Keane Vintage, located at 278 N. Keswick Avenue in Glenside for over 20 years, closed its doors for good on July 31.
According to property records, an investor purchased the building—which includes four second-floor apartments—in June.
“It sold pretty quick. The new landlord called me on the day of his settlement and told me he was doubling my rent. I told him I can’t afford that, and he said you have on month to get out,” Kathy Keane, Keane Vintage’s former owner, said.
Glenside Local spoke with the investor who declined to comment. Each of the one- and two-bedroom apartments is currently up for rent at $1,550 a month.
Following the closure, Keane hired someone to host an estate sale. After selling what she could at 50% of items’ values, she took a cut and donated the rest.
“It was pretty upsetting. I’m still upset just talking about it. I had 20 years’ worth of merchandise,” she said. “I’m not going to be a shop owner again. It’s too risky. I loved Keswick Village. I would have rather left on my own terms, but this is what happened.”
A lifelong Glenside resident, Keane is now renting a vendor space within Village People Antiques, a co-op near Peddler’s Village. It’s expected to open this or next month.
She’ll continue living in the same house in Keswick Village that was constructed by Horace Trumbauer, who designed and built the Keswick Theater. According to Keane, he built the house so he could run the theater in the early 1900s.
“My parents met at Keswick Village. I love the history of our town, I love my customers and the people. The store is still for rent for anyone who wants it and can afford those rates,” Keane said. “I started out with all the other businesses who started the Fall Festival, First Fridays, and so on. I was really involved and always wanted it to be a destination. We worked with the township, they were always very helpful. I still encourage people to shop small, that’s the only way small shops survive.”
You can watch CBS News’ 2021 coverage of Keane Vintage below:
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Photos: Keane Vintage | Screengrab: CBS News