When the Gillian’s Wonderland Pier amusement park on the boardwalk in Ocean City closed last year, Obnoxious Antiques found themselves all over the news.
The Burlington County-based store specializes in odd and unique items, and large amusement pieces in particular, and they were able to secure the purchase of a large portion of the items being sold off from the beloved park.
The quirky items they sell all get posted on their extensive website, which meant the curious and the nostalgic were able to get one last look at Gillian’s, or at least fragments of it. If they had the cash, they could do more than look – they could even scoop up some of those memories for themselves.
But in that rush to grab all the unconventional treasure, there was one piece that eluded the guys from Obnoxious – the haunted house dark ride – until now that is.
Obnoxious Antiques co-owner Joe Csik said they made an offer on the ride last year when they bought everything else, but it wasn’t accepted until recently.
“They finally realized that we make strong offers,” Csik said.
The ride was disassembled, transported to their warehouse, pieced out and listed for sale.
As of this printing, they still have nearly 40 separate listings on their website of items they bought out when Gillian’s closed – most of them are from the haunted house.
One great thing about their Gillian’s collection is they have items for every price point, ranging from $30 for a fun-house spider to $16,500 for the massive skeleton that adorned the outside of the ride, and everywhere in between.
“We try to be fair to everyone,” Csik said. “Everyone’s got to get a slice.”
Csik said they may still be negotiating on a couple additional pieces from Gillian’s, but they keep their plans pretty tight to the vest.
If you’ve ever found yourself driving down Route 130 in Florence, you know if you’ve passed their facility.
“We have multiple warehouses, but that’s pretty much the headquarters,” Csik said of their building that sits right along the roadside. The exterior of the property around the warehouse is filled with massive curiosities like the Checkered Cab stretch limo, the giant statue of the Virgin Mary from the stage production of “Sister Act,” and the 20-foot animated Santa Claus.
But even if you see something you like from the road, you should probably still head home and check them out online first. They don’t have regular hours at the shop, and conduct their sales through the website.
“It’s all online, and you can call, and if we’re going to be there, we’ll let you know,” Csik said.
And while the Gillian’s haul made a big splash for them, Csik said they buy and sell items from all over the country.
“Everyone has their heart on the Jersey Shore for sure, but amusements as a whole make people happy,” he said.
When we spoke for this article, they had just gone to Baltimore to purchase some items from a personal collection and he said they recently secured some pieces in California.
Along with buying and selling antiques, renting their inventory for films and theatrical productions has become a growing part of their business.
“We were at 20-something percent last year and now it’s starting to grow,” Csik said. “We work with the movies. We’re not out to gouge them.”
He said they recently rented items for the production of the Bruce Springsteen biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere,” coming out this fall, and also for a new Steven Spielberg project that’s been filming all around New Jersey.
Csik said he’s been in the unusual collectibles business for the better part of three decades.
His partner John Polito had already owned, and still runs, JnB Amusements, and 30 years ago he brought Csik on as an apprentice
“I was smart enough to sign up for a partnership,” Csik said. “Then we went full throttle. Then we started buying crazy stuff.”
The pair has now been operating under the Obnoxious name for about 28 years, he said.
When asked how they came up with the name, Csik pointed out the obvious.
“You see our stuff, right?” he asked. “It’s just because it’s not the normal thing. We dealt in antiques and collectibles – china, glassware, paintings, furniture – and the market just went really soft and it got boring.
“We decided to shift gears, and what a difference.”