Founded by Addie Rinella in 1958, the store began as a small gift shop and grew into a multi-generational business known for its fine jewelry and custom design.

This month, longtime owner Tony Rinella officially handed over the store to Marlene Gladden, a Lock Haven native returning after two decades away.

With master goldsmith Phil Reeder staying on and a renewed focus on supporting local retail, the new ownership aims to honor Addie’s legacy while bringing new energy downtown.

Addie Rinella launched the business in the late 1950s during the height of downtown retail across the country, making her one of the first women to own a business on Main Street, Lock Haven.

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS Marlene Gladden and Tony Rinella behind the counter at Addies’s on Main Street.

“Addie’s intuitiveness led her to open a small store which registered brides, sold gifts and delivered them to people’s homes,” said her son, Tony Rinella.

In June 1972, the growing success of Addie’s Gift Shop prompted a move to a newly renovated showroom just weeks before Tropical Storm Agnes devastated Lock Haven with catastrophic flooding.

With the help of family and friends, Addie began the daunting process of cleanup and remodeling all over again.

Around that time, Tony joined the business and expanded it with a fine jewelry section, which took off very quickly with the addition of Phil Reeder as resident bench jeweler. By the 1980s, Tony and his brother, Peter, moved the business into a much larger, 10,000-square-foot showroom.

In 2017, however, Peter retired and the showroom was sold, but Rinella continued on with the business with Reeder and Jessica Baney.

PHOTO PROVIDED Above are pictured Addie and Anthony Rinella, original owners of the store.

“Addie’s had come full circle, back to a small store, just like the one my mother started in 1958,” Rinella said.

Now that legacy is in the hands of Marlene Gladden, who recently returned to Lock Haven after more than two decades away — drawn home by family, circumstance and, ultimately, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to carry on the Addie’s name.

“I haven’t lived here in 20 years, but it was time to move home to be with family,” said Gladden, who relocated from the D.C. area after the unexpected loss of her father, followed shortly by her sister.

“Right after my sister passed is when I started talking to Tony,” she said. “I heard through the grapevine that he was looking to sell the jewelry store.”

Gladden had built a career running sales and marketing for major telecommunications companies, but she closed her business in Maryland to take on a new kind of challenge.

HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS Phil Reeder works at his jewelry bench at the back of the store.

“When you’re in sales — It’s kind of funny,” Gladden said. “Everybody always pushes you towards cars or solar or medical devices or the new trending technologies.”

“I’ve been in tech for a long time, but I’m also a girl,” she said. “What better, more exciting thing to learn about than jewelry and gemstones… so I decided, instead of learning about carburetors and transmissions, I’d learn about diamonds and emeralds.”

A passionate jewelry collector herself — and mother to children who also share a love for gemstones — Gladden says the move felt like a natural fit. Her cousin and silent partner, Spencer, grew up with it, too, thanks to his mother’s deep love for diamonds.

“Jewelry and family are near and dear to both of our hearts,” Gladden said.

But it wasn’t just her personal connection that motivated her — it was also about what the store meant to the community.

EXPRESS ARCHIVES An old photo of Addie’s from years past is seen.

“That was another thing that was important to me — that this didn’t close, and that’s what was going to happen if I didn’t buy it,” she said. “I just didn’t want to see it gone.”

Gladden said she’s watched as longtime staples have disappeared from Lock Haven, including the recent closure of Unkel Joe’s Woodshed.

“I think it’s important that we keep these businesses around as long as possible and that people keep their money local,” she said. “What’s important is keeping our little town going and businesses thriving.”

Central to preserving Addie’s legacy is bench jeweler Phil Reeder — a longtime fixture of the store and, as Gladden puts it, “one of the last of his kind.”

“It was a big motivation for me, preserving that trade,” she said.

Reeder can both create custom pieces from scratch and restore broken heirloom pieces back to life — rare skills among local jewelers.

Between fine jewelry design, watch repairs and battery replacement, and restoration work, Addie’s remains one of the only stores in the region offering full-service craftsmanship — and Gladden says their pricing often beats the competition.

The store officially changed hands on May 6, and since then, Gladden has hit the ground running with a retirement sale in honor of Rinella. A wide selection of inventory is 30 percent off, and giveaways include a “hidden gem” promotion. Customers who try on the secret featured item can win a $50 gift card to Haywood’s.

A grand reopening is planned for Saturday, June 21, during Best of Clinton County. From 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Addie’s will also offer refreshments, snacks and more giveaways. A formal ribbon cutting is scheduled for around noon.

To keep the energy going through summer, Gladden is also bringing back a touch of nostalgia by reviving Addie’s famed 1980s diamond scavenger hunt with the help of a local radio station.

She’s also introducing “Champagne & Sparkly Saturdays,” a weekly event where customers can sip something bubbly while browsing the showroom.

Starting this month, the store will also be open Saturdays with extended hours, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and until 6 p.m. on Fridays.

All told, Addie’s Jewels sparkles brighter than ever.