (shopping). Then they get tired, and they either go home or get a hotel nearby,” Nicoson said.

Nicoson was full of other numerical data.

“Sixty percent of our customers are female and are age 45 and up,” Nicoson said.

But the numbers can tell only part of the story.

“I love it here,” said Jennifer Mangus, service clerk. “It’s so much fun. Everyone is great to work with, our customers are fun, and I love (the merchandise).

“It’s the best job I ever had,” Mangus said, who is a former training and development manager.

“We get so many compliments. It’s well-lit so you can see and very, very clean. It doesn’t have that musty, dusty smell. That comes from teamwork. The second thing is its size. It’s like a treasure hunt,” said Mangus, who is a collector, too.

The large facility, complete with a TV lounge and an eye-catching front lobby, was built to be an antique mall and car show room. Antiques and collectibles have since displaced the cars.

“I was with Exit 76 Antique Mall when it was a soybean field,” Nicoson said. “Its ground breaking was December 1999, and it opened May 2000.”

More than a decade after being built, the business is still going strong, Nicoson said.

“We have survived 9-11, $2 per gallon gas, $3 per gallon gas, and $4 per gallon gas, and stayed open during snowstorms. There’s been a lot that’s happened in the last 11 years,” Nicoson said.

Though the antique mall has experienced a slight drop in booth occupancy (from 100 percent), it is still more than 90 percent, Nicoson said. The mall boasts 330 dealers and 600 booths.

“We have worried over the $3-$4 gas and the recent recession, but customer count hasn’t wavered and the ZIP codes (of shoppers) haven’t wavered,” Nicoson said.

Even while other businesses are getting more conservative, the owners of Exit 76 recently opened a second antique mall — the Bloomington Antique Mall in Bloomington, Ind. A smaller building, the mall is located near Indiana University and features the same hours and policies of its big brother, Denise Pence said.

Exit 76’s top seller by a wide margin is glassware and china, Nicoson said.

After that, books, records and magazines draw the most interest.

“You would not believe the interest in 33s and 45s,” Nicoson said.

The Exit 76 and Bloomington antique malls will be coming to the AntiqueWeek Antique Show on Jan. 20-22, opening weekend of the Indianapolis Home Show on the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

Its booth will feature glassware, furniture and toys, Nicoson said.

In the meantime Nicoson said Exit 76 will continue to do what it does best: keeping the vendors and customers happy.

For more information about Exit 76 call (812) 526-7676 or visit www.exit76antiques.com. For information about the antique show call 800-876-5133 or visit www.antiqueweek.com/antiqueshow