Little River Antiques & More offers a bit of everything

Published 8:16 am Tuesday, December 7, 2021

At 78 years old, Ken Brittingham didn’t have to work another day in his life after his retirement from General Motors in 1995. He chose to take on the challenge of opening his own business because he wanted to do so. 

Brittingham said that he and his wife have always dabbled in antiques in some form or another. Their first attempt at opening an antique store back in 2004 didn’t go as well as Brittingham wanted it to, and they wound up selling the building after a few years. While he was selling items at a flea market where he had a space, Brittingham met Tawanna McNutt, who also had a space, and they eventually became good friends. In summer 2019, Brittingham proposed that he and McNutt leave the antique store that had replaced the flea market. Both of them had been renting space at the antique store prior to Brittingham coming up with his idea to leave. 

Though Brittingham explained that McNutt was skeptical of that idea at first, he kept in touch with her, and by January 2020, she agreed to open a new store with him. That store is Little River Antiques & More, which has close to 40 unique vendor booths, each filled with various items. The store features antiques, as well as vintage items, home decor and outdoor sporting equipment. 

For customers with restoring and refinishing needs, Little River Antiques & More can help with that, as they do carry the Fusion Mineral Paint line and Howard products. Store items, Brittingham explained, change regularly. 

“If you come in and see something, and you don’t buy it, chances are it won’t be there if you come back to get it later,” he said. 

Recently, Little River Antiques & More moved to a new location on 2955 N. Columbia St. in Milledgeville. 

All but two of the vendors came with Brittingham from the previous location.

“It’s more than just vendors, it gets to be like family. Everybody helps each other,” Brittingham said of working with the same people for such a long time. 

During the moving transition, he explained that several of the vendors pitched in, helping put down carpet, paint and build walls. Along with them, Brittingham said that Donald Keats, and his oldest son, GregBrittingham, helped to get everything ready. He also noted that Chris Burhman installed the store’s cameras and stereo system. 

After closing the original location on the week of Oct. 4, every vendor was moved and set up by the time the new shop opened on Oct. 12. 

Since opening their new location,Brittingham mentioned that the response from the community has been positive. 

“Our business has been awesome. The only negative comment I’ve had is that we don’t have enough men’s stuff in here,” Brittingham said, adding that they are working to address that area of concern. 

Running the business still keeps Brittingham on what he calls “the hunt.” 

“The hunt for the stuff to put in there, we call it going picking. That is the most fun.”