The Mercantile

Definitely not an antique store. 95% is (seriously unattractive) clothing, big, overpriced new furniture and other accessories and decorations, and repurposed or repainted vintage items.

Great one stop shop for trendy fashion home décor and cute baby items. Friendly staff and something new every time I visit. If you have been in the past year come check it out again. Lots of changes are in the works to revamp and re image.

If you’re looking for serious collector items and pristine antiques, this may not be the place for you. While there are several booths that have those items, I frequent the Mercantile because of the selection of women’s fashion and home accents.
The staff is always friendly and accommodating. The food at the Rose Garden Tea Room is always great.
There are not many *great* stops for shopping on the West Side of town, but this one is worth a visit!

They advertise in Antique magazines/​papers. They shouldn’t. 75% of the items are new and crafty/​sewn. And what few antiques present are mutilated by paint and questionable restoration techniques.
Plenty of clothing stalls, for women. Plenty of jewelry, for women. Plenty of shabby chic decorations, for… oh, you get the idea. Guys, if drug here by the boss, protest or throw a tantrum.

Any one person is unlikely to be interested in all or even some of the things for sale at every booth in the Mercantile, but there are enough booths that you should be able to find at least a few things to look at that are in line with your style/​interests.
The setup the merchants have here is great — rent a space, jam your stuff in there, collect the money. The facility has workers who walk the floor and help customers who have any questions or need help getting something up to the cash register. The checkout is centrally located, and if you’re looking to buy a piece that costs over $ 50 you can have someone who works there call to try to haggle (under $ 50 no calls).
When I was in, I ended up buying an awesome leather ottoman for $ 50. There is a good mix of furniture, art, jewelry, clothes, proper antiques, deco stuff, and some things you’d never expect (e.g., a time machine clock). The staff were friendly and the prices at most booths were completely reasonable. If you’re in the area and want to kill some time and gather some new to you things, this is a great place to do it!

Meh… My girlfriend and I went over to this shopping /​antique center after having a very tasty meal at Salsa Fuego and we were not overly impressed by this place.
Yeah, it’s somewhat big and the people running the booths (or working for the store) are very friendly.
I do have to say that this is one of the few places where you will see people running their booths like a store (as in, like a sales associate). Some will stay at their booths and greet you, help you with purchases, etc.
Overall they didn’t have much for us to be interested in except for the guy selling amber pieces that contain very old bugs in it. So other then that, I don’t think we would come back for a while.
I don’t know… with an antique store like the one on Montgomery St. so close by I can’t get as excited about this place as I do there.

The Historic Camp Bowie Mercantile Antique Mall is on the ‘traffic circle’ of west Fort Worth. They opened about three years ago. Mind, there is nothing ‘historic’ about this place, it is simply part of the name. I do like the murals on the outside, which purport to show old Fort Worth, including a visit by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Regardless, my wife and I are pleased that this place opened. One, it is a very good antique mall. Indeed, whenever we come here and browse we usually find something interesting to purchase.
Secondly, like many antique malls they have a small restaurant inside. Indeed, part of the reason for the ‘five stars’ is due to the restaurant, called The Rose Garden Tea Room.
I do not know why antique mall restaurants are afraid of severing fried foods, or why they think that the average antique shopper hungers for salads and quiche. I mean, would it kill them to serve a cheeseburger or chicken fried steak? Anyway, this Rose Garden tearoom stays the course and serves salads, quiches, and some sandwiches and desserts.
The saving grace is their food is uniformly excellent! My wife and I love to get the Rose Garden Variety plate ($ 10.95) which is a sampler plate of chicken salad, fruit, quiche (of the day), soup (again of the day) and pumpkin bread sandwich (I think turkey), served with poppy seed dressing (the foregoing list is not from memory: I looked it up on the website). The chicken salad (whether on the platter, or a salad, or as a sandwich) is always excellent. I have also enjoyed the turkey sandwich.
I usually dislike fresh fruit dipped in dressing. However, their Poppy Seed dressing is fantastic. Each time I quickly demolish my fruit (all very fresh; the strawberries I had the other week seemed to be fresh-​picked) by dipping it in the dressing.
They make the poppy seed dressing on premises and will sell you a bottle for $ 7.00. On our last visit I ordered two bottles: the waiter said they just ran out, but in ten minutes they would have a fresh batch made up. Sure enough, ten minutes later he came back with two bottles with the freshest poppy seed dressing imaginable. I often will drop in just to order a bottle or two for home.
The service is excellent. Indeed, the waiter we usually have joined the restaurant soon after it opened and he is always on the ball. I have not had a bad experience at this tea room.
I will note that, looking at the website, there is another Rose Garden Tearoom (the original) located in west Arlington inside what used to be an antique mall but is now called The Decorator’s Showcase (on W. Pioneer Parkway; I recall this as being Moore’s Antiques, for those who live in the area). Both tea rooms are owned by the same woman (Helen Bowers). Google Historic Camp Bowie Mercantile, then click on the link to the tea room and you can see the menu and read her history.
Anyway, I highly recommend the antique mall and then treating yourself to a lunch inside the beautiful tearoom (I see I did not describe the tearoom; it is very elegant and beautiful).
This place deserves all five stars.

This is a giant store with lots of vendors selling a huge range of merchandise. Everything from shabby chic to huge antiques to cute little boutiques exist in the space. Seriously, if you can’t find at least something for everyone there, your friends are just too picky and don’t deserve a gift from you anyway. :) But seriously, home décor, antiques, clothing of all types, quite a bit of antique furniture and some crafts all under one roof. There’s also a lunch/​tea room included in the space, but we haven’t tried it.