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Teresa Beltramo has run an antique shop for more than five decades, and now she’s taking the next step — giving every dollar she brings in to charity.
Menlo Park’s Teresa’s Antiques is located on Santa Cruz Avenue, the same location of her very first shop in the 1970s. Back then it was called Ambiance Antiques, and the shop moved to the San Francisco Design District. Beltramo left the antique business to care for her husband, John Beltramo, and returned after his death to open the downtown shop that exists today.
She said she considered retiring and focusing on volunteer work, but couldn’t find anything that suited her needs. Instead, she decided to donate the entire cost of each item sold to local charities.
The solution, proposed by her son Alex Beltramo, is that for the duration of the business’s lease all of the proceeds would go to charity. The store is supporting three local charities, LifeMoves, the Riekes Center for Human Enhancement and the Menlo Park-Atherton Education Fund, and then the entire value of the item, except sales tax, will be donated by the store to the charity of the buyer’s choice.
Teresa’s Antiques’ lease ends in March, and the family is uncertain whether they will extend it.
The store is a passion of Teresa Beltramo’s, and she says that the benefits to the community don’t just come from the charity, but the antiques themselves.
“(Antique furniture) saves the environment rather than buying new,” she said. “So we feel we’re helping the environment and that’s important.”
She added that antique furniture is made to last, and adds a warmth and character to a household.
The furniture in Teresa’s Antiques came from her own home, when her family moved to a cottage in Menlo Park. The Beltramo family also took the furniture from two condos they rented and have added that to the inventory.
The family bought most of their antiques on family trips to France, a tradition that started on a family vacation to Italy. The family would take home 40-foot containers full of antiques from France.
“What I like is the authenticity, I make sure they’re authentic,” Beltramo said. “I want to choose the ones that have good scale, good design, authentic and that have warmth and charm. Not too straight, not sterile. Not too flowery or too formal.”
Alex Beltramo describes the purchasing of items as a family event, as his mother would run through a warehouse and tag items and the rest of the family would follow filling out paperwork. He describes the experience as a “treasure hunt,” and says that since they moved so fast, it was an exciting surprise when they would open the containers after getting home.
Both Alex and Teresa Beltramo expressed hope that in addition to the charitable donations, the program could also bring business downtown and help the Menlo Park and antique communities. Teresa’s antiques will be contributing the cost of items to charity through March.
The antiques at Teresa’s Antiques are fabulous, many are museum quality. Her shop is a great spot in Menlo Park.