Family-owned vintage shop opens new spot in Mattituck
Heather Ganguzza and her husband Peter at their shop, In The Attic Too, which recently relocated to Mattituck. Credit: Heather Ganguzza
Heather Ganguzza started working at her family's business when she was 16 to earn some "fun money," she says. At 28, she took it over with her husband Peter and, now, three years later, she's relocated the shop, In The Attic Too, to a new retail-only space in Mattituck.
In 2006, Ganguzza's father, retired police officer Dan McAllister, began painting birdhouses using reclaimed objects as a hobby from his East Quogue garage. As they started to sell on Craigslist, he moved onto large objects, like furniture, and three years later, opened the first incarnation of In The Attic in Laurel. Ganguzza says it was then that she learned how to paint furniture, but she eventually left that gig for "random desk jobs," where she learned the ins and outs of running a business. After realizing she "didn’t want to sit behind a desk anymore," she returned to the shop in 2018 — this time, taking it over and enlisting the help of Peter, a professional house painter. "It made sense for him to stop going 40 feet in the air to paint a house" and to help her keep up with demand instead, she says.
The retail space is stocked with vintage finds, from furniture for every room in the house, to wall décor (hand-painted signs, framed maps, shelving), home accents like books, vases and statues, and gift items, such as holiday brooches and ornaments, and pouches.
Vintage finds at In The Attic Too, which has relocated to Mattituck. Credit: Heather Ganguzza
Since taking over, Ganguzza has added to the shop's inventory her mother Sue’s line of hand-poured, soy-based candles and soaps. There are more than a dozen to choose from, in scents like Fraser fir (which "smells like a Christmas tree"), ginger spice, snickerdoodle and suede and smoke.
The Ganguzzas also build pieces — small and large — from scratch at an off-site woodworking station, where they refinish items, too. All wood is sourced locally — it's salvaged from structures around Long Island before demolition. McAllister, "retired for a second time," his daughter says, still helps out around the shop, focusing more on "creative builds" like benches, coat racks and framed work that customers can grab and go instead of placing a custom order.
Prices range from $2 for vintage postcards to $875 for a refinished antique buffet/server. It’s open Fridays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 10200 Main Rd. in Mattituck; 631-745-3848; intheattictoonofo.com.
