Pablo Group to buy, renovate Antique Emporium building in downtown Eau Claire

Nov. 5—EAU CLAIRE — Entering the Antique Emporium in downtown Eau Claire is like stepping into another world.

Surrounded by more than 100,000 items on display or for sale, visitors are transported to other times and other places.

From the Eau Claire Germania Club flag dated 1874 and a taxidermied two-headed calf to several original wood carvings by American landscape artist Winslow Homer and a set of masks from New Guinea that came from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the three-story shop is stuffed with treasures large and small that owner Hugh Passow has collected in more than 40 years in the antique business.

"I've got a lot of oddball Eau Claire things that are one of a kind," said Passow, whose work has transformed him into a respected local historian.

But Passow, who has operated an antique store in the building at 306 Main St. since 1985, revealed Thursday that the end of that era is near. He has agreed to sell the building to Pablo Group, the Eau Claire-based development company that has built and renovated a number of downtown properties in recent years.

The three-story structure was built in 1899 as a Masonic Lodge and housed many other businesses, including Kelly Furniture Co., Eau Claire School of Dance and Main Street Deli, over the years. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Project manager Jenny Fesenmaier said Pablo Group is expected to take ownership of the building at the end of the year and begin exterior renovations in the spring. The company will launch interior remodeling later in the year after Passow vacates the building.

The goal of the work will be to update the building while preserving its historical integrity, Fesenmaier said.

"It's a unique historical downtown property, and we are excited to ensure it has a strong future and remains available to local residents and visitors to Eau Claire," she said, noting that the building will be the third major renovation Pablo Group has undertaken on South Barstow Street after The Lismore hotel and the U.S. Bank building.

Pablo Group officials said CoLab, downtown Eau Claire's coworking space, will move into the building from its location across the street upon completion of renovations.

CoLab community manager Elaine Coughlin said the restored Antique Emporium building will offer an ideal space for the coworking business that has grown to about 70 members.

Though no other tenants are lined up yet, Fesenmaier said she expects the prominent site at the corner of Main and South Barstow streets to be a desirable location for potential businesses.

"We have found a lot of treasures at the Antique Emporium over the years," Pablo Group co-founder Julia Johnson said. "It will be sad to see Hugh and his business leave the building, and we hope the building's next use will be beloved as well."

For his part, Passow is optimistic that Pablo Group will take good care of the place that has served as his home away from home for the past 36 years.

"When I knew it was time to move on, Pablo Group was the first group I thought of because I've seen the good things they've been doing in and for downtown Eau Claire," said Passow, who operated a number of small shops in the Chippewa Valley before settling in downtown Eau Claire.

The massive inventory and large building are becoming too much for Passow and his wife, Marcella, to manage by themselves, he acknowledged reluctantly.

"I've been talking about selling the store for a while," Passow said. "I'm 69 now, so it's theoretically time to slow down."

But that doesn't mean it's an easy transition, beginning with the daunting process of selling tens of thousands of items over the next several months. He plans to immediately start selling goods at a discounted price, both at the store and on retail platforms eBay and AbeBooks, and then likely holding a number of auctions.

"It will be hard to part with the inventory. I dread it," said Passow, who has a particular affinity for anything printed or put on paper. "I like coming here and looking at all this stuff every day."

The sales likely will include many pieces from what he calls his "museum" collection — rare local history items and global relics that he never offered for sale but kept for visitors to view.

In some cases, even the display units are pieces of local history, such as shelves he bought when Eau Claire Book & Stationery's former downtown store went out of business that now are topped with dozens of taxidermy animals he has collected from around the world.

"We've been big scroungers and reusers," the self-described "auction junkie" said with a chuckle.

Remarkably, Passow recalls where he acquired many of the items at Antique Emporium.

He bought a marble bust of Susan B. Anthony at an estate sale in Maine. The bust was carved by sculptor Leonard Volk, best known for creating one of two life masks of President Abraham Lincoln.

"That should be a national treasure," Passow said of the bust he estimated as being worth $100,000.

He bought a rare chunk of fused sand created by a lightning strike from a museum in Wabasha, Minnesota. He paid $2 for a pile of rags at an Eau Claire auction that he later sold for $10,000 after determining they were valuable William Morris textiles.

"I still do love the antique business, but it's really changed," Passow said, pointing out that sales have declined over the last couple of decades and the auctions he used to frequent are now conducted online.

Not sure he can completely pull the plug on his labor of love, Passow said he is considering boosting his online presence and opening a smaller shop in a new location — somewhere he could keep the prizes he inevitably will continue collecting.