After 22 years in the business, Old Market Mall is set to close following the passing of owner Linda King.
In November 2018, Linda suffered a massive heart attack. She passed away a few weeks later in December 2018. In the following weeks, her husband Royce began trying to close the business through an all-store sale with items marked 60 to 75 percent off.
“It’s been hard, especially at home at night,” Royce said. “And then coming here knowing it’s her stuff and her business it makes it hard too,”
The Kings lived in a variety of places, from Los Angeles to Dallas to Washington D.C. to Madill. While in Washington D.C., Linda took up a love for antiques and collectibles while volunteering for the Smithsonian. Royce traveled a lot during their four-year stay in the capital for his job as a criminal investigator.
Linda King collected antiques and collectibles for ten to twelve years before opening the couple’s antique store in Madill, Royce King said.
OldMarketMallwasopened for a year in 1997 before moving to its current location at 510 North 1st Street in Madill the next year, he added.
The antique and collectible store has carried a wide range of products, including old books, jewelry, old medicine bottles and devices, furniture and rubber bands. One of Royce’s favorite things he remembers is a painting that was made in a prison in the late 1800s. Their customers have traveled from places as far as Arkansas and South Texas.
Royce said he does not have an end-date in mind as Old Market Mall still has hundreds of items left to sell. However, King would like to have an auction of the remaining items by Labor Day when traffic to Lake Texoma and therefore Old Market Mall lessens.
After closing Old Market Mall, Royce is excited about the opportunity to travel again.
King said some places that are at the top of his list are Alaska, Australia and New Zealand.
“[I want to] “see what other people are doing and how they live and just look over the countryside,” he said.
He also plans to continue his real estate and private investigator business.
Old Market Mall is closed Mondays and open Tuesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5:30 p.m., although the hours vary depending on Royce’s schedule. Royce can be reached at (580) 795-4049.