Axel’s Gallery & Frame Shop to move … across the street

March 3, 2023  |  By Lisa Scagliotti

Axel's longtime home at 5 Stowe Street. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

Be on the lookout for a business on the move this month as Axel’s Gallery & Frame Shop packs up and moves directly across Stowe Street into the Stimson and Graves building. 

Gallery owner Whitney Aldrich shared the news with customers in an email newsletter this week saying that Axel’s will close starting March 5 through March 29 to make the transition to the new space. 

Axel’s is currently located at 5 Stowe Street and its new address will be 10 Stowe Street. The new ground-floor storefront was the former home to Tabbitha Henry’s ceramics studio and gallery until Henry moved out in mid-January. 

“We are beyond excited to move into this space,” Aldrich said, noting that it was the original Axel's Frame Shop location 40 years ago. The frame shop and gallery was started by artist and entrepreneur Axel Stohlberg in 1983; Aldrich has owned the business for the past decade. It currently has three full-time staff including Aldrich and two part-time employees, she said.

At 1,700 square feet, the new space is slightly smaller than the familiar gallery and frame shop and different given that it has many windows along the street. The current gallery has large walls making it easy to hang art. Aldrich said a challenge will be finding new ways to arrange the space and displays. It also will mean that visitors will get to see staff working on framing projects. 

One key reason for the move, Aldrich said, was to position the business better for an eventual sale. Last year, she announced that she is searching for a buyer to take over Axel’s. The current space has a lease ending in 2024 with new terms expected for the future including an increase in rent. The new space in the Stimson and Graves building comes with a five-year lease with options to renew every three years. “Perfect for anyone looking at getting bank financing,” she added. “There isn’t any reason why someone wouldn’t look at this business and see it as a real opportunity,” she said.

The property at 5 Stowe Street is owned by the trust for WDEV owner Ken Squier. Downstreet Housing and Community Development owns the Stimson and Graves building with senior housing units on the second floor and the retail space and the Waterbury Area Senior Center on the street level.

The street-level space at 10 Stowe Street will be the new home of Axel's Gallery and Frame Shop. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

Asking customers for patience during the move, Aldrich said there will be a grand opening celebration this summer once the shop is settled in its new space. 

On a practical note, anyone with recently completed framing projects should call Axel’s to arrange for a time to pick up, 802-244-7801. And if anyone is interested in leasing the space at 5 Stowe Street that Axel’s is vacating, Aldrich said the gallery could direct them as well.

Most importantly, Aldrich noted, “Axel's is NOT closing or going out of business.”