Polaneczky: Newlyweds jilted out of thousands of dollars of registry gifts
Manor Home and Gifts closes. Where did the money go?
Nothing says "Congratulations, suckers!" quite like learning that your wedding guests spent tons of cash on gifts you'll never enjoy, thanks to a boutique that never delivered.
That's what happened to Mason Lane and Bobby Domenick, who created their wedding registry at Manor Home & Gifts. Since 2003, the tony shop just off Rittenhouse Square sold exquisite housewares – like Herend porcelain, Orrefors crystal, Heritage pewter and other high-end brands that most newlyweds (or anyone on a budget) can't afford on their own.
Lane and Domenick grinned each time they received a note from Manor that another lovely item had been purchased by a generous loved one. But 15 months after their December 2015 wedding, Manor has yet to provide the couple $12,000 in purchased gifts.
For months, Domenick says, the store's owners, Barry Terris and Warren Leighton, made excuses.
"They said the manufacturer was slow to fill orders," he says. "We trusted them."
Then Terris and Leighton stopped responding to calls or emails altogether. Last month, the store went dark, its doors locked and customer questions unanswered.
"This has put us in a really awkward position with our wedding guests," says Domenick, 32. "We don't want to tell them what happened because we don't want them to feel like they have to buy us new gifts."
The men aren't the only newlyweds jilted by Manor Home. Victoria Lynch
Nikki Cohen tracked down the couples when she saw their registries on Manor's website (which is still active; the site accepted my credit card for a $12 online purchase I made this week to test the site. Buh-bye, money!).
They told of Manor blaming manufacturers for tardy deliveries – but of then learning that Manor had never ordered the items. They told of a former Manor employee suddenly being paid in cash instead of by check. They told of how foolish they felt registering at Manor instead of a reliable big-box emporium.
"We wanted to go local to support local businesses, and this is what happens," says Lynch, who is fairly new to Philadelphia and a booster of independent retailers. "This has really been horrible."
A handful of couples have reported the situation to police, who are now investigating Manor. Time will tell if victims' complaints result in criminal charges or if they're better handled in civil court.
Hopefully, time will also tell what in the world happened to cause Terris and Leighton to behave so badly.
Money troubles? Greed? Illness? Personal drama? Crazy overhead in a neighborhood whose landlords are doubling rents every five minutes?
"It's odd, because I always found the people at Manor to be very nice and helpful," says Patricia Hastie, mother of newlywed Lane and a Center City resident. She doesn't understand why Terris or Leighton didn't contact registry couples when Manor started tanking.
"It's sad that these young people will never enjoy gifts that people thoughtfully chose for them," she says. "To this day, I remember every wedding gift I received. These couples won't have that."
What they deserve is answers that Terris or Leighton should have provided from the minute the first Limoge teacup went undelivered.
I hoped to get some this week, when I knocked on the door of a penthouse apartment near Logan Square. I'd heard that the men lived there. Terris opened the door, and a sweet yellow dog bounded out to greet me.
"Hi!" he said with a big smile, which disappeared when I asked about Manor and its out-of-luck customers.
"We aren't permitted to speak with anyone," he said.
Not permitted by whom?
"By our attorney," he said, shutting the door.
So for now, it appears that Rita Conallen's work remains cut out for her. She's manager of Skirt boutique, located next door to shuttered Manor Home. For weeks, she and her staff have been fielding calls from out-of-towners who bought gifts from Manor and want to know the status of their orders.
"They google Manor on a map, see we're next door, and ask if we know anything," says Conallen. "I feel bad for them."
She feels bad for the newlyweds, too.
"But hopefully," she says philosophically, "this will be the worst thing that happens to them in their marriage."
(To report a problem with Manor Home and Gifts, contact Philadelphia Police Detective David Smith at 215-686-3094 or email david.d.smith@phila.gov.)