Flamingo Vintage celebrates 5-year anniversary of Southwest Detroit business

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Racks of classic couture, 30s-era Hollywood glamour, and a working cash register from 1926? They're all signs of a vintage store keeping up with the times. 

But customers will find more than just material goods inside Flamingo Vintage, located in Southwest Detroit. Instead, they'll discover a story that spans several states and a decade of growth as an estate sale connoisseur carved out a place for timeless treasures in the Motor City. 

Together, Nikki Neuzil and her partner Finn Formica are celebrating five years of business in Detroit - and many more to come.

"The community is just everything out here so very very excited to be in southwest and we'll never leave," said Formica. 

For Neuzil, being surrounded by garments dripping in nostalgia has also been the dream.

"This has been 10 years in the making," she said. "I moved here from Texas, I started out of a school bus, and the entire time my dream was planning to move to Detroit to open an antique brick and mortar store."

They found that store on Vernor at Junction, carving out what would one day be Flamingo Vintage inside an old school department store. The building was a flower shop and a men's department store for many decades. When the couple took on the task of renovating it, it was a beast of a project waiting for them.

"When I initially renovated the place, we had to repair all of the plaster. The ceiling was caving in and all the flooring had to be re-done," she said.

What came out the other end was a clothing store for women, men, and children, a hat boutique fully of fabulous headgear, and a large selection of shoes from the funky to the fabulous.

It's also a place that celebrities like to hang out in, with musician Jack White and his family becoming regular customers. Both Neuzil and Formica have also been featured on Bargain Block and Warner Brothers films. 

On Dec. 1, they'll be celebrating their 5-year anniversary with a huge party. 

"For our five-year celebration we're going to have the Detroit party marching band - they're going to come play and Sheefy McFly, who did our mural outside - famous artist dj - that kind of thing - so we're honored to have him here as well," said Formica.

They'll be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. with vendors starting early. Everything in the shop will also be 30% off.