- May 9, 2024
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When Wes Dunn opened Dunn's Attic in 2013, he sought to accomplish two things.
Transform the way people thought about shopping at consignment stores, and create a social, personal shopping atmosphere reminiscent of the old days. And with his family's history of owning and operating businesses in Volusia County for over a century, retail ran in his blood.
"It's just like anything — you either have a knack for it or you don't," Dunn said. "You either have a passion or love for it, or you don't, and I have both the passion and I think a knack."
Recently, Dunn opened a second location for his consignment business just a few blocks away from the original Dunn's Attic in the downtown at 136 W. Granada Blvd. Dunn's Attic Too is located at 175 N. Yonge St. and provides Dunn with an extra 5,000 square feet of retail showroom space. Unlike the original store, which has Rosie's Cafe, this one doesn't have an eatery, but Dunn said it is ideal for showing some of the larger furniture, such as bedroom sets, that may not have had room to be displayed at Dunn's Attic.
The decision to expand was made in spring of 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dunn said they started seeing an influx of inventory, and despite their 12,000 square feet of space at Dunn's Attic, the need for more showroom space was made apparent. But, the process to open Dunn's Attic Too was a long one.
The doors finally opened at the end of February, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held later on March 17.
"People say, 'Why would you put something five blocks away from the other?' Well, we did it purposefully," Dunn said. "... The idea is to be able to go back and forth very easily for customers and for us and the people we work with so that it'll feed off each other and not compete with each other."
The Dunn family first arrived in Palatka around 1870. In 1905, they opened Dunn Bros Hardware on South Beach Street in downtown Daytona Beach. From there, the Dunns branched off into different businesses, including lumber, marine supplies, paint, household items, and of course, toys.
As a fifth-generation member of the family, Dunn started working at his family's hardware store in 1986 to fill a void in the toy department and later acquired the store. Eventually, it turned into Dunn Toys and Hobbies a well-known business in the area that was utilized by President Bill Clinton in 1996 as the headquarters for his re-election campaign when he stopped by for a speech.
But, as retail evolved, and small businesses began being beaten by big box stores, Dunn made the decision to close the toy store in 1998. The Dunn Corporation, which included the lumber, hardware and similar sides of the family businesses, was sold in 2008.
Dunn went on to work in finance for 13 years before he decided to return to his family's roots.
Opening another toy store wasn't on his radar. Dunn wanted to open a retail business where he wouldn't have to worry about big box stores. So he looked at consignment just as shopping secondhand was making a cultural resurgence as the new generation of shoppers sought for better quality items with a sustainable approach.
"What's really cool about this business is that all of this stuff had another life," Dunn said. "In fact, if you think about it, we've had a lot of customers that have passed away. Their stuff — some of it may still be here, some of it sold — their precious items, their items that they treasured over the years and they found throughout the world ... it finds a new home. "
People also love items with a story, he added. They want to know where an item originated, what kind of wood it's built out of.
"I think we're looking for looking for connection," Dunn said. "And so with a store like this, consignment in general, there's connection both ways."
Dunn always reminds his children, the next generation of Dunns in Volusia County, that the success of their business was built on the backs of their ancestors. He knows they're very fortunate in that regard.
"When you're in a community where your family's been there for 120 plus years, where you've affected people's lives, there's a responsibility to maintain that and you can't let up. You owe it to the ones that went before you."
Wes Dunn, owner of Dunn's Attic
"When you're in a community where your family's been there for 120 plus years, where you've affected people's lives, there's a responsibility to maintain that and you can't let up," Dunn said. "You owe it to the ones that went before you."
Since 2013, Dunn's Attic has issued consignment checks totaling over $3 million. Dunn said he believes his consignment business will continue to grow in the next couple of years, and the next store he opens, wherever it might be, will be more like the original location with the cafe.
Dunn's Attic, and now Dunn's Attic Too, embodies the collision of two principles, according to Dunn. On one hand, there's the consignment side of helping the community reuse and sell items, and then there's principle of being part of the community as a family business.
"Because of the level of integrity, honesty that the family members have shown in this community, we were able to start very quickly and very strongly with a real strong base," Dunn said. "What we've been doing now over the last nine plus years is building on that."
