After a car crashed through the front of his shop on U.S. Highway 31 in late May, Tradewinds Upholstery storeowner Charlie Schoenvogel decided to relocate his business.

“The crash wasn’t the only reason I decided to move,” Schoenvogel said. “It was just a nice little push to change locations.”

The shop is now located next to Bates Pool on Highway 31 directly across the street from the entrance to Goose Pond Park.

Schoenvogel is busily working to unpack all of the furniture for the store after opening in his new location last week.

“Right now I am just trying to get everything settled,” Schoenvogel said. “I like this location because it allows me to have a wonderful window space for people who want to drive by and window shop as well as the location to the park.”

Although the majority of Schoenvogel’s shop is filled with antiques he collects from auctions throughout Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi, a separate part of the shop is devoted to reupholstering furniture.

Currently, the new shop has 3,000 square feet of space as opposed to the 1,000 square feet in the previous shop.

Schoenvogel said after the crash occurred near the front of Tradewinds on May 30, many of his antiques inside the store had to be thrown away.

The crash occurred when a car traveling south on Highway 31 crossed over one lane of traffic, hit the curb and crashed into the front part of Tradewinds Upholstery which was previously located at 1703 Seventh St. S.

No customers were in the shop during the time of the crash and Schoenvogel had just taken a seat in his chair toward the front of his store when the furniture inside the store started closing in on him.

The driver of the vehicle was OK but told authorities at the time of the crash he lost control of his vehicle.

Schoenvogel said it was later determined that some of the furniture moved 5 feet from the window due to the impact of the crash.

Now, Schoenvogel maintains a sense of humor regarding the crash noting that his new location is farther away from the road.

“They will have to take a running start to get to me now,” Schoenvogel said.

Schoenvogel will be open Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-2 p.m.