EAST AURORA, N.Y. (WKBW) — Vilder’s 5 & 10 in East Aurora celebrates its 91st anniversary on Saturday. The Vilder’s opened the iconic shop in 1930.
“I’m grateful for my grandfather, my father, my uncle who were here before me,” Don Vilder, co-owner of the 5 & 10 said.
Vilder said they were planning a huge celebration for the 90th anniversary in 2020, but it had to get postponed because of the pandemic.
“Last year, like everybody else, we had to postpone things, so we said we’re not going to waste it,” Vilder said. “We are still going to have a party here! 90 plus one is a pretty big deal for us.”
Alison Hyde’s family has been shopping at Vidler’s for over 50 years.
“I have friends from Canada who come to visit and they stop here before they come to my house,” Hyde said.
Vidler said when new customers come to the store, they are always so surprised at how big it is. He said he did try to walk through it all at once, and it’s about a mile and a quarter all together.
“They think it’s just the candy counter and just the toys,” Vidler said. “They don’t realize we have four connected buildings and two different levels.”
There are not many family-owned businesses like Vidler’s left especially after the pandemic hit.
“It was a difficult time for us, but now we are doing okay and kind of getting back on our feet,” Vidler said.
Every customer at the celebration said they already cannot wait for Vidler’s 100th anniversary.
