Snider Plaza Antiques Owners Retire After Three Decades
Allan and Martha Woodcook of Snider Plaza Antiques have been a fixture of the business community in University Park for more than 30 years.
They retired from the shop at 6929 Snider Plaza the week of Nov. 25, but shoppers can still enjoy offerings from the more than 20 dealers. They have everything from English, French, Italian, and Asian antiques to art, books, jewelry, clocks, and more.
The Woodcooks, who were longtime Park Cities residents before moving to Dallas in recent years, opened Park Cities Postal Center in 1986 in Snider Plaza before they got into the antiques business in 1989 in the location at 6929 Snider Plaza. Allan, who was also in the home building business, said they sold the postal center about three years ago.
“The community really embraced us,” Martha said. “We’ve had great (customers).”
Over the years, such celebrities as Don Henley, Meredith Baxter, Cloris Leachman, Greer Garson, and Mickey Rooney visited the shop, according to a Dallas Morning News article from 2012.
People Newspapers readers picked Snider Plaza Antiques as their favorite antique mall during the 2018 People Choice award voting.
Martha Woodcook said she and Allan decided to retire to have more time to do things like travel and visit family and friends out of state.
“The (shop) keeps us so busy,” Martha said.
Melanie Keltner has worked in a doctor’s office in Snider Plaza for 15 years and said she was sad to hear of the couple’s retirement.
“Everyone seemed to know them… Their son babysat for my kids … they’re very kind people,” Keltner said. “I was surprised and saddened to hear that they’re retiring. They’ve always been there.”
Martha said she and her husband are contemplating an online store but haven’t made a decision about it yet. She also wasn’t able to talk about the future of the building the shop was housed in as of press time but said she should know about that early in 2020.
