New Salem man gives kitchens retro appeal

By JENNIFER VOGELSONG

Daily Record/Sunday News

Posted: 06/14/2009 03:00:00 PM EDT

Eldon Glatfelter likes shiny stuff.

For 18 years, he worked as a mechanic, fixing up muscle cars and 1950s models.

"I like all the chrome and the designs and style," he said. "It was a dream job."

So then why does the New Salem man now run a business selling refurbished kitchenettes, dinnerware and appliances?

Bad knees.

Seven or eight years ago, he knew his days as a mechanic, kneeling to work on cars, were numbered. So he decided to see if he could make his hobby his job.

For years, Glatfelter would pick up 1950s dinette sets and old kitchen items when he went to sales, shows and flea markets. He figured out how to refurbish them, kept a couple for himself and sold the others on eBay

It was a niche that few were filling.

"You could buy the chairs re-covered, but nobody knew how to fix the tables - to restore rather than replace the Formica tops," he said.

About five years ago, Glatfelter tired of running to local shops such as Grey Beards in Jacobus or Burning Bridge Antiques in Columbia that displayed his items every time one sold on eBay. He decided it would be easier to create his own Web site and move all his pieces to a single place.

The shop he opened in Pleasureville is, he said, just "a well-organized warehouse."

The restored dinette sets and booths are lined along the front display window, where they can catch the eye of passing motorists with their primary colors, vinyl and chrome. The rest of the place is

filled by shelves stocked with items that include Corning Ware, Corelle, mixers and Guardian aluminum trays.

It's only open three days a week - 90 percent of his business comes through the Internet - and few customers are local. "We send a lot of stuff to The Netherlands for some reason," he said.

With upholstery to sew, tabletops to refinish and frequent road trips to auctions and flea markets, Glatfelter doesn't have a lot of time to spend in the shop. When he is there, you'll probably find him in the back, sewing piping on vintage chairs, and packing orders for replacement parts, which come frequently.

It might look like a thrift shop, but although everything is used, Glatfelter refuses to sell anything that is dirty, damaged, scratched or chipped: "I'm real big on quality."

The quality of older kitchenware and appliances is one of the big reasons customers snatch up Glatfelter's finds. Nostalgia is another.

"They're baby boomers, mostly," he said. "They're remembering what they had growing up, or at their grandparents' house."

Marie Stoltz of York started frequenting Classic Kitchens when the shop opened across the street from her church. She pops in after services most Sundays to see if Glatfelter has any new copper Revere pieces.

The 58-year-old has a collection of copper pots started when she got married. She has a hard time finding them anymore.

"(Eldon) has found some really unique pieces," she said.

Stoltz also picked up a set of old glass Pyrex custard cups, like the ones her grandmother made baked egg custard in.

"I could probably make it in something else," she said. "But it's just a good memory to do it the way she did; a connection."

Glatfelter has a picture of himself, when he was 2, on the kitchen floor, playing with his mother's copper-bottomed Revere Ware. Growing up, his family ate at a big yellow dinette set that fit eight.

When he's not refurbishing the dinette sets, Glatfelter works on Wheel Horse tractors in his garage, and plays on a vintage Ludwig drum set in the basement that he restored. He still has his first car - a 1968 Buick GS - restored, of course.

"Everything I have around me is vintage stuff," he said. "That's my comfort zone, I guess."

771-2034; jvogelsong@ydr.com.

About the series

Unzipping York County is a monthly series that travels through the county's 57 postal ZIP codes to uncover some of the best untold stories. So far this year, we've visited:

A postcard club in 17403

Ladies who gather for monthly cards and camaraderie in 17315

A man who makes old-fashioned fans in 17352

A textile school that weaves enthusiasts together in 17316

A house in 17406 that reflects its owner's spiritual journey.

To read these stories, go to the Lifestyle section of inyork.com/ydr and choose " UnZIPping York" from the special features menu.