Hats Off: Small Change Consignment Goes Dark at Lake Anne After 37 Years

One of Lake Anne's longest running businesses, Small Change Consignment, is closing its doors on Saturday after 37 years. Owner Susann Gerstein, who started the shop in 1981 after moving to Reston from New York City, told Reston Now that the rent for the Lake Anne space rose precipitously in the last year -- something that has hastened the end of other Lake Anne businesses over the years.

Small Change Consignment joins the Lakeside Pharmacy and Cafe Jasmine as Lake Anne landmarks which will be long remembered for their constant presence in a rapidly changing Reston over the decades. As Gerstein says:

When we opened small change on November 21st 1981, my friends and I hoped to create a warm, welcoming space on beautiful Lake Anne Plaza, to recycle clothes, shoes, baby gear, maternity wardrobes, toys and children's books. We were young mothers ourselves and we hoped to build a sense of community and help families reduce the clutter of child-rearing, make some money back, and spend less on what kids need and outgrow.

Kathy retired in 1989, Margaret in 2002, and now I'm not just a mother of three but a grandmother of five, and I'm so grateful that our little shop has endured and prospered, providing quality name brand items to hundreds, probably thousands, of second and third generation small change shoppers and consignors.

Small Change closes its doors at 9pm Saturday.

Hats off.